Houndful Hearts is located in a rural, tourist town on the Central Oregon Coast. Eugene is the closest city to us. It is a beautiful, slow-going, single-lane highway, which is 50 miles and about a one-and-a-half-hour trip one way to the coast. UNLESS it has been raining heavily, then the road (126) at Cushman (about 10 miles east of Florence) floods and you need to wait for the low tide on the Siuslaw River before you can continue on to Florence [this is a rare occurrence].  VERY few airlines will fly directly to Eugene. Usually, there is a layover in Seattle or Portland. Both Portland and Seattle are nightmarish cities to drive through. The cities grew without the city planners counting on the million or so new bodies and cars moving in. It once took me 5 hours to drive 45 miles in Seattle. Portland is not much better. Once you leave Woodburn, driving south on the I-5 (from Portland), traffic moves along at a good speed. The Portland Airport is a 5-hour trip one way. On "Puppy Pick-Up Day," plan on it taking an hour to complete the paperwork. 

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OPTION 1: Drive to Florence and pick up your puppy. Keep in mind the tide table and weather. You might exit at Roseburg and take the back roads through Elkton to Florence. It is about 20 minutes longer this way, but so beautiful, and it's a sure thing that you can drive up Highway 101 to Florence. Be sure to bring a basket or something to keep the puppy in while driving.

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OPTION 2: You can fly into PDX or Eugene and rent a car and drive to Florence. Again, caution! See OPTION 1. The Best Western, just south of the bridge, is the only hotel in town that allows dogs. This information is FYI in case you are spending the night. Flying home can be a nightmare if you've never traveled with a puppy. You must use First-Class seating, as the puppy won't fit under the seat anywhere else on the plane. We like to fly Delta or Alaska; they have always been really good at allowing a puppy to sit on our laps under a cover. If you will be in the air longer than 3 hours, you should get a red-eye flight since that is the natural time for your puppy to be asleep. You will need plenty of wee-wee pads, two to three old sheets that you can throw away at the airport, toys, On-Guard spray, a couple of small towels, food and bowls, and bottled water. Your puppy must not touch the disgusting floor of the plane or the floor in the airport. You will need to put down a sheet so your puppy can get some play time, eat, drink, pee, and poop. Then, bundle the sheet with the "icky" and toss it in the nearest trash can. Pack for an infant, and bring a diaper bag. ALSO, your puppy will need to be placed in an airline-approved pet carrier. You can bring one with you, or we can supply you with one. The cost for the carrier is $50. 

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NOTE: Many times we can arrange for all the puppy parents to meet in Portland, at the same time and place, and we can hand out the puppies in Portland, saving you a huge trip. We won't know until the puppies are 6 to 7 weeks old if we can arrange our schedule to meet in Portland. We will let you know as soon as possible. 

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OPTION 3: You can hire us to deliver the puppy to you--a Nanny Service! The cost for a flight nanny is $500 plus, the airline ticket (if you have the airline miles, you can use that) and a hotel room for two nights or three nights if we will be in the air for longer than 4 hours. Additionally, you will need to pay for the cost of the puppy's ticket (we think it is $125 one way) plus the carrier ($50). We arrange to bring the puppy to you, you pick the puppy up at the hotel in your hometown, and we take care of the messy business. We refuse to fly American Airline and would rather not fly United. Both of those airlines make our trip with a puppy VERY difficult. 

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Houndful Hearts does not and will not ship puppies. It is a HORRIBLE practice!

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Please let us know what option you are leaning toward since we need to make the appropriate plans on our end. 

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Margaret and Kyla (541-961-5208)