Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Three Dog Night

We're gearing up for our first real trip with the dogs. We've always taken them to Mom and Dad's during our vacations, but this time we're including the whole family. We've been doing a lot more activities with the dogs lately. Especially on the bicycles now that we have the trailer. So we're anxious to see how this mini-vacay goes.

Bug and Jack have been on the occasional excursion with us: Garden of the Gods, Falls of the Ohio State Park, etc. But never a 4 day, 3 night motel stay. Which by the way is going to be at Motel 6 because they claim to be totally pet friendly and they don't charge extra fees.

Jack is a pretty good travel companion, mild mannered and quiet. Bug is a whole other story. I like to say he has "special needs". And by special needs I mean he's nearly 10 and has arthritis. We've worked around it with the stroller and the bike trailer. But hiking is a new problem. Most trails are not stroller friendly and Bug can only go so far before his little legs give out. Like half a mile. Meanwhile Jack can go for miles and miles and miles...

So even though he weighs 30 pounds, I'm looking for a baby carrier for Bug. I've started the search on eBay and craigslist because I really don't want to spend a lot of money. I've already tested out the theory with various bags at home, but none seem to work well. Plus, Bug is heavy. I know my back is going to pay the price for this, but he's got to be able to go with us on our outings. He's just gotta.

Another issue is what to do with the dogs while we're out places that don't allow them. Namely stores, wineries and restaurants. Most of our activities are planned outdoors but we would like to visit some other places. Looks like there won't be any sit down meals for us. More like fast food and takeout. But I think we can manage. I just don't feel comfortable leaving them in a motel room by themselves. The only other option I can think of is leaving them in the car while it's running.

So as I continue to look for the perfect Bug carrier, take a look at my vision that Jill Lyman brought to life with PhotoShop:



1 comment:

Amy said...

Good luck on the trip! The Beags have been on ONE vacation with us. Actually, that's the only vacation Erich & I have taken together-he doesn't like traveling so it works out well, I always have a dogsitter.