Sasha is quite possibly the greatest dog I have ever met. She’s a small poodle mix, she pushes her food dish around when it’s empty, and in her short (almost-5 year old) life she’s only learned one trick (“Sit Pretty”).

Sasha’s flaw is that she does not travel well. She’s been doing better recently, but in the days of old we wouldn’t get out of the neighborhood before she would start screaming. Yes, you read that correctly, she skipped mere whining or crying and entered full fledged panic mode the minute she got in a car.

Tomorrow, Sasha and I will be heading back to my home in Macon. Our Lakeland vet gave us a prescription for Xanax with the instructions to try it out before we used it in the car. Big mistake.

Some dogs have weird reactions to Xanax. Instead of calming down and getting a little zombie-like, they get hyped up and even more anxious. Turns out Sasha is one of those dogs.

So much so, in fact, that when Katherine was swimming laps in our pool, Sasha jumped in because she thought Katherine was drowning. Sasha watches us swim all the time and had never previously shown such panic. Since then, we have gone on three walks and she’s just decided she’s worn out enough to nap.

Poor baby. I’m hoping the trip tomorrow is smooth (or my older sister and my brother-in-law might make us get out of the car and walk). I guess we’ll find out!

Stay tuned!