Speaking of Pets

It’s vacation planning time. You’ve picked a destination, and the kids are psyched. But what about Scruffy and Maxine? Remember your last vacation, when you wound up dashing out the kennel door with your pet’s yelps and cries reverberating in your ears?

Fortunately, your vacation doesn’t have to turn into a guilt trip. More and more families are taking their pets with them when they travel. Hotels and motels are opening their doors to pets in increasing numbers, and a few even roll out the red carpet for their non-human guests.

This premiere issue of Companimalz tells you everything you need to know about traveling with your pet and offers some pet-friendly links to sites with useful information for you and your non-human companions.

Vacations with the whole family can be great. We’ve had some wonderful times and some not so wonderful times taking our dog on the road. I have to admit we’ve never taken our cats along. Neither of our cats promised to be good sight-seers or hikers. They seemed happy with our pet-sitting arrangements, and greeted us upon return as though we’d just gone out to the corner store. Still, people travel with cats, snakes, and even pot-bellied pigs, so you be the judge on that question.

Dogs can be great travel companions as long as you take their needs into consideration and try out the travel concept in small doses before taking any long trips. For cats and other companion animals, temperament and needs figure largely in the decision to take them along.

Our first dog, a poodle-mix named Frodo, was a real gentleman-well behaved enough to get invited to browse with us in the trendy shops (filled with breakables) we frequented in New Hope, PA. Frodo hailed from Secaucus , New Jersey, in the very shadow of New York City skyscrapers, and we figured he’d love a trip to our mountain cabin, where he could run without a leash, drink water from a running stream, and live like a "natural" animal.

A mixture of astonishment and apprehension crossed his face when he jumped out of the car and took a great big whiff of that fresh country air. I guess he was wondering if we knew about all those bears, deer, possums, and raccoons he could smell.

For the rest of the weekend, he kept trying to get into the car. He hiked with us, warily scanning the woods for wild animals. The running stream disconcerted him, and he drank with none of the gusto we had anticipated. Sleeping on a cot didn’t help, either, and there was no question his about sleeping on the wood-plank floor.

We went home on Sunday afternoon, wiser and a little disappointed. At least we found out the limits on a short trip without embarking on a major wilderness vacation with our urban canine.

Frodo proved to be a great traveler and guest on later trips, when the itinerary and surroundings were more suited to his temperament. He enjoyed long walks, boat rides, and the occasional swim. He was an avid tobaggonist, too. Your pet, like the rest of your family, has particular travel needs. This issue of Companimalz contains lots of information for those who want to experience the adventure of traveling with a companion animal (or two). We hope you find what you need to make your next vacation fun, safe, and enjoyable. Happy Vacationing!