May 27, 2004

Travel with your dog

We have another wedding to go to next month. All I have to do with this one is show up and it's in New Mexico so we're using this as an opportunity to make it a mini vacation and bring the dog. It's up in the four corners area which I've never been to so I'm hoping we can get to the ruins and stuff and get to drive on rt 666 oooh. *sings Patti Smith to herself*

There's a lot involved in travelling with a pet though so planning in advance is really important.

First off I've been researching hotels in the area that allow pets - there are a lot of sites with databases with that info but I find DogFriendly.com has the most comprehensive list.

I called a few places that looked good to double check on their pet policies because they vary wildly. In this case the Best Western (at 85 dollars a night) requires people with pets stay in a smoking room and they charge a 10 dollar non-refundable fee. The Holiday Inn (at a 50 dollar discount rate) charges a 20 dollar non-refundable fee per night and we can't leave her alone in the room - whether she's crated or not. The La Quinta (at 70 bucks per night from expedia) seems to be the most flexible - no fees, no smoking room required, they just ask we clean up any mess she makes. That Best Western is awfully tempting with its free high speed wireless network though. Some places also won't allow dogs over 50 pounds so that's important to check out too.

Ok so we decided on a hotel. Now what to bring. Since we'll have to leave her in the room while we go to the wedding and stuff we're bringing along a soft sided collapsable crate, her favorite fleece blanket, and some toys to keep her busy while we're gone.

Other things to bring
-a bottle of water from the house and a rubbermaid plastic bowl
-a travel bowl and baggies of premeasured food
-poop bags
-a small bottle of cleaner in case of an accident
-a roll of paper towels
-a fresh fast tag with my cellphone number on it
-an extra collar and leash
-a well-stocked first aid kit

She's really used to riding in the car with us - we drive a cr-v with the back seats down and a nice bed in the back for her. We're trying to get her used to her seat belt now that some cities here have been considering changing city ordinances to require pets being restrained in vehicles.

Now I just have to find out where the dog friendly parks are up there.

Despite all the trouble I'm still glad we just have a dog - even though human breeders can take their babies pretty much anywhere. I'm just not a baby person - they kind of scare me. I usually react with googling to puppies and kittens the way others do to babies. So we don't get to claim the pets as dependants but we can always put the dog in her crate and go out for a bit - people tend to call child services when you do that with a toddler. Nonetheless my anti-PETA rant still applies.

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