Bring the Dog

When we go to the beach in the summer, we bring the dog. She's part of the family after all and she LOVES the beach. She usually rides in the back and falls asleep on one of the kids. She's not too crazy about being in the car, but she likes it when we get there. It's easy to take her to the beach because we have a house to stay at.

When we go away somewhere where we need to stay in a hotel, we leave the dog at home and my brother watches her. It might be nice to bring her along sometimes, but we'd need to find Pet Friendly Hotels.

I remember the first time we took her to Canada with us. She needed more paperwork than we did! You need to have proof that the dog has had all its shots to cross the border. She kind of embarrassed me because she kept barking and growling at the customs guy. At least he didn't keep us long. Coming home was the same way-more paperwork and more growling. We stayed with family so we didn't need to worry about Pet Friendly Hotels.

She had a nice time in Canada. My wife's aunt has one of those "toy" dogs and Bailey had a ball chasing it around and knocking it all over the place. She was a bit more subdued around another aunt's doberman pinscher. We were staying in HIS house and he let Bailey know he was boss. I think she was glad to get out of there.

Sometimes it might be fun to bring the dog on a vacation, but then it might not seem like a vacation. The last time we were in Maine, we stayed in a Pet Friendly Bed and Breakfast and our neighbors had a big American Bulldog. We shared a porch and the first time we went in and saw him there, he gave me a start. Turns out he was a pussycat. When I saw the other couple dealing with their dog as we went off for a night of carousing, I was glad we didn't bring our dog!