To Trisha: I pay $7 a night to board my dog at vet hospital in Las Vegas when we go there! It's a state of the art building with palm trees, block glass - completely modern! Each dog has his own lawn area to do their duties in at regularly scheduled times. I am even allowed to go there and 'visit' my Jake.

I live in rural No. Calif. - here my kennel charged the same, but since new owner took over she has upped it to $10 per day and now charges to 'play' with your dog(s)...sheesh - But, she paid too much for the land, so now we all have to help her pay for it - I hear she is increasing yet again. Of course, she is the only game in town, so we are stuck! If I board w/the Vet, he is crated almost the entire time. At least at the kennel, he has one room to himself where I put his bed and toys and he also has a doorway to a fenced yard of his own.

Any kennel should require your dogs to have a Bordadella(?) (kennel cough) shot. If they don't, don't put your dog there unless you have administered that shot! You can do it yourself or have your vet do it.

Most of the time, we travel with our dog - as soon as you get out of CA, places are more open to dogs, but the winds are a changing. Sad thing is some people violate hotel rules and leave their dogs in the room when they are out to dinner...then all the barking starts - or clawing at the door. We always take Jake with us in the car when we are not there. One hotel told me that a woman was taking her dog out of the room and down the carpeted hall to go outside...the dog was upset and started pooping down the hall...the woman knew it, but did not pick it up!! Please, everyone carry doggy pick-up bags and cleaner! The best is "The Dog Walkers Pooper Scooper", sold at major pet stores..it has a clamp on the bag and the bag is not see-thru for weak stomachs - it just snaps shut when you finish scooping and you can toss in the garbage. I keep them handy in all cars and backpacks, including the one my dog wears.

Oh, how we love our animals. I knew this question would get a lot of responses.

Guilty as charged! Our two cairn terriers know exactly what the suitcases are for and become "velcro" when we bring them out to pack. We have done both the kennel and pet sitter routes. Although it is a very nice kennel, it is also the least accommodating. It is closed on Wednesday, Sunday, and at noon on Saturday. If we went away for a long weekend (Thurs-Sunday), we had to board the girls on Tues. (we usually had a flight out on Thur. a.m., before the kennel opened) and could not pick them up until Monday. So our 4 day trip kept us separated from our dogs for nearly a week, not to mention the extra cost.
We have a pet sitter that comes over twice a day, but ideally I would love to find someone that would stay in our home!

It's so hard! I've found a wonderful pet sitter for my 3 dogs, but I still feel guilty, and we keep our trips short, not over 6 days, for our longest times away. I'll feel guilty leaving, but then I'll go places where I see dogs left out all night in the cold, with no shelter, and then I don't feel so badly for my own pampered ones left at home!

I have a great cat sitter that my two beasts love. He comes by the house every day to feed, clean litter box, and play. He spends at least an hour a day.

I cat sit for him and his wife when they go out of town.

We don't charge each other but I always bring him back a nice gift.

I'm sorry your cats spend all time under the bed, but they feel secure at least! I am a professional pet sitter and if anyone has had a bad experience with one, please try another. Some sitters just do cats. Some sitting services stay overnite. Look up www.petsit.com. On the left side of screen click pet owners and locate a pet sitter in your area. All of my furry clients get lonely and I try my best to be their entertainment and give TLC in addition to food/water. Sitter prices run 8 to 25 bucks a visit, most visit at least 2 times a day for 30 minutes or so. For boarding, I've taken my own dog to a doggie daycare place that does boarding also, so she gets to romp with the regulars all day. Boarding a cat stresses them more than having a pet sitter.

I'm already in a state worrying about my boxer girl ... we have a 2 week vacation in August and another in December. I will not put her in the vet's kennel because I've been in there and seen the small quarters and heard the loud, incessent barking. I should say that she stayed there once for a couple of days and when I picked her up her nose was rubbed raw (down to pink skin) from I don't know what ... I envision her staring out of a cage and rubbing her nose on it. Waaahhh.

My brother has come to my house and stayed for a couple of weeks several times for me and I am hugely grateful but I know he doesn't really "care" for my girl like I do. The only good thing is she gets to be in "her own home" and I actually think that makes a huge difference to an animal.

On a 17 day vacation a couple of years ago I got the name of a pet sitter from a woman at my office. I was very leary but had a lunch (read: interview) with the woman and she was so nice. She came and stayed at our house and absolutely LOVED our dog. She took her out with her everywhere ... to parks, to her own home ... everywhere! She even took pictures of her and left them for me. It was great! BUT, of course, circumstances have changed and she doesn't do it anymore. Now I'm stuck.

The other "issue" I have is that I feed "raw" food. It is a little more involved than just dumping kibble in a bowl. I buy it already prepared but it is frozen and you have to think ahead to thaw, etc.

All in all, its a stressful time ... I have driven away from the house on the way to the airport in a taxi and felt like cancelling the vacation then and there because my stomach was so upset.

Sigh ...

I don't feel like a total freak now that I know so many other people feel the same way. Our cats sleep on our bed every night and are pretty much glued to us when they are awake, too. They are afraid of everyone else, though. Our nephew "house/cat sits" when we go away, and he likes cats but they don't interact with him at all. I always think about cancelling our trips but in the end we do end up going.

We have three Vizslas, one for each child. We're lucky enough to have family very close that comes by each day to feed, walk, check, etc. When one was a puppy we just brough her with us on a 14 hour car trip to Oregon.

When we were gone for extended periods of time ( a month once) my husband actually built a kennel at our home in Astoria and they all came with us.

When my daughter's Vizsla was a puppy, we had to stop in Bandon so she could get a locket with a stone of his birthday so she could remember him. ***kim***

I'm very, very lucky to have a circle of friends who all have pets and we make sure we are available to doggie-sit for each other. We always check with each other before making any travel plans. So when I go away, I know my little one is also on vacation at my friend's house and having the time of her life. She loves her retriever friends and gets excited whenever she sees a retriever on the street. So I know she has a really good time. It's such a huge relief to know she's happy. But when I get home, she is always very happy to see me. LIke me, she likes to go away, and then looks forward to coming home too.
I think it would be very difficult for me if I had to leave her in a kennel. She is a rescue dog and I'm sure she'd think I was never coming back.
Highbay, I love cairn terriers!! I used to have 2, but now have a Westie.

Westies are cuties too!!!!

Does anyone else have a little bunny and what do they do w/it when they travel? We have a new Netherland dwarf bunny (fits in one hand). We were thinking of taking him w/us in a carrier on the plane (airline allows it, fits under the seat to Orlando for spring break (staying in a house where bunny is ok) but maybe not a good idea. Seems silly to board a little bunny. Maybe will try to get pet sitter who will play w/him outside his cage and let him exercise each day along w/feeding, etc.

I have a parrot who freaks when I leave for work in the morning, so you can imagine when I go on a trip. She is so smart though, she sees my open handbag on the bed, waits for me to go into the bathroom, and then jumps inside. She nestles down on the bottom and lies really still and quiet, just hoping I won't notice and will take her to work with me!
I board her at a local pet store for birds, but she really hates it there. Spends all of her time in her tent. There is not much I can do about it, nobody wants to watch a noisy, old, feather pickin' fowl.

bugswife, my cats try and get in my luggage!

One of my girlfriends cat peed on her luggage he was so ticked!

We would leave our Dobe girl at a wonderful owner run small local kennel when we traveled. She received very good care,was given her medications when she got old and walked 3 times a day. However, it was not HOME. She tolerated it fairly well but we always felt terrible leaving her. We had to put her to sleep shortly after my husband retired .As much as we loved having her and would enjoy another dog we have decided as long as we want to travel we will not get another pet...cat or dog.

I must admit we are ridiculous with our dog, a 6 yr. old cocker spaniel who goes and visits her "grandparents" while we are gone because we don't have the heart to board her! She pouts so much when we are gone just during work that I couldn't imagine leaving her for a week or more.

bugswife1-that's so sad.. but our birds are in their cages...and when I went off to work they were used to our going off and now when we are leaving the Grey says "bye, bye go to work". they have been used to our coming and going at least twice a year. When we are off we tell them how many days we are going (per Dr. Pepperburg) and I add a day....I hope it's a good pet store you leave her in.. ..a dear friend owns a bird store and was shocked when she found one of her boarders had mites and no longer boards birds. We are fortunate in that previous to this bird sitter I've had a bird friend/breeder come and spend time with my group.. Before we booked a vacation I would check with her to make sure she was avaiilable. On the whole my birds are adjusted and nobody plucks. The longest we have been away is 15 days.. and I missed them.

Perhaps the main reason we don't have a dog (besides that I don't want to walk it in January when it is sleeting outside) is sentiments expressed by the above posts. We love to travel - our kids we be leaving the nest within a few years and we hope to travel more. Don't think I could bear the distress of leaving a dog.

We do have cats and fish. Obviously, the fish are too stupid to know the difference. The cats are cared for by loving neighborhood kids who have a lot of time on their hands to affectionate the beasts in our home - and it helps that their parents are our close firends and monitor the situation. Plants get watered, mails gets brought in, kids make some money.

Thankfully, my cleaning lady is a cat lover and has some cats herself so when we go away, she comes by every other day to check on little kitty, feed and play with him. Now... when we get back, it's another story. First we get the silent treatment, then he meows (LOUDLY) non-stop for days -- especially between 2:00am and 4:00am. Just great...

Bugswife & Parrotmom,
Those are the cutest stories. I have a cockatiel and people who don't have birds don't understand how interactive they are - just like a cat or dog, but they can speak as well!

We've always left our 8 year old cockatiel with my mother, but think it's getting too difficult for her. So we've made arrangements for a local bird store, open 7 days a week, to care for him next trip. We'll worry about him no matter where he is, but at least we won't have to worry about my mom too!

Love that parrot-in-the-purse story!