Do any of y’all have pets? I find that the thing that causes me the most mental anguish is pet care for our animals while we are gone. Our old dog died during COVID and while that was sad it opened some more opportunities for travel. I had said I would not travel w/o her in her last year because I knew she wasn’t going to last that long. (DH didn’t see it coming as clearly as I did, but she had a lot of stuff going on with her.)
So after our dog died while we were down to just two cats we went to Ireland last fall. We had professor friends doing a semester over there so we went over to see them while they were there. We went over D22’s Fall Break and spent time in Galway and Dublin. It was a short trip, but great.
Since then our 22 yr old adopted a high needs rescue dog in February and then because her needs were too high for the apartment they were living in brought the dog and two more cats to live at home here with us (we are converting the basement into an apartment). Then one of the cats got really sick with FIP (life threatening) and requires daily experimental medication (shots right now). The cat is doing fantastic on meds, but it’s been pretty hectic.
We have a North Carolina beach trip planned for the summer and will take the high needs rescue dog and leave the cats with a pet-sitter. Our cats hate the new cats, btw, but we can easily keep them separated. Hopefully the sick cat will have transitioned to taking pills by then and a pet-sitter can handle it.
I am looking forward to the beach trip, but dang that was a nice window with just two easy cats in the house. I hope to get up to the mountains soon too. We will either take the dog or leave the 22 yr old and animals at home. Oh, the dog also hates the car and gets such bad anxiety that she pees and poops and throws up. She does not ride in MY car. And she is now on doggy Prozac so hopeful that will help with the car anxiety.
My gym trainer and his wife housesat for us when we were gone a week in October. I’m waiting to see if he’s available for the 2 1/2 weeks we’re in Europe. I hope so!! If not, I will be stressed. Our two Australian shepherds are wonderful, but they’re a handful.
@Sweetgum Yes. Same issue here. Our urchins lived much longer than expected – for which I’m grateful, but also restricted. One died at 20, when health took a rather sudden turn. The other is still going strong (at 18), with common “senior” issues and medications. We are willing to go for a week with a sitter, but would like to try a more laid-back month long trip. We’ve considered a house/pet sitter, but would need to hire a stranger via an online service, since we have no family nearby or friends willing to sit for that long. So far, we have not been willing to take that plunge, both because we would be hiring a stranger to stay in our home, AND because we know the pet’s health can change quickly.
Anyone else use an online pet/house sitting service (such as Trusted House Sitters or similar)?
The high needs pup is a shelter rescue Malinois mix who was feral and on the run at least two separate times for weeks so I really don’t trust her with anyone else at this point. She has too much potential to escape. She’s really our oldest’s dog, though, just lives with us currently. Hopefully as she becomes more trained and bonded her issues will lessen. I think my husband and I will do some local traveling like going to the mountains without the kid and the dog.
We also have a good friend who takes care of our animals and I’m sure she would be fine with the cats, and giving a pill or maybe even an injection to the sick boy, but I would not ask her to take care of this dog except in an emergency. She and her family are going with us to the beach, though, so she won’t be available for cat-sitting then, but my 22 yr old has a friend who has experience.
I am hoping to do some traveling for a girls trip with just my friend maybe in the fall. Nothing specific planned yet, but she has mentioned me going with her to her mountain house.
@kjofkw I’m a little scarred by leaving elderly dogs. We went to the beach for a week one summer (just 3 hrs away) and when we returned our elderly dog was at death’s door. We had to have him euthanized the next week. Honestly we had probably let him go on too long, but it’s hard to know when to make that decision. I think because we knew his needs and responded attentively to them he was able to last longer, but when we had the pet sitter in they just couldn’t give that kind of attention and he went downhill fast.
One cat among our cat menagerie needs 2X daily insulin shots. Husband is afraid to travel for longer than a few days even though we have a trusted friend who can and does take care of the cats. One tech at our vet clinic offered her services when the cat just got diagnosed, so that is a fallback plan when the friend is not available. Apparently, some vet techs do this as a side hustle. I’d check with your vets.
We have 2 cats and are fortunate that D2 lives a mile away and will come see them daily when we are gone. We have automatic feeders set up so they dispense food throughout the day since we have 1 cat that tends to over eat. I do think they get lonely when we are away for a couple of weeks. I may see if we can get someone to stay in our house for the 2 weeks we will be in Europe. I wish we knew a couple our age that wanted to come spend two weeks in San Diego and stay with the kitties.
Yes, we have a dog who does not tolerate boarding! I was very stressed because our regular care taker moved recently so I told my adult kids who live in the city that they needed to help us out because I know someday they’re all gonna get a dog and want us to dog sit😀. So they each took turns, even a gf watched/walked him one day while WFH. They showed our pup a good time! Not sure I can do another 2 week trip:)
My mom is barely hanging on these days, between very late stage cancer and many other health issues. We aren’t traveling too much for now. I’d like to go to Australia, New Zealand and back to Europe.
I have a cat that requires shots every 12 hours, and she’s old, so I can relate to pet worries. It was so much easier before- we just hired a neighborhood teen to come every day or every other day. Now we have to have a responsible adult, and pay for 2x a day. plus we have the guilt factor, and worry our cat might die while we are gone. We also have a younger cat, but that one is no problem.
Thanks—she’s 93 but my older brother who is POA can’t just let her go so he insists on prolonging her suffering with infusions, against all our wishes.
Currently on day 16 of 21 in Italy. Sitting in our room in a 1,000 year old converted castle in Tuscany as I write this!
Driving up to Florence this afternoon to return the car and stay for 2 days, then 2 days in Cinque Terre, then back to Rome for our flight home.
W and I are pretty proud that we managed it all with international-size carryon rollaboards, especially after meeting other tourists lugging massive amounts of luggage for shorter stays. I haven’t even used half of what I packed as the predicted hot sunny weather I packed for never appeared, and it’s been cool and wet the whole trip. A nice leather jacket from Florence will make us feel better
I just read an article that mentioned the Copenhagen airport was having serious staffing issues, including ATC, so airlines had to cut a lot of flights over the summer. I guess the lack of supply is driving up the prices.
You’ll find me “lakeside” - at 2 or 3 of the Great Lakes. One long weekend trip with D2 where we have rented a “casita” smack on the edge/above the water. One family trip at a lake house in Canada on Lake Huron. Possible Labor Day-ish trip to a spot on Lake Michigan, Michigan side!
On the subject of leather outerwear, last year I got my wife a nice leather coat from David 2 when we were in Florence (the owner, who is fluent in English, was quite willing to negotiate down on the price).
Are you across from the Thumb in Michigan? My mother-in-law used to have a cottage on Lake Huron in Sanilac County, where our family would spend a week or two every summer – the accommodations were not elaborate, but the price was right! We always enjoyed seeing the sailboats in the Port Huron - Mackinac race go by.
