Planning a holiday? Worried about how your small pet will manage in your absence? Then take it along. Yes, you read that right. You can travel with your pet. All it takes is some meticulous planning. This essential guide for traveling with your pet will provide you with a list of things to do. Read on:
- Are you serious about traveling on a holiday with your small pet? Is it a genuine wish or is it just a passing, fancy whim? If you are serious, then do you have the patience, resources, and tenacity to go through with all the planning and formalities that this will entail.
- Think about your pet. What is its age and physical condition? Would it enjoy traveling with you, or would it rather stay at home with a pet-sitter, or prefer a boarding kennel?
- If the answer is affirmative for both those questions, then the subsequent steps would follow, continue reading.
- Find a pet-friendly holiday spot. There are quite a few cities around the world where animals are frowned upon, and others that extend them an enthusiastic welcome. So read up, search on the Internet, ask friends and family and decide on an appropriate holiday destination. It need not be fancy or extravagant, just the right one which you want to visit, and your pet would also be comfortable in.
- When doing this, decide whether you are going to travel by air, sea, rail, or by road. The requirements and restrictions (to bring on board a pet) for all these modes of transport are different. The arrangements and details you need to look into for each of these would depend on whether your pet is a cheerful traveler, is friendly with other people handling him, does not mind being cooped up in a crate for a few hours, and what the transport policies are concerning your pet in the place of your destination. Do taxis and other public transport accommodate pets traveling with you? Or would you have your personal car or truck to travel with your pet?
- Once this is decided, seek pet-friendly accommodation. Research and find a place that allows your pet to stay with you in your room at all times. There are numerous hotels, bed & breakfast places, and home-stays that permit small pets.
- Then schedule an appointment with the veterinarian. Update all the immunizations and tests due to your pet. Apart from these, do the officials in the holiday destination you are planning to visit require any special certificates? Are there any emergency medical numbers you could take with you? If your pet is an anxious traveler, does it need to be sedated? What are the procedures for effecting that?
- Along with what you pack for yourself, make a list of all the things your pet would need to be comfortable and safe during the entire trip? Its favorite crate, bedding, food, treats, chews, toys, collars, leashes, etc.
Keep your travel documents, your pet’s documents and certificates, and the veterinarian’s contact information handy at all times. Be calm and ready for your holiday with your pet knowing you have planned well. This a basic guide for traveling with your pet.