:With Travis
Taking your dog on the road, or in the air, can limit
your options but make for a memorable vacation.
BY ELLEN UZELAC
Special to the Jewish News
ir
acation with a pet? You must
be mad. What is a real vaca-
tion anyway except a get-
away from the demands of
everyday life —the job, the phone
and the ani-
mals?
So why
was I heading
up 1-95 from
Maryland to
Maine with
Travis, our
10-year-old
cairn terrier,
on my lap?
Love or luna-
cy, I'm still
not sure.
But I
know I'm not
alone: 35 per-
cent of pet
owners take
their pets on
holiday with
them, accord-
ing to a recent national survey by the
American Animal Hospital
Association. More and more empty
nesters are taking their pets on the
road, but so are young families. And
dogs are far and away the most com-
mon traveling companions.
In this era of the canine cafe, ani-
mal therapist and pet spa, why not
the pet-friendly vacation? Travis sure
seemed to like his. He rode in his
first elevator, stayed overnight in his
first motel and peed at his first doggie
rest stop. And that was before we
arrived at Monhegan, our woodsy
island retreat for a laid-back week last
July.
Wendy Ballard, the Vero Beach,
Fla., publisher of DogGone, a newslet-
ter about "fun places to go and cool
stuff to do with your dog," started
taking her beagle Sparky on family
trips back in 1993. "It's just too hard
to leave them behind," says Ballard,
who has since added a part-basset
hound mixed breed to the family. "I
would worry. It's more fun to take
them with us."
The 38-year-old graphics designer
soon discovered how difficult it can
be to find nice
places where
dogs are wel-
come. Hence,
DogGone. The
newsletter, now
51/2 years old
and with a circu-
lation of 2,500,
features stories
on such subjects
as dog-allowed
beaches across
the United
States, pet travel
products, pet-
friendly B&Bs
and tips for get-
ting a new pet
road-ready.
Fortunately,
vacationers with
dogs no longer are relegated to RVs
or campgrounds. Quite the contrary.
The Four Seasons hotel chain has a
pet policy that would make just
about any dog roll over. Amenities at
the Four Seasons in Houston, for
instance, include a welcome gift, in-
room food and water bowls, a take-
home dog biscuit recipe, pet sitting,
dog walking and groomer recommen-
dations.
Eileen Barish, whose Vacationing
with Your Pet (Pet-Friendly
Publications, $19.95), lists more than
23,000 U.S. and Canadian lodgings
that welcome pets, is particularly
fond of the VIP (Very Important
Pooch) policy at the Four Seasons in
Beverly Hills, Calif., where prices
start at $325 a night.
On the lower end, major chains
like Motel 6, Super 8 and Red Roof
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