Another trip, bye bye Max

We are leaving for the UK tomorrow, to take my mother back home and also to visit all our loved ones - well, some of them. Today, therefore, is mostly taken up with mundane matters like getting the car ready and taking Max to his kennels for a brief stay. Max is definitely a pampered pooch, and I'm sure that he senses that "something's up", but then of course, something is up, so that's not so smart really.

There is much wailing and gnashing of teeth as we leave Max at his pension. He, of course, makes matters worse by giving us his best hang dog expression - "please don't leave me here so that I have to live like an ordinary dog - don't you care for me anymore?" I tell Jan to stop crying and pull herself together, in my best psychiatrist manner, and return home to find my mother equally in tears. What is it with women?