Traveling With Pets
Part Three: The trip begins, and the doubts multiply
Day One: February 28 we headed out. Two retirees in possession of a newly adopted kitten and puppy after not having animal companions for over fifteen years. Ignorance is bliss?
Our first stop would be Mesa Verde in the southwest corner of Colorado. We didn’t get far before we realized our initial assumptions about traveling with pets were flawed.
Still concerned about the dog potentially damaging the kitten, I popped two-month-old Legolas into his kitty carrier and ignored his mews. We simply had no room for Strider’s kennel, so he was loose.
We didn’t get far before we realized Strider was carsick. Not barfing sick. But just as miserable. He sat on the spacious RV floor between the driver and passenger front seats. The poor puppy’s head hung, drooping like a wilted flower. Every time the tires hit a rumble strip - those noisy ridges indicating you’ve strayed out of your lane - Strider shivered with fear. At each stop, he refused food, water, and potty opportunities. This trip was beginning to look like a bad idea.
Mewing kitten. Sad puppy. We had to do something different.
Holding a forty-pound puppy on my lap wasn’t a long-term solution. But it did enable us to get closer to our destination. Keeping Legolas boxed up felt cruel. We had to acclimate the animals to each other, or we were all in for over a week of misery.
The RV has space over the two front seats. A wide, U-shaped ledge above the windshield. It seemed like the perfect place for a cat. Legolas took to it as his personal world. He loves looking out the front overhead window.
A note about the kitty harness. Some cats absolutely refuse to wear a harness. We wanted the security of having something to grab in case Legolas tried to hop out of the RV. We also imagined walking him on a leash, so he could explore. The cat didn’t seem to mind the harness at all.
Travel took so much longer than we expected. Strider finally did his potty business, but only after spending nearly an hour in a park in Alamosa. Legolas was the easy traveler. He adjusted just fine, as long as he had his litter box, food, and water.
The drive felt grueling, with mounting worry about Strider eating at us. We did not make reservations at Mesa Verde, so we weren’t even sure we’d be able to camp. I proudly had my senior citizen national parks pass all ready. Rolling up to the gate at sunset, the rangers were already off duty. We headed into the only open campground.
There were no other campers. We parked and breathed four sighs of relief. There was no time or energy for sightseeing. We all crashed early, grateful to be off the road.
Doubts: Even though we had committed to this trip, we still had the option to call it off. After a day of travel that was longer than anticipated, we had a half-sick dog and a kitten I was terrified of losing, stepping on, or having the puppy use as a chew toy. But we were determined to see it through. For another day, at least.
Lesson learned: Acclimating the animals to each other should have happened weeks before going on a trip. See Part One for why that didn’t happen. Dog poo is your responsibility always - you must carry poop baggies, clean up after your pooch, or face potential fines. The kitty? In the confinement of the RV, you need the right litter, and to clean the box every two or three days.
Questions: Could we continue on to the Grand Canyon with a miserable puppy? What were we going to do about Strider’s car sickness? Could the cat and dog coexist peacefully, or would they battle each other every mile?
Find out in the fourth installment of Traveling with Pets.
Novels with animal companions by Catherine Dilts:
The Body in the Cattails, available from Harlequin Worldwide Mystery
The Body in the Hayloft, available here
Co-authored with Merida Bass: Grandpa’s New Year’s Relocation, and Grandma’s Valentine Abduction
YA series co-authored with Merida Bass (jungle animals): Frayed Dreams, and Broken Strands
The entire Rose Creek Mystery series, the Tapestry Tales series, and the Ninja Grandparent Placement Mysteries, are available at Basecamp Books and Adventure located at 3918 Maizeland Rd, Colorado Springs, CO 80909 (phone: 1 719 596 1621)