Many people, including ourselves have pets we have to leave behind when travelling and it can be heart breaking.  We know it may only be for a few days or a couple of weeks, but they have no idea what is going on or when we will return.  There are steps we can take to make sure they are in a good place and will be well taken care of.  There are also things we can do to help keep our pets in our thoughts and possibly make it just a little easier for us while we are away.

As we have dogs, this page is dog more dog centric, but the same ideas can be applied to cats or other pets you may have.

Schmoquee	Schnitzel & Schtrudel

We understand that if you are not a pet owner, this may not resonate with you.  If you are a pet owner, think about bringing something along with you to remind you of your pets.  This can really help ease the pain of leaving them behind and can even make it feel like in some way they are there with you.  Of course the obvious is to bring along a photo on your phone or even a printed version.

We actually travel with special dog tags attached to our backpacks.  Each tag is engraved with the name of one of our pets.  Perhaps it's the slight jingle of the tags as we walk along that reminds us of them similar to our walks at home.

If you decide to bring along tags, we recommend having tag protectors as it minimizes the jingling and also protects the tags.  Even with the tag protectors, you will occasionally hear a slight jingle of the tags as you walk along.  See our pet tag information below.

Boarding Your Pets

We are very fortunate to have a location close to our home where we can board our dogs.  This is a family run business licensed to board dogs at their home.  The dogs have free run of the house and a very nice fenced in backyard with artificial turf that is very neat and clean.  When we have visited, the place is spotlessly clean, does not smell and the typical passerby would never know that dogs were being boarded there.  The people spend time with the dogs, will take them on walks and even give them massages when requested.  One of the best features is that they post photos of the dogs to social media so while you are away, you see random photos of them all throughout the day.  They are competitively priced and we found them to be less expensive than your typical vet or other boarding locations.

There is nothing like seeing your dogs playing in the yard, sunning on the deck, sleeping on the couch or whatever they may be doing.  If was very comforting to see them having fun and knowing they were being well taken care of, never locked in a cage at anytime during our entire trip.

If you have to board your pets, hopefully you are able to find something like the place we use where your pets are free to relax and play, never being locked in a cage.  Ask lots of questions such as the amount of cage time vs. play time.  How much human interaction do they have?  How often do they eat and do you supply your own food?  Is there live video streaming or photo posting to social media throughout the day?  Try to determine the quality of life they will have during their stay.