A couple of years ago, my son's first wife needed surgery. She was at Ft. Bliss in El Paso - a long day's drive away.
OK. A very long day's drive away.
For some reason (I never learned why), her own parents refused to travel down to be with her during the surgery and to watch after her for a day or two afterwards, just in case. So Itzl and I went down.
The trip down was relatively uneventful. Long. Filled with brief pit stops so Itzl could potty. I'd packed an ice chest of food and drinks so technically, we didn't need to stop for anything other gasoline and potty breaks.
Lots of potty breaks.
We made it in to El Paso well enough. After a minor hassle with the hotel (lost reservation), we got unpacked and headed out to Base.
Fortunately for us, the hospital where she was having the surgery was outside Base itself, because getting on base was a terrific hassle - they were reluctant to let Itzl in - mostly because they felt he'd be at risk, his small size and the fact that he totally blended in to the landscape. He was small enough to disappear in the deep shadows, even of the small plants.
To demonstrate, here is a picture of him in a nearby cottonfield:
Did you spot Itzl? If I didn't know where he was, I'd never be able to find him in this picture, and even knowing, I still have trouble locating him.
So, that was cool. Itzl wasn't an issue at the hospital. We stayed with my daughter-in-law until she was released, then stayed with her in the hotel for another 2 days just to make sure she was OK.
And that was all good. Itzl was exemplary, as always.
On the trip back, we were stopped by the Border Patrol. I know, we never ever left the US, and we were stopped at the Texas/New Mexico border, not the Texas/Mexico border. We were probably a couple hundred miles from the real US border, well outside what I thought would be stopping range.
I guess not.
Anyway, we were stopped. I didn't have my passport with me (why would I, I didn't leave the US), so I had to undergo a ton of questions and my car was unpacked and thoroughly inspected. That was a hoot- because I came prepared for practically any emergency (tent, sleeping bag, spare gasoline, fishing line, hatchet, saw, rope, ice chest of food, lawn chairs, first aid kit, dried foods, yada, yada, yada - everything except my passport!) and my car had lots and lots of hidey holes and cubbies in which to stash things.
Lots.
Then they started asking about Itzl...was he a US citizen, and where was he born, and so on. I had his photo ID with me, and I also happened to have his work ID with me, that gives him access to the same restricted areas to which I have access, and his health insurance card, and (because this was during tax season), his tax filing forms for his stipends and expenses as a service dog.
It must have been a slow day for them, because as slow and thorough as they were, not another car passed us the entire time. That may be why they decided to make a mock-up of a passport for Itzl. He doesn't really need a passport, but they had fun with the fact that I got him off the back of a pick up truck in a parking lot. it's obviously a mock-up, not a real passport. It's just another piece of documentation to keep with all his other paperwork - vaccination records, neuter records (imagine the uproar if humans had to display spay and neuter records when traveling!), service animal ID, work ID, health insurance cards, credit card, gift cards - do you wonder why he has his own wallet?
After the "inquisition", it was shift change, so the guys took us to a saloon for lunch:
And then they let us continue on our way. It was a half day's delay and I had to drive through the night and straight to wrok because there was no time to get home and then work, thanks to the border patrol that wasn't actually at a US border. If they hadn't been so nice about it, I'd have been really angry at being stopped and questioned like that inside my own country.