Traveling with Your Pet
This is Muffin, the 8 month old Pomeranian. This cute little pooch was our seat mate on a recent long haul flight from Rome to Montreal. Though she’s not even a year old, Muffin is no stranger to international travel; she was born in the Ukraine and came to Canada with a Ukrainian passport, which she carries for her journeys abroad.
We’ve never sat next to a pup on a flight before, so needless to say, I was very curious about how Muffin would fair throughout the flight. I kept picturing our busy big Goldendoodle wreaking havoc within the plane, but Muffin had it all handled. When she first arrived at her seat, she was so quiet and tiny that weren’t sure if she was a cat or a dog in her little carrier.
Traveling with a Pet: Do Your Research
Muffin and her people were in Italy for about ten days, and we had a chance to chat while on the long journey back to Canada. Even though Muffin is a small dog, her people wisely did their research before traveling to ensure that all of their accommodations were dog-friendly. They were confident that Muffin would be welcomed into the hotels they had booked, but they weren’t sure how welcome Muffin would be at the various sites they planned to visit.
Internet research assured them that Italy is a relatively dog-friendly place, but you never really know what a place is truly going to be like until you travel there. It turned out that Italy really is a great place to travel with a pet.
Muffin’s people took her with them literally almost everywhere they went. This cute little girl made people smile in all sorts of locations – from cafes and restaurants to paid landmarks and sites. Muffin saw and did so much that her beautiful white coat had taken on a shade of grey from the dust of the city, so she had taken a bath while in Rome, a city known for its ancient baths.
Make Alternate Plans for Your Pet When They Can’t Be With You
There were only a couple of places Muffin couldn’t visit. In Rome, Muffin’s people visited the Coliseum without her, and Muffin also opted out of a visit to St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. Muffin’s people asked the hotel for puppy-daycare recommendations while they visited these sites, but the hotel staff insisted that daycare wasn’t needed, as Muffin was welcome to stay in their hotel room while they toured.
As dog owners know; if you have a dog, you end up talking to other dog owners about having a dog. Because Muffin’s family were travelling with her, they talked with other dog owners about traveling with their pet. They learned (firsthand and from others) that Italy is indeed a very good place to travel with your dog, but that not all places are as welcoming. Another pet owner informed them that Muffin would best be left at home if they traveled to Portugal, as locations in that country generally aren’t as welcoming to pets – a good reminder to do your research if you’re considering traveling with your pet.
I had thought that a long flight such as the one we were on would be exhausting for a pet, but its no more exhausting than how we feel after a long flight. After arriving in Italy, Muffin’s tiny legs carried her literally kilometres every day, and she let her people know when she needed a break by laying down to take one.
Be Prepared to Keep Your Pet Occupied During Travel
On the plane, Muffin was a model passenger. She stayed in her pet carrier during take-off and landing, and popped her head out for visiting and snuggles during the trip. Everyone gets a bit restless over such a long flight; Muffin was no exception, and her people were great with her during these times, helping her stay calm and occupied when they could see that she was ready for a change of scenery. She only barked a couple times during the trip when her they stepped away to use the bathroom. Traveling next to Muffin made it easy to understand why so many tourists take their dogs with them on their vacation adventures.