As soon as the car left the driveway, the little bundle of joy on my lap turned into a little bundle of sirens.

Half an hour later, she was still wailing at full force, and we were wondering how long she could possibly keep this up. We had an almost 12 hour car ride ahead of us, and were already beginning to feel the onset of a headache.

Despite all our efforts to comfort her she kept throwing her head backward and howling at the car roof, only stopping momentarily to draw some breath.

After 45 minutes we had given up our attempts at soothing noises and other distractions, and were beginning to discuss how soon we could stop for the night. Perhaps three in the afternoon would be a good time? Then suddenly: blessed silence.

Our new puppy cuddled against my face, gave a slight sigh, and fell asleep. Two minutes later, we were saying how remarkably good a dog we had. Wasn't she the sweetest thing?