The Slice: Minding his own business

Let’s start with another story of animal companions and “No Pets” motels.

“When I first drove to Idaho from Pennsylvania many years ago, we were tired, it was snowing like crazy in Ohio and there were no motels in sight,” wrote Scott V. Fedale, of Moscow.

“The first one available said ‘No Pets,’ but we decided to sneak our shepherd/collie mix into our room after I checked in.”

The dog’s name was P.B., short for Polar Bear.

“All went well and we checked out and drove away the next morning. About five miles down the road, we had a nagging feeling that we had forgotten something. You guessed it.”

P.B., the policy-violating pet, was still back at the motel.

“Our dog had been asleep under the bed and never stirred while we showered, dressed and packed up the car. Needless to say, it was a bit embarrassing when we went back and talked a maid into letting us into the room to get ‘what we had forgotten.’

“The minute she cracked open the door, our dog bolted out of the room to find the nearest place to do his business, which, lucky for us, he had managed to not do in the room.”

P.B., an unforgettable canine, went on to have a happy life in Idaho.

Localized version of “Keep Portland Weird”: “Keep Spokane Wandering Aimlessly.” – Nick DiBartolo

One last story of moving with pets: When someone writes “This is a true story,” it’s fair to wonder.

But nothing about Nanci Ice creates doubt, so here goes.

“I was moving to Spokane from another state and brought my two parrots on the airplane with me,” she wrote. “Without any warning, I heard a voice singing ‘Would you like to swing on a star?’ ”

Several of her fellow passengers were laughing.

Her African Gray parrot had chewed his way out of his beneath-the-seat cage and was strutting down the aisle, belting out his favorite song.

Soon a lot of people were howling and Ice’s other parrot began loudly imitating the sound of that laughter. “The more the passengers laughed, the more the bird laughed.”

Today’s Slice question: Is there anywhere in the world that hasn’t been visited by someone who lives in the Inland Northwest?