A little survey- pets & vacation

[Robbie]

Hello everybody.

This has always been a bit of a problem and a worry for me and I'm wondering about the rest of you.

What do you do with your pets when you go away on vacation?

How do you feel about leaving your pets for a while?

Also if you've got any good ideas/tips concerning this subject list them here.

Thanks

[judybug]

We take ours with us,not for everyone though.
We now have 7 Finches,1 cockatiel,1Macaw,3Poodles,1Chihuahua,1Husband
who likes to shoot trap& sporting clays.
We had to get a RV,lots of room and you can take all the family. Good Luck judybug

[Roz]

Well, usually a trusted relative, friend, or neighbor will watch our pets for us. I hate leaving my pets behind, but, I never go out of town, and when I do, it's not for very long. I've never had any problems with it. Someone trusted takes care of our pets, and when I come back, they're happy to see me. No big disasters with my plan, yet...

[Chillie]

hey,

when I ussualy go on vacation I trust people I know. Family members neighboors. Depends what animal you have but there are "hotels" for animals such as dogs and cats http://petshub.com/ubb/smile.gif http://petshub.com/ubb/smile.gif




------------------
Thanx,
Chillie

[Robbie]

Wow, Judybug, you take them with you!

Roz, Chille -The neighbour thing is a good one but hasn't always worked for me(read below). This is what we did when I was a kid or my best friend would look after them. I was unlucky enough to have three of my childhood pets die while I was on holiday. Two guinea pigs and a hamster. All at different times two with my best friend who I know cared for them well and one with my neibour who I think also cared for them well.

Now I have a cat. I lived in a new neighbourhood when I got her and didn't really know anyone well but as I was going away I was a bit desperate to find someone to take care of her. Well the young guy who lived over the road from me said he would look after her. I was so relieved, I gave him my house key, showed him how much to give her, where I keep the sand for her litter box and told him she's allowed either in of out of the house but will be around when he comes to feed her.
Well, when I arrive back from my two week trip my cat was outside in the garden, fine. I went into my house and into my bedroom.... Disaster! Now, a few weeks before, the person who had lent me a clothes rail for my clothes until I got round to buying a wardrobe had needed it back just before I went away so I had kind of dumped ALL my clothes on the bedroom floor till I got back. Stupidly I had left the bedroom open but even MORE STUPIDLY the stupid guy I had stupidly trusted to take care of my cat had obviously not changed her litter tray at all and maybe not even let her out. So my cat had used my pile of clothes on the floor as her toilet. Can you imagine how awful it was! I threw out about two sackfulls of clothes and manage to save the rest.

Anymore anyone?


[This message has been edited by Robbie (edited 05-14-2001).]

[Chillie]

hi,

sorry about your cat thing I have ha disasters before too. Always leave your pets with someone you trust. That you know and that you know they will do every thing for the pets. http://petshub.com/ubb/smile.gif http://petshub.com/ubb/smile.gif http://petshub.com/ubb/smile.gif http://petshub.com/ubb/smile.gif http://petshub.com/ubb/smile.gif

------------------
Thanx,
Chillie

[Billie Bird]

What's a vacation http://petshub.com/ubb/frown.gif There's nobody I would trust with my dog, cat & birds. I wish there was someone I could trust to be as good a Mommie as I am. I know I would not enjoy a vacation wondering about how my kid's were doing.

[marley]

Whenever possible, we take our dog on vacation with us. If we are driving somewhere and doing recreational activities such as camping, backpacking, or mountain biking, our dog will enjoy this vacation as much as we do! If we are traveling somewhere by plane and cannot take our dog, we leave him with trusted friends. We have an arrangement with these friends, who also have a dog. When they travel, their dog stays at our house. When we travel, our dog stays at their house. Our dogs get very excited to stay at each other's homes and we feel it is better than boarding them.
For more information on traveling with your pet, check out http://www.petswelcome.com
This site has lots of information on places that allow pets, etc.
Also, be sure to visit, http://coloradobarkery.com for yummy treats for your dog!

[Remy]

Vacations. Oh, that's hard. Trying to find anyone competent to do things right! Fortunately, the horses are boarded, and usually will be okay, provided that someone doesn't do something incredibly stupid while I'm gone, or forget to fill Albert's water bucket, that's always a worry.

The dog would either go with me, or over to my mother's house and even that wasn't perfect (she'd feed her perfectly dreadful things she wasn't supposed to have, then wonder why the dog barfed on the carpet!)

Fortunately with box turtles, you can feed them up before you leave, leave them a dish of pellets and their water bowl and they're okay for a week. ADF's (frogs) have an automatic timer feeder and a LARGE tank so that I don't have to worry about water changes constantly.

The guinea pigs went to the vet's last time I had to go on a business trip. They didn't seem to like it very well, and I wonder if their cages where cleaned while I was away...I don't think they got anything except water and pellets, no hay,the same amount was there when I got back.

I've pet sat for people sometimes that have just turned into hideous nightmares through no fault of mine ...with some negative lessons like those, I'm afraid to go on vacations!

[Robbie]

Hi Chille... you're right but what if there's no one you trust http://petshub.com/ubb/confused.gif

Billie bird... You never go away?

Marley... That's the perfect arrangement you have with your dog, I have always thought that if I ever got a dog whoever I got it from would have to agree to look after it when I went away.

Remy... I was cracking up at the word barfed http://petshub.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

I'm worried about who can look after my cat when I go away next. I live in an area where most people just come for the summer or the weekend (by the sea far from the city) It will be ok in the summer cause there will be plenty of people here who I can ask to leave food for her and keep an eye on her and it's warm so she can stay outside so I don't have to worry about her messing up the house... or the person I ask to feed her to mess up the house! It's the winter when I will have the problem and I go to visit my family at christmas. I couldn't bear to put her in a cattery she would die of misery. http://petshub.com/ubb/frown.gif


http://www.signaturegallery.homestead.com/files/Despin~1.jpg




[This message has been edited by Robbie (edited 05-27-2001).]

[Nightmare]

Vaction? Nightmare! I have the same problem when I leave. Right now my husband and I are trying to decide if we want to go back over the road. We are truck drivers, and the big thing keeping us from it is our Cat, TC. I know that my daughter, also an avid animal lover, would come and look after her, but would she give her the same care I do.

However, Robbie, try checking you yellow pages. I have heard in some of the larger areas, there are pet sitting companies who will come feed and water, change litter box and such for a fee. The cat doesn't have to leave home and therefore is only upset by the fact that it is strangers taking care of her.

I understand that if you have dogs, they will take them out and walk them, bath them so on and so forth.

I guess I should tell you, last year when my sister went on vaction, we dog sat for her. The dog didn't go home. She is the one who just passed away. We fell in love with her the minute my sister brought her, and considering my sister already had three other dogs, we decided she could stay with us.

Nightmare