11/21/2024
Looking for a dog, or a car with a story?
We have been independently “fostering” Bear. We thought we had found a well matched family for him, so we rented a car and transported him out to Pennsylvania (from Central Texas)
Unfortunately after about 3 weeks, the family decided he was not the right fit for them. So now we had to go retrieve Bear. Since we had just spent a large amount of time and money to deliver him, we decided to fly half this route using buddy passes, and reserved a rental car for the trip home. It was supposed to save us at least a full day of travel.
Flying standby can be tricky, but this time it went smoothly, and we thought this was going to work out great!
We arrived in the Pittsburgh airport at 11pm, and went straight to retrieve the rental car we reserved. This is where things start to go awry. They will not let us rent a car. No one at the airport will, because we do not have a credit card only debit. Mind you we just rented a car a few weeks ago. The only way we could rent a car with a debit card, was if we had a return flight that had already been booked for over 24 hours.
We were told maybe rentals outside the airport would be different, but of course we would have to wait until they opened on Saturday morning. So we stayed in a hotel. Loosing time and money we thought we had saved by flying.
Next morning we take a Lyft to a breakfast place that said they were open but were not, and had to Lyft to another. Then we had to Lyft to the rental car lot. Once there after hours of trying to figure things out. We realize absolutely no one will rent us a car, without a physical credit card in our name. I even applied and was approved for a credit card and had a virtual copy they would not take.
Now it’s noon, all the rental car lots are closed, and we are stranded approximately 1500 miles from home. We talk to the family to explain our situation, and that we might have to fly home and try again later. They state they will not keep Bear past this weekend.
Desperate, I start to search Marketplace for a car that I can’t afford but can purchase with hopes of selling it when we get home.
We find this 2007 Volvo XC90 with 198,000 miles on it, but it runs. We get temporary plates on it, and finally get on the road hoping to be finished with this nightmare.
While moving things into the back of the car I unwittingly make metal to metal contact with the car battery, and it starts a small fire. We are able to put it out, and get the proper casing on the battery. On the road again.
The car runs great. We pick up Bear without issues a few hours down the road.
We decide to travel through Atlanta to visit my family. At 5am not 20mins from my sisters house, we get pulled over. They write us a ticket for no insurance or registration, even though we get insurance online right then and there, and we have temporary plates which are our registration.
They also TOW the car! Leaving us stranded approximately 960 miles from home, on the streets with a dog.
I’m able to call my sister we eat breakfast and visit until the courthouse opens, and we can begin the process of getting this car back. After a few hours we make it to the tow lot with the paperwork we need. They charge us $250 for the 4 hours this car was in their lot.
We finally get back on the road, thinking for sure this has to be the end of it. The car is driving great.
Once again at 5 am we get a flat tire. This isn’t ideal, but at least the car had a working spare, we are able to fix it.
We finally get home in time to cancel all our the appointments we had Monday morning and sleep the whole day.
But now we have a car and a dog that need a new home.
Bear is about 2 years old. He is a very high energy red Merle Australian Shepherd. He is up to date on all his vaccinations. He is heartworm free and on preventatives. He is neutered. He lives people, but may be too much for an older family or a family with small children. He doesn’t do well with cats. He does do well with dogs but is very high energy and kind of pushy in play, he does listen to corrections from other dogs though. He is smart, has a high drive and is food motivated. He loves to swim and play, and we think he’d excel at dog sports if someone put their energy into it. He walks well on a Gentle Leader but without it will pull on leash. He is crate and potty trained.
His original owner is re-homing him because they were never home and he was literally jumping from one boarding facility to another.
Bear’s rehoming fee is $100
2007 Volvo XC90 199000 miles, runs well, 2 new tires, recent oil change.
We are selling the car for $3000
If you want them both, we will waive Bear’s rehoming fee. He would come with food meds, leash, crate and Gentle leader.
