Mimi's departure in Shanghai

 Mimi is in the car traveling to Shanghai.

 She loves to look out the windows while in a car.

 The driver had to stop for a pit stop, so Mimi decided to get out and stretch her legs.

 Back in the car now.

Her super huge carrier didn't leave much room for comfortable sitting.

She might not have napped in the car had she known she'd be sleeping so long on the flight.

Out of the car, into the cargo terminal.

And … apparently she is not too happy about it.

"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change," she surely uttered at this point in time.

Door closed, cable ties secured, and just to be sure, netting goes over the carrier.

I like the triple security measures.

Mimi calms down and takes it like a real trooper.

Mimi had a travel buddy! Another small dog like her was in the two-tone tan carrier (Mimi's in the blue one). Both traveled in the cargo section for the long flight from Shanghai to San Francisco. They aren't allowed in the passenger cabin due to their large size.

Mimi attempts a jail break. She's got to at least give it a try.

And then they took her away. 

The guy wearing the backpack is wearing nicer clothes because he can afford them. He is the dog agent, and he charged so much money in this racket that he probably could put a down payment on a house after shipping two dogs on one day.

Time for the conveyor belt.

Bye little Mimi.

It takes a village … quite literally it seems.

There she goes!

One more glimpse.

It's going to be all right Mimi!

Really!

And at this point, my Chinese friend's heart surely breaks as Mimi backs out of sight. Thank you God for good friends who took care of my dog on short notice, for two months and a week. My friends helped take care of her every time I left on a trip, so they've been part of "Team Mimi" for years. One friend did all the customs and health paperwork for Mimi's trip, and did it well. I think my Chinese friends like her almost as much as I do, and it was a sad farewell for them to see Mimi go. It must also be somewhat of a relief to have the responsibility off their shoulders. 

We can only speculate what happened between the above photo and when she arrived in Dallas, but stay tuned to see what happened in Dallas!