Nobody likes to leave their dog behind when the family goes on vacation, and the mental image of those sad, disappointed eyes looking at you in disbelief at being left behind does take a bit of the fun out of the trip. My heart aches just thinking about it! Thankfully, there are other dog lovers out there who are willing to let you bring your pet into their home.
Don't think you have to settle for a dark, dingy motel room just because Fido came along on the trip. You can find many gorgeous homes all over the world that allow dogs. HomeAway, one of the largest vacation home rental sites on the net, has a whole separate category of pet friendly rentals. Just by searching for a few minutes, I found a stunning house in Key West, a chic designer loft on Manhattan, and a beautiful oceanfront villa in La Jolla, which all welcome dogs. They also have listings for the Caribbean, Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, and Europe.
Other sites with easy to search, pet-friendly listings all over the world include vacationhomes.com, greatrentals.com and perfectplaces.com. If you are looking for a pet-friendly castle in the British Isles or France, check out celticcastles.com. They don't have a separate pet friendly category, but the castles that welcome pets have a little paw print symbol next to them. And there are many.
Some things to keep in mind when vacationing with your dog
Is he ok with being left alone in an unfamiliar home? If you planning on visiting museums, or going out to eat while you're there, you will probably have to leave your dog at your rental home alone. If you suspect he might not deal so well with that, you're all probably better off leaving him at home rather than returning from dinner to find a designer couch in shreds.
Bring his bed or a blanket that smells like home (a favorite toy is a good idea too). They can be a huge comfort, especially for a dog left at the house.
Give him bottled water. Even if there's nothing wrong with the tap water at your location destination, just a tiny bit of different bacteria can cause stomach upsets.
Bring his usual food. Even if you're traveling in your own country, you can't be sure that the local stores carry the same brands.
Bring all his medicines and vaccination certificates. If the certificates you have are older than 10 days, ask your veterinarian to send you updated ones (a must if you're traveling to Europe).
Bring photos of your pet in case he decides to go exploring without you and can't find his way home.
If you're traveling to another country, make sure to check well ahead of time what the rules are for bringing pets. If you're traveling to any country in the EU, for example, your pet must have a specific, 15-digit microchip, and you also need your veterinarian to fill out a health certificate for your pet, which you then have to send to the USDA for an official certification stamp. There are other requirements as well, depending on which country you're visiting, so always check.
