bajaflash

We have been "dogless" for 18 years. Last year we found and rescued a 2 month old puppy in the desert of Mexico. We love to travel, but the very best kennel here in Palm Springs still has to traqualize poor Max. Can anyone give us an alternative to medicating the poor dog? Or should we not travel anymore? I love my dog and I love to travel.

cigalechanta

baja, I don't understand why they must medicate him????I have heard of people giving their dogs tranquilizers for long flights but other than that...no, no.

butterflylas

I have 2 cats (used to have 3, but one died from diabetes a few years ago. This is always my biggest concern about travling. I always have some one stay at my hom to take care of them and the house - my two are 14 and 15 years old - don't want to traumatize them! I am always sure they will be cared for and LOVED while I am gone.<BR>P. S. Leaving for trip in a few days and am taking cat treats with me for any cats I may encounter in England or Paris!<BR>

abbekit

I highly recommend leaving pets in their own home environments if possible. Ours seem much happier sleeping in their own home and keeping their normal routine. We have always had a friend or neighborhood stay with our pets while we were away. We often travel for at least 2 weeks, sometimes 3. This was back when we had as many as 7 pets (all resuces, strays). But we had a really bad experience with someone who had been reliable for years. He was under a lot of stress in his life and staying in our house while we were away for 2 weeks; he had other things on his mind besides being extra careful with our pets.<BR> He accidently left the back door open and several of our dogs got out. Luckily a neighbor found them and brought them home. It didn't help that he also had a wreck in our car (which we allowed him to drive) during that same 2 weeks.<BR> Now we hire a professional pet sitting company who's only job is to be sure our pets are well taken care of. Plus now we have a dog that is a rescue that had been abused so he doesn't get along well with strangers (or other dogs) so a kennel is a bad idea. Our pet sitter comes 2 or 3 times a day to feed and play with the pets. She has a form that she fills out leaving notes about every visit. I think during the interview process they were checking us out more than we were checking them out, to be sure we were responsible pet owners. The forms we filled out during the interview took almost an hour. <BR> We are very pleased because we know how thorough they are. They made sure our pets were compatible with the person who takes care of them, they asked things like how to turn off the gas and electricity, who to contact for emergencies (house emergiences too). We fill out a card that gives them persmission to take our pets to our vet if needed. They saved our cat's life during one recent stay because they are so well trained, they say the signs of illness and immediately rushed him to the vet. <BR> It's not cheap. Sometimes it costs as much for the pet sitter as it does for our trip. But our pets are worth it!

maitaitom

&quot;I highly recommend leaving pets in their own home environments....&quot;<BR><BR>I would, but my tabby cat has a nasty habit of leaving the coffee pot on and leaving the tuna out overnight.

marktynernyc

bajaflash - maybe instead of tranquilizers try an anti-depressant. Neighbor across the street gives his dog Zoloft so as to reduce separation anxiety - he says it works really well.

rootcher

We travel a lot (up to four weeks at a time) and I have felt most comfortable leaving my dogs at home and having someone come into the house to care for them. I leave them in one part of the house in the evening and they have the whole yard during the day. I feel like this way they at least know they are not being abandoned somewhere else. This has been particularly important for my dogs because they were both rescue dogs so have issues with being left. One does fine but the other makes us pay for it by really acting out when we return (which lasts for a few days to a week). In the end, I still think it's better for them at home and I am fortunate enough to have plenty of neighbors and adolescent kids who love dogs and are happy to earn some extra money.

lisabelina

Nutney,<BR>We have a very loving and travel happy kitty who can't bear to be away from people. We take her on all of our travels within the states and when we're abroad I have someone live at our house. She's always happy with this and never retaliates. One of these days we'll take her to Europe with us!!<BR>Lisa<BR>PS When we're gone I always leave some well scented clothes on the bed....

Clifton

We're probably a bit of a pair of saps when it comes to our animals. We have two 50lb dogs and a cat, all rescued and adopted at various points. I was adopted by the cat when she was 5 days old and after teaching me how to handle bottle feeding, she convinced me that maybe I wasn't completely and totally a dog person after all.<BR><BR>We relocated about 2 years ago, but we still drive all three animals 4.5 hours back home to St. Louis so that they can stay on familiar turf while we're gone. Also, I guess I just haven't found a kennel I'd be 100% sure about.<BR><BR>Then we fly out and back in from St. Louis and then the same drive back. Yes, the drive is awfully long and no, we hardly ever appreciate it after an overseas trip, but for their sake, it's not that hard.

Gteri

I know it is hard to leave pets behind so I do not. My Yorkie goes everywhere Paris, Milan, Venice, Prague Casa de Campo. The nicer the place the more they love &quot;small&quot; dogs. She fly all over the U.S. aa well. Most Westins and Four Seasons also take pets. I realize it is harder with multiple pets. She make the trip that much more fun. Plus the gondola pictures are a riot!