The rescue of the little puppy I found out in my mountain home was not very easy.
In China, it is not possible to take a pet on a train. It may be possible to take a pet on an intra city bus, however, that is something that sounds too hellish to imagine. There are "sleeper" buses that allow you to have a sort of bed space, but I can only imagine the chaos of an incontinent puppy on such a trip.
So, as I grew more and more committed to rescue of puppy, I started to think of ways of getting him back to Wuhan. I thought about taking the train and of hiding him in a bag, and then locking myself in a bathroom until I got to Wuhan. This would not work if someone noticed him during the pat down you get entering the train station.
The train was out, so I cast about trying to find someone to give me a ride. I emailed a service that purports to handle moving of pets within China and around the world. The person at that service quoted me a rate of 3,000 RMB for a one way drive.
The trip is about 5.5 hours each way. Hubei is a pretty big old province. The driver would therefore have to travel 11 hours total.
3000 RMB is about 500.00. This is ALOT in China.
I ended up hiring a guy for 2,000 rmb. That included gas. However, this was also kind of a high rate. I subsequently found out that the cost to hire a driver for 10 hours is about 500 rmb. That is about 80 USD.
I figured that, with gas, I could have bargained my way down to maybe 1200 rmb.
My driver seemed nice enough. I had him meet me in the mountain town around the same time I was scheduled to take the train. he drove up to my apartments at the school and away we went.
The puppy was pretty good in the car. He is mouthy when he gets excited, and I really cannot train him while he sitting in a car, especially as I had no treats or toys handy.
The highways in China are pretty much up to standards of US highways. The rest areas feel alot less hospitable than rest areas in the USA (imagine that if you can).
When we got to Wuhan, I asked the driver to stop by a local KFC. He obliged and I paid him the 2000 rmb I had agreed to pay.
The girlfriend than told me that I had only paid 1900 rmb, and owed another 100 rmb. WIthout question, I forked over another hundred and went into get something to eat.
Inside the KFC, I counted my money. I was 100 rmb short.
Hmmmm.....
I grabbed my food and headed back to the car. I berated them both for lying and stealing money.
I know that they knew they had done it because, after I laid into them, they did not say I was crazy or nuts. They sat in stone silence.
When I got back to my apartment, the driver sheepishly asked me how much I owed him. I crisply took my 100 rmb from him and said "good bye". I could have explained that Auf Wiedersehen means "see you again", and that was why I was saying good bye, but I doubt he would have understood.
Not hiring those people again, I think.
The Puppy is now recuperating at my apartment and my friends house.
My friend has a 3 year old poodle female who has had puppies and has done a good job of training lil Puppy how to be a better dog. Lil puppy has alot to learn.
As I got out of the car, the girls
On my way in, the girldfriend
The highways in China are pretty much up to standards of US highways. The rest areas feel alot less hospitable than rest areas in the USA (imagine that if you can).
When we got to Wuhan, I asked the driver to stop by a local KFC. He obliged and I paid him the 2000 rmb I had agreed to pay.
The girlfriend than told me that I had only paid 1900 rmb, and owed another 100 rmb. WIthout question, I forked over another hundred and went into get something to eat.
Inside the KFC, I counted my money. I was 100 rmb short.
Hmmmm.....
I grabbed my food and headed back to the car. I berated them both for lying and stealing money.
I know that they knew they had done it because, after I laid into them, they did not say I was crazy or nuts. They sat in stone silence.
When I got back to my apartment, the driver sheepishly asked me how much I owed him. I crisply took my 100 rmb from him and said "good bye". I could have explained that Auf Wiedersehen means "see you again", and that was why I was saying good bye, but I doubt he would have understood.
Not hiring those people again, I think.
The Puppy is now recuperating at my apartment and my friends house.
My friend has a 3 year old poodle female who has had puppies and has done a good job of training lil Puppy how to be a better dog. Lil puppy has alot to learn.
As I got out of the car, the girls
On my way in, the girldfriend
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