We barely escaped heavy fines and custom agents entering Australia. It was only Mia's quick wits and love of dogs that saved us.
Going through customs, a working beagle came through sniffing bags. He got very excited at my backpack and wouldn't leave it. I laughed with the customs agent, saying he must want the peanut butter sandwich. Before we left San Diego, my mom was in town and packed us sandwiches for the plane. We had barely touched the food and it was still in my bag. The customs agent brought my backpack over and examined the contents. Her smile faded as she pulled out a bag that contained not only sandwiches but a bag of carrots, grapes and, oh horror, bananas. Uh, oh.
"Ma'am, do you know there is a steep fine for bringing fruit into Australia illegally?"
Me, "Uh, my mom packed it." Nervous smile. God I sound like an idiot. I'm blaming my mother???
Mia, "Look it how cute the dogs are. Can I see them?"
The agent's face softens and takes Mia to check out the other fruit-sniffing Beagles. She comes back in a minute, chatting with Mia and says she won't fine me this time. We left before she could change her mind.
Thank you, Mia.
Posted with Blogsy
No comments:
Post a Comment