In Search of Heroes

This blog tells about our journey from October 19 until November 6 as we drove 6,045 miles to meet Veterans with PTSD and their amazing service dogs. Paul took roughly 5,000 photos of these incredible rescued dogs that are now service dogs and will use them to paint their portraits for our 2014 Calendar "Rescued Heroes"- Veterans Edition


Thursday, November 29, 2012

A Very Special Thanks to the Thoughtful and Generous Avis Crew at the Mpls/St. Paul International Airport


We need to share with you an unbelievable experience we had while looking for a rental car for our Road Trip.  Paul and I were scheduled to leave on our Veterans Trip on Friday, October 19th.  We knew a large part of the expense was going to be gas for this road trip of 5,000 plus miles.  Getting a fuel efficient car was extremely important  so I began calling car rental agencies to see what was available.  What I didn't realize that we were leaving on the busiest fall weekend.  MEA weekend in MN is an extended weekend when all schools are on fall break due to the MN teacher convention. 

I called a couple agencies to hear the same thing "we can't guarantee anything".  With such high gas prices, I started to calculate the cost if we got stuck with a gas guzzler and started to realize this trip might not be "doable" after all.  I decided to call the last rental agency and ask if I could talk to a manager.  Perhaps if they knew how long this trip was and how important it really was to get the right model, perhaps I could talk them into "holding" one aside for us and guaranteeing its' availability. 

So I dialed AVIS and asked to talk to a manager.  Laura, the woman that answered asked if she could help me and I explained our dilemma.   She said "hold on" and I assumed she was getting her manager.  I wish I could remember her exact words, but when she returned to the phone she said something like "I think we can do better than that".  She explained that every fall the AVIS crew at the airport takes on a special project and raises funds for that project.  "WE" were going to be the ones they supported- she said that their crew at the Mpls Airport AVIS liked dogs and they like Veterans.  Unbelievable- she said not to worry and gave me the names of the ones to see when the day arrived to leave. Here is a picture of the crew when we picked up the car.

So, needless to say we were back on track with our plans and cancelling was no longer a possibility.  And better than that, I began to think this trip was "meant to happen" and that thought drove us forward with a stronger sense of purpose.
 
Manager Randy, Paul, Joleen, and Manager Mike
When we got to the Airport AVIS location to pick up our car, they had a very comfortable Toyota Camry ready for us. Here is a picture of Paul, their manager, and two wonderful members of the Avis crew when we picked up the car.

 At the end of our trip we met Laura and her crew at AVIS when we returned our car, not only did they raise funds to cover our 2 1/2 week rental, they gave us over $150.00 towards our gas. Absolutely unbelievable!   


Paul, Manager Ali, and Laura
We took pictures and this one shows Paul,  Laura and another member of her crew.  And also they had a supper bag with the best homemade sloppy joes, gourmet potato chips, fresh buns and treats for our dog Maddie!  We hope to stay in touch with these wonderful folks.  They are one caring group of employees that  do great things quietly.  So let's give them a huge shout out. 
  
So if you think all rental cars are the same, remember the wonderful employees at AVIS and realize that they stand solidly behind their motto "AVIS - WE TRY HARDER"  - never doubt they mean it!