Traveling With Pets

Part Six: Breaking the Rules

At the end of Day Three, we rolled into our campsite at the Grand Canyon National Park. We’d only been on the road since Saturday morning, but these two senior citizens were pretty worn out by Monday evening.

Everything was new to us. Traveling with the seven-month-old English Springer Spaniel. Adopting the two-month-old tuxedo kitten days before our trip. We’d taken the new-to-us RV out twice, but not for this long, and never with animal companions.

As we set up for the night, I declared my desire to not drive anywhere for at least a couple days. My husband agreed. We were all road weary. Except maybe for the kitten.

Before starting out, we had definite rules in mind. One was no cats on the bed. That was the first rule to break. There just wasn’t much acreage inside an RV for a kitten to play without bouncing off the puppy.

Day Four, March 3, of our adventure began with the happy realization that we could walk most everywhere we wanted to see. A series of paved trails snaked through the campground to the canyon rim trail.

Having a dog attracted attention. Having a cute Spaniel wearing a Carhartt coat elicited plenty of comments about a stylish dog. Add in a cat in a backpack?

Don’t travel with pets if you are shy about drawing attention to yourself. Hearing a kitten mewing definitely drew eyes. Especially when people thought the dog was the creature making the noise.

We followed the rules about no pets in buildings, or on dirt trails going down into the canyon. We perhaps skirted rules a tiny bit by taking them onto a hotel porch. I mentioned in a previous installment the advantages of winter travel. With less crowds, and less crowding, there seemed to be a bit more leniency for people traveling with pets.

Still, we were mindful of the restrictions, to the point that a shop employee came outside to tell my husband pets were allowed inside.

When two young Japanese schoolgirls realized I had a kitten, I took Legolas out of the backpack. I fastened a leash to his collar, and let them play with the sassy kitty. I didn’t get a photo of the girls, but their family took several. I imagine Legolas is being shown to other kids in Japan, a minor celebrity now.

Another rule that fell to the wayside on our trip was no people food for animals. Our first hike went longer than expected. Over five miles. We failed to pack kibble. When my husband and I found pre-packaged sandwiches in a gift store, we ended up sharing them with Strider. The kitten wasn’t interested this time. Legolas had a voracious appetite, and stole nibbles of food from human or puppy every chance he got. His tummy was still round. I wasn’t worried about the kitten starving. (We did take water.)

We enjoyed the hike. It was starting to feel normal to have our animal companions with us. Constantly. Worth it? So far, yes.

Breaking Rules: The no cats on beds rule had to be broken to save all our sanity. This gave the kitten a safe place to play. But at bedtime, I still put him in his travel carrier. Otherwise, he would pounce on our heads all night. The no people food rule was broken because we neglected to pack puppy and kitten kibble for the hike.

Lessons learned: Prepare as though you’re going to be out all day, even if that’s not the original plan. Always take water and a collapsible dish. Don’t forget the doggy poop bags. Be flexible about your personal rules when it won’t compromise future training or animal health.

Questions: Would the humans get tired of not being able to do anything if animals weren’t allowed? Were the animals going to mutiny, tired of the confinement to the small quarters of the RV, or backpacks and leashes?

Find out in the seventh 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)