Marijuana licenses are good for many things, and so are edibles...

When we realized that we didn’t have time between Yannick’s filming schedules to make our annual drive to our place in LA, the question then became; “to go or not to go.” We’re not fans of flying dogs, I mean some dogs probably really take to the whole flying thing. They don’t mind crates, they also don’t mind darkness, loud noises, or being alone. Sadly, none of our three are that dog. So became the challenge of trying to figure out how to get them where we needed to go…

I’m not sure if you all know this, I sure as hell didn’t; but, many airlines do not have heated cargo bays which means they have black out times, like winter, for transporting pups in cargo. As you can imagine, this created an entirely different dilemma for us; who does fly dogs during the winter months???

Turns out WESTJET does. Yay! Also turns out they only allow three dogs per flight…which we have. Then became the hunt for a flight that had none booked for travel already. We got lucky, our first choice flight was not only available, but unlike Air Canada which wanted THOUSANDS for seats, and who’s jets apparently don’t have heated cargo bays, WESTJET was inexpensive, with heated cargo, all dogs spots available along with the flight we wanted. WESTJET to the rescue! Yay! Yay! Yay! It was like winning the lottery.

I haven’t flown with a dog since, 1992, when our dalmatian, Winfield, RIP, yelled a plane down while in the cargo bay. During the entire flight we could hear him howling, barking, and crying. I never felt so cruel in my entire life. I was young, in my mid-twenties, and didn’t think anything of putting him a crate and bringing him to Montreal, or California when we first moved there via the belly of a plane. After that experience, I swore I would never fly another dog again. Never. And until today I never have. I was so hesitant to do so, I’ve been a nervous wreck about it since learning that the only way we would be able to get to our other house, that we pay for, at all this winter was to bite the bullet and get on the plane.

I’ve received a great deal of advice from people, as you will with kids, marriage and pets, about IF I’m flying them what I should do with them. Some said sedate, others said do not sedate. But given the neurosis of our young boy Kohl, I knew that sedating him was no option at all. But then what do you do with a dog who has a heart condition that causes his heart (in layman’s terms here, since I’m no vet, and neither are you)to produce too much blood going into the heart, and arteries not big enough for the flow of all the blood to exit effectively. For example, too much blood via stimulation, whether it be exercise, or stress can cause him to collapse. No beuno. Like not at all. Then there is the issue of sedating him, and what that would do to him at elevation? Sort of like drinking alcohol on a plane…hits you harder at altitude. We were at a loss. Couldn’t leave him Canada all alone with our daughter, since he runs around the house, crying at the top of his lungs when one of his brothers just goes to the vet without him. How on earth could we have left him alone at home? The short answer is we could not. We had to find a way to transport him safely to L.A.

Enter edibles.

Now some of you will judge me, and that’s cool. You might even un-follow me, and that’s your prerogative. You go ahead and preach from your soapbox, and judge a person before you’ve walked a mile in their shoes. Hell, maybe that fan who sent all her photos back because Yannick smoked weed as a teen (although he doesn’t anymore)will truly hate on me now. But, for me, I’ve found that edibles curb hot flashes, help control mood swings, and allow me to sleep like an angel. I for one thank the Lord for marijuana licenses. Up until recently I’ve found no relief in the Peri-menopausal path my body took me on. Holistic, or otherwise. And I have zero desire to pump myself full of medications to get through it. I’ve had some women share with me, that for them it came, and went without fanfare, or challenge. Sadly I’m not that woman. For me, hormones have always been a bitch I’ve had to learn to dance with. None of the “life changes” went well for me, not puberty, not pregnancy, and now not the transition to the other side. I thank God every day that on those tough nights, when my body is slippery like a salamander, and tears come on out of nowhere, or my temper flares at the thought of something others might not even be bothered by at all, that I have a little bit of a cookie and all is right with the world, and my body.

After much research I learned that many vets are trying edibles on dogs with anxiety, aggression, and pain. So instead of risking Kohl’s life with unpredictable pharmaceuticals I gave him a little bit of a peanut butter cookie this morning, and as they wheeled him off to the belly of the plane, he was lying down, calmly and trusting in his crate. And this Momma bear flew relaxed, and confident with her two other boys at her feet. Maybe I should start a line of puppy edibles…

Hmmm, hmmm, hmmm…