Barbara Kroczak, Joyce Chin and I met the dogs at the cargo facility for New Zealand Air at San Francisco International airport on Feb 20, 2009.
We had to wait until all five dogs had been delivered to the cargo bay before they would release any of them or let us take them out to go potty.
Even when admitted into the cargo area, we were not permitted behind the yellow line - they had to move the crates on pallets by forklift over to the yellow line, where Barbara and Joyce started the process of letting them out. The zip ties had to be cut to release the doors and then the dogs came bounding out.
The Silkens seemed to be happy to have a get-togehter again and to be with people they knew...all except the puppies, Jethro and Loretta, who were happy to see other Silkens, but who didn't know any of us. We took them across the street to potty in the grass, but only one of them (Nemo?) peed and peed.
I did run one errand on the way home (bought a new jacket at REI in Marin county!) and we also stopped in San Rafael to see a friend - that way, Jethro and Loretta could spend some time out of a crate, in a fenced back yard with Ethan, on neutral territory. They kept a respectful distance from Ethan, but came in for some attention from the people, and then we were on our way home.
Here they are, exploring the far back yard on their first day in the United States.
Confined again - but this time, together in an expen in the living room with comfy beds and no plane noise! Best to keep them separate from the bouncing "baby" (12 month old) Labrador who wants to pounce and play but could really hurt and scare these travelers. They really didn't mind an enforced "nap" and seemed quite content just observe for a while...with frequent breaks to go outside of course!