Sunday, December 1, 2024

Home Again


We made our way back from Bray yesterday morning on the train. By the time I'd walked the dog, had breakfast and packed everything up, it was somehow 11 a.m. -- checkout time. So there wasn't much opportunity to do anything else but get to the train station.

Once again we had a terrible time finding an Uber to carry us and the dog. We were rejected by five drivers, one of whom told Dave we had to order an "Uber Pet." If you can figure out what this is you're a step ahead of me. There's nothing on the app that specifies pets (we always put in notes that we have a dog) and there is no such separate app as "Uber Pet," at least not that I can find.

We called the people who booked us the cottage and they got us a ride with a local car service. All's well that ends well.

The train from Maidenhead was surprisingly crowded and Olga got lots of pats, even when she mysteriously began licking some poor man's pristine white trainers. I apologized but he didn't seem to mind. He must clean those shoes with something that appealed to her.

Since then she's been pretty much sound asleep in her familiar surroundings, as you can see above. (Notice that she has a bed on the floor -- but she always opts for the couch.)

And I've done laundry and we had take-away Chinese for dinner, so we're pretty much back in our groove. I know I'm behind on answering comments but I hope to get to that today!

44 comments:

  1. You would think that they would have something indicating that they wouldn't take animals on the website.

    I wonder if Olga prefers the couch as that is a better viewpoint?

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    1. I know! It seems like the odds of getting five drivers who won't allow a dog is pretty slim -- we've never had that much trouble before.

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  2. I hope your break was refreshing. Very much back to normal tomorrow for you.

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  3. I'd prefer the couch to the floor too! Sensible dog

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  4. Hmmm, the couch or the floor. Let me think. As for Uber Pet, I actually recently looked this up for a friend in Colchester. From the Uber website: 1. In the Uber app, enter your pickup and dropoff location
    2. Under 'Choose a ride,' select 'Uber Pet'
    3. Tap 'Choose Uber Pet' to confirm
    4. When your driver arrives, you can bring your pet inside the vehicle

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    1. I should have known someone in blogland would have the answer to this question! Dave just tried it, following those instructions, and at first didn't see the "Uber Pet" option, but then scrolled down and when the screen refreshed it was there. So I think we were confused by a combination of bad app design and user error! THANK YOU!

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    2. I don’t think it’s available everywhere.

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  5. "He must clean those shoes with something that appealed to her..." Possibly squirrel urine?

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    1. God only knows. Anything is possible. Probably just something oily.

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  6. I'm with Olga ... always the couch.
    Having never Ubered, I would assume there is something called Uber Pet but would have zero idea how to find it!

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    1. See Mitchell's comment above! I'd never heard of this before.

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  7. I can see why Olga is pooped -- that was a big day for her, and you two also, from the sound of it. Interesting about no indication of no pets. It sounds like you were productive! Now, a rest day, I hope!

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  8. That Photo Is Truly Worthy Of A Thousand Words

    Well Done ,
    Cheers

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  9. All is well, Olga is back to her home! That is interesting about Uber. Like you, I've never heard of Uber Pet. I think he made that up. England is such a dog friendly place, I'm surprised you had so much trouble finding rides. I would think dogs would be welcome just about anyplace.

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  10. I just read Michell's comment. Now I get it. I wouldn't think of look there either.

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    1. Yeah, this was totally new to me. Dogs are welcome on public transportation, for the most part, but I guess with Uber we're using someone's private car.

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    2. Although the taxis in Maidenhead wouldn't take us either!

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  11. Olga is happy to be home, I see. I wonder if she's past her traveling days now. I can identify!

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    1. She might be. We still have to get her to Whitstable and back in a couple of weeks.

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  12. Poor Olga, being so badly discriminated against just because she has four legs instead of two. I bet she is so, so happy to be home. And of course she sleeps on the couch. Floors are for walking on, not sleeping on. Do you think she was raised in a barn?

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  13. Oh, I'm glad Mitchell had the answer to Uber Pet for you, so your next trip will be easier. Olga looks worn out from her adventures and I bet you are all glad to be home.

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  14. Glad you finally got a ride to the station. Minnie has a bed on the floor which she only lays in when Cat has rudely decided to sleep in her spot on the couch. we sit on the couch so of course the dog and cat do too.

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    1. Ha! Funny how the dog and cat both want the same spot!

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  15. You might as well turn that dog bed into a plant stand, for all the use it's getting. Olga's got her priorities in the right place! Or maybe it's the pink blanket........

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    1. The pink blanket helps! Sometimes we put it on the dog bed and then she'll lie there.

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  16. I wonder how many of the drivers who reject pets would still pick up a person who was drunk. That might prove to be a greater risk of an accident in their vehicle!

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    1. EXACTLY! I can think of many worse things involving human passengers than anything likely to happen with a dog!

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  17. That trip was very brief but it's good to get away.

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  18. Sounds like it was a nice short break. I'd like to be snoozing on the couch too (I never take naps, but that might change today!).

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    1. I bet Olga sleeps 23 hours a day. It's really remarkable.

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  19. Like Olga, my dog also prefers the couch. We actually refer to one couch as Caesar's couch. He gets a bit miffed when someone sits on his couch. It is funny but we love our Caesar and there are many choices for seating for guests.

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    1. Ha! Well, if we had a bigger house, Queen Olga might have her own couch. :)

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  20. The couch is by far more comfortable with more room to stretch out/curl up. Olga is no dummy!

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    1. Yeah, it's true, though she does use the bed -- mainly in summer. I suppose it's cooler than the couch when the weather is hot.

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  21. The couch has yours and Dave's smell on it, that's comforting for her. It's why Lola lies close to my pillow when/if she sleeps on the bed during the day.

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    1. Yeah, I'm sure she likes that too. (Though I think it smells mostly like her!)

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  22. I love that photo, so comfy, safe and warm - it is like there is nothing on this earth that could remotely disturb the peace!

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