On this page ...

	This page is specifically for family and friends who are interested in me and my new live in the USA. See also the page with maps. October 26th, 2003, I moved to the US. Below you will find a list of things I did, encounters I had, pictures, people, etc. It will not be super detailed, but it will give you an idea ... By the way: More pictures I made can be found at DevianArt. The first 2 months My new home Going out - having fun The dog adventure - Puck goes USA Finally bought a car Snapshots of Puck Snapshots of the house and such Finally: Spring is here! And the summer is long, and warm ... I love it! First Family visit

Dog story: Puck

So in December I went to Holland for 2 weeks to get my dog, see beloved ones and arrange some thing for my old house in Holland.
The trip back to the USA with the dog was an adventure on itself. Finally (thanks to the captain of North-West flight NW55 of Jan.7th 2004) Puck was allowed to get into the plane cabin.

I requested to take the dog into the cabin (6 times), I even asked to buy a regular ticket for the dog so she could sit in the cabin. Noooo.
So I had to ship the dog as cargo. Tip for those who have plans like that and really love their dog: DO NOT CHECKIN THE DOG YOURSELF. It's heart breaking!

At Schiphol: Puck didn't like to be put in a cage and left "alone" AT ALL

She didn't like it, AT ALL. I didn't like it any better.

Well, it had to be done. So I went to customs, did my tax free shopping, got through 5 security checks ... only to find out, just before boarding, that the captain didn't want to take the dog along, since the temperatures in Minneapolis were below 12 degrees (C). The problem is that when unloading the cargo of the plane, the dog will sit outside (!) and might not make it when going from room temperature (20 degrees Celcius) to minus 12 degrees.

The very nice and helpful flight attendants of KLM (all 6!) where very kind and definitely charmed by the dog. They did everything possible for me to be able to get the dog along anyway in the cabin. For me it was pretty simple: either we both go, or none of us goes.

So after talking to the captain we finally could go ... with Puck in the cabin.
The captain got the dog out of the cargo area and brought her up.

I could not believe the good behavior of Puck during the trip: for almost 10 hours, no wining, no barking, no noises, no potty, nothing,... just sleeping.

Anyway, so that worked out excellent.

So in the US, Puck had to get used to the snow, no really a biggy as you can see in the pictures below. Although the bed was a bit higher than she expected.

More pictures of Puck can be found at the page "Snapshots of Puck".

Puck: hunting dog position ...


Puck, tracking some kind of ... I don't know what ...


OK, so the American bed size is a bit TOO much for Puck ...

Go to the Top of this page or go to "Finally bought a car"