take your pet to work day

i'm sure this blog entry will offend someone in the animal activist community, but it's a risk i'm willing to take for the sake of my commitment to this blog.

i was headed from nashville to knoxville yesterday for another work assignment when my boss requested that i stop in kingston, tenn., about 45 minutes outside of knoxville, for an assignment on the way. being the dedicated employee that i am, i said yes, thinking that if i put the pedal to the metal i would have plenty of time to drop the dog off at blog boyfriend's house and return to kingston. it was certainly extra gas i would be using, but a sacrifice i was willing to make for sweet lucydog nonetheless.

boy was i wrong.

as the minutes crept by and i got tangled in one I-40 traffic snarl after another, i began to realize that there would be no going to knoxville if i planned to make my kingston assignment by 2 p.m. i desperately called the boyfriend, who of course, did not answer because it was his afternoon to work at the law firm.

i knew what my clutch decision was going to have to be: lucydog would be hanging out in the car while i was on assignment -- an assignment which i didn't expect to last for long, but of course did not know for sure how long would last. i started making mental plans: i can spread her blanky out across the front seat (backseat was blocked by my laundry basket and clothes rack that was coming with me) ... i can set her bowl full of water in the driver seat and put food in her traveling food bowl ... i can crack the windows ... i can put the sunshade in the front window ... i can park in a super-shady spot.

before anyone goes all peta on me, it was an especially cool day in hilly east tennessee and i did, in fact find a shady spot to park. all went to according to plan, and i ran outside to check on her and run the air conditioning every thirty minutes or so until the guard at the front desk who had to search my purse started to get annoyed with me.

lucydog was no worse for the wear. i think she just took a lazy catnap the whole time. and, as is the case for parents, the whole event hurt me than it hurt her.

and really, a co-worker of mine has brought his kids to really important assignments before, so why shouldn't my lucydog get to hang out with me while i'm out and about for work?