Travels with your pet

Over the years, Linda Gellman has mastered the art of travelling happily with her dogs. Late in the fall, she’ll hit the I-75, heading for Florida with three pooches – Polo, 12, Hugo, 10 (both silver-grey short-haired bird dogs known as Weimaraners) and one-and-half-year-old Maggie Mouse, a Jack Russell terrier. Gellman’s minivan is a virtual dogmobile.

“My car is just a humongous cage,” she laughs. “They’re so used to it, it’s just like their home.” She’s removed the back seats and the animals have claimed their favourite spots to snooze. A car top carrier from Sears holds everything she doesn’t need during the trip, freeing up interior space for the comfort of the dogs.

(Others prefer to have their pets travel in secured crates in case of accidents or sudden stops. Panicky animals can harm one another, run away or be overprotective — interfering with paramedics offering medical assistance.)

Knowing the food they’re accustomed to may not be available, Gellman packs enough dog food for her four-month stay. Keeping doggy digestions in good order is a priority on the trail.

“I feed only dry food when I’m travelling,” she notes, “and they don’t get too ma treats on the trip.”

Take frequent breaks
Dr. Johanna Heseltine, clinical associate at the Small Animal Clinic at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatoon, Sask., warns that a large meal or allowing an animal to gulp too much water before travelling may trigger car sickness.

“But it is important that they stay well hydrated,” she advises. Offering water frequently, in small amounts throughout the trip is the best option. “But make sure time for frequent “bathroom” breaks and they can then stretch their legs as well,” she says.

Although dogs seem to be more frequent, and probably happier, travellers than cats, Heseltine has seen felines who’ve taken it all in stride. “Some cats have been exposed to travelling in a trailer or van, and tolerate it very well,” she says.

Temperature can be a problem when travelling to and from the southern U.S.

“It’s either hot or cold,” says Linda Gellman, “it’s very seldom in between.”

And extreme temperatures can be lethal for animals left for even a short time in a vehicle. If the temperature’s moderate, however, Gellman may confine the dogs using two baby gates in the minivan doors, which allows plenty of air circulation while she keeps an eye from a restaurant window. (Her preference however, is to pack a lunch or pick up a meal from a drive-through window.)

Motel stays
“I do not stop at rest areas with my dogs,” she says firmly, “because I’ve found they always pick up fleas there.” Instead, Gellman looks for a field, often near a gas station, in which to supervise canine “pit stops”.

And a travelling rule of thumb: “You really shouldn’t be taking your animals if you’re going to do a lot of sightseeing,” she points out, although one year she did stop off for a look at the Kentucky Horse Park. “A friend sat with the dogs while I did the tour,” she says, “then we rotated and she did the tour.”

“I try to stay at the Days Inns,” she notes, “because most of them do take a dog.” (When making your reservation, notify the hotel you’ll be travelling with a pet — and call back later to confirm.) Before checking in, Gellman looks for a ground floor room at the back, close to a grassy area. She brings only one dog to the front desk as she signs in, feeling it’s more prudent to keep the others discreetly low profile.

Although she allows her small dog on the bed, she brings her own sheet so it doesn’t sleep directly on the bed. And as a responsible owner, she’s careful to leave the room clean and undamaged.

“The dogs have never had an accident in the motel rooms,” she says. Prepaying for the room and avoiding phone or other extra charges allows her to leave without complication in the morning.

Flight preparations
As Gellman wends her way south with her pack of pups, Janet Buchanan is just as likely to be flying across Canada with Tomas, her prized Saluki stud dog. Known formally as Canadian and American Champion Gazella Auldstane Affirmed, the tawny, slender Tomas has the far-off gaze characteristic of his sight hound ancestry. And if the airlines had frequent flyer points for animals, this handsome show dog would be racking them up.

An internationally recognized all-breed judge for the Canadian Kennel Club, Buchanan’s acutely aware of the needs of travelling animals and the steps owners can take to ensure their pet travels well. Step one involves good communication with the airline people entrusted with the animal’s welfare. Their willing cooperation is needed, so “be firm, but never be rude,” she cautions.

Buchanan arrives early at the airport to be sure Tomas has time for a walk and a drink of water before she places him, collarless (to avoid possible choking), in his Furrari travelling crate. At the gate she watches as the crate is stowed in the aircraft and upon boarding she’s careful to inform airline personnel that she has a dog in the hold. She also finds out — before departure — the hold’s temperature and pressure.

This cautious strategy paid off on a return trip from Calgary recently, when her flight was delayed. Sitting on the tarmac, Buchanan listened apprehensively to thumping and bumping below, as the cargo hatch was repeatedly opened and closed. Then a flight attendant informed her the airline was removing the dog — and would she please take a later flight?

“I would be delighted,” she said, and meant it — knowing that unreliable pressure regulation in the hold could harm the animal.

Travel strategies
Met by an Air Canada representative, Buchanan retrieved Tomas, called ahead to re-arrange pick-up in Toronto, and was invited to take the dog to Calgary airport’s special “lounge” for dogs. In this fenced outdoor enclosure, Tomas could roam off leash, relieve himself on his choice of gravel or grass and have a drink. Then he was settled in his crate, loaded on the next available flight, arriving safely with his relaxed owner in Toronto only 90 minutes later than the original flight.

Buchanan appreciates the airline’s professional and caring attitude. And she’s convinced that her firm, polite approach sent a message that she and the company’s personnel were working together for the animal’s welfare.

Travelling has become a routine event for hundreds of thousands of pets each year (an estimated 500,000 take to the skies annually in the U.S. alone). For pet owners like Gellman and Buchanan, travelling with animals works well, largely because they’ve developed well-thought-out strategies for keeping their pets healthy and secure – and secured their own sanity as well.