What do you do with your pets when you travel?

lotus blossom

In the past my son has watched over our two dogs while i am galavanting around the world. He is no longer able to and i am clueless as to what to do with them. It is a huge sleepless dilemma for me. What do you all do?

__________________
Not all who wander are lost

dzibead

Dogs are really hard. My last vacation (over a year ago) was a month in India and one of my very good friends VOLUNTEERED to have my dog stay with her! She and her husband are big animal people and had two dogs and a cat. I was enormously grateful. It was a huge load off my mind and my dog had a wonderful time.

I had to board my cat for a month, but that wasn't so bad because the place I board him is very nice, is specially geared toward cats, and he didn't have to stay in a cubicle all the time -- I'm sure he slept about 20 hours a day anyway.

But dogs are a different proposition, and although the place where I board her when I have to be away for shorter periods is nice enough and they really love her, the idea of leaving her in a kennel for a month was really depressing me.

Do you have any really good, personalized pet sitting services where you live? I once had a dog walker who allowed me to board my dog with her when I was away for three weeks. Of course, this costs an arm and a leg (even more than regular boarding, which is pricey enough) but it was a load off my mind knowing that my dog didn't have to stay in a kennel and was being taken care of by someone reliable and sensible.

Another possibility is finding some reliable person to house sit for you and take care of your pets. It might be hard to find someone you trust and who is reliable and responsible, but it's probably worth searching - maybe through a local college if you have one nearby, or word of mouth if you know anyone else who's had a housesitter.

Good luck with this. It certainly is worrying. Short of having a wonderful friend or relative who is willing to take care of your dogs, I can't think of any easy, good, inexpensive solutions.

lotus blossom

yes dzibead, difficult indeed. i keep thinking it could be easier than this, if only i had willing friends or someone i could do trades with (hey there's an idea, trades...)

my dogs are older and would be mostly sleeping anyway. it does not seem that it should be such a challenge with that in mind. kenneling them is out of the question. they would hate me forever, or at least until i returned home, and i would have an awful trip.

Shaktipalooza

Usually that's on the list of responsibilities we extend to the house sitter. I'm not sure if it's a little or a lot but we usually pay $100USD per week.

__________________
IndiaGroove - Train finder now in beta!
Pics from India 2006
Traditional Indian Dance

steven_ber

Here is an older similar thread.

What about your pets?

__________________
.
How to get helpful replies to your transport/Itinerary questions.



Train information.

lotus blossom

yeah, it is similar, and i even sorta remember seeing it, but having read through the whole thing again, i don't see any quick fixes. the only thing i can think of is finding a home where they can stay, since i have to sell my house.

Nick-H

Quick fixes? how about suspended animation?

...They haven't invented it yet? Oh well.......

In the past I relied on good neighbours for my cat. A cat is so much better kept in its home environment where, with daily attention, the worst thing it will suffer is boredom. But I never went away for more than three weeks, usually only two.

No quick fixes for this one . A housesitter, as SP suggests is probably the closest.

__________________
.


Just one member of the IndiaMike Mod Team

lotus blossom

i think that my use of the term "quick fix" was a misnomer, though on the other hand, it made have been a freudian slip. i think that after so many months of brain-racking i am hoping for a quick fix to what feels an overwhelming situation.

cats are so much easier than dogs when it comes to this sort of thing. i'm gonna try and find some foster care. unless i can figure out that "suspended animation" fix...

Nick-H

I got visions of collecting the animals from the cryogenics plant, bringing them home wraped in newspaper, and putting them in the sun to thaw out... ... .... !

If my cat was still alive I wouldn't be here now

PRIYA

There is no 'quick fix' unfortunately ...........but, if you have a friend who can house/pet sit, you'll be able to rest easier.

I was fortunate enough to have a house-sitter who got along with my two dobermanns. I also had a kinda friends' network who could take my dobies to the vet if the need arose, altho admittedly most of them were very wary of them . To be honest, I still worried about them while I was away and phoned home often, just to put my mind at rest.

Best of all was coming home to the wagging tails and lotsa licks

I hope you find a solution lotus blossom........it's not easy leaving your pets behind!!

__________________
Happiness is for those who cry, those who hurt, those who have searched and those who have tried. For only they can appreciate the importance of people who have touched their lives. (Anon.)

lotus blossom

thanks priya. the first time that i went to india i was informed that my dogs sat by the front door the whole while awaiting my return.

Sama

I hope you find someone, lotus blossum.... I know how hard it can be to travel when one has pets, that's why no more dogs for me. My husband and I did not do any traveling for 4 years because of Jackson Theodore Kat (the diabetic one), until I found someone who I instructed on how to give a shot.

However, every time I see cats and dogs at the local adoption center, I always want to bring them all home....

__________________
My India, 2005-2008
BE THE REVOLUTION

lotus blossom

thanks yogagal. yes, i've been perusing online options but end up wanting to rescue all of the poor abandoned animals instead! i am posting an ad looking for foster care. we'll see what they yields.