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You can board your dog and travel, too

N.H. Sunday News - Dog Tracks Column - 7/5/09
By: Gail T. Fisher

A few weeks ago, I wrote a column on reasons people give for not having a dog. In response to that column, I got the following email from a reader:

“Gail, I do like reading your column, but I respectfully disagree with a recent article in which you dismissed the reasons why people decide not to get another pet. One point you talked about was that people feel they can't leave for vacations because of their pets and you point out that there are many places available to leave your pet, so that point, in your view, isn't valid. I have had animals all my life and I would NEVER leave my dog or cat at a boarding facility and yes, our animals have definitely affected our traveling. Even when I have a very trusted person staying at our home I still KNOW that my animals are missing us. I think you'd agree that most people love their animals close to the way they love their kids. Do you think most people would be okay leaving their kids in a facility with total strangers where they will spend most of their day in a cage and get "walked" or played with 5 times a day for 15 min or so? My animals have never been caged except when they had to stay at the vet. Do you think that even if a person left their child with a trusted friend that they would not be concerned about them and in fact probably change their plans rather than leave their child? So yes, it is a very valid point. We know our animals and know their feelings. We worry about them and care about them. I know that I am not alone in this viewpoint and that my animals have indeed affected my plans and many other people’s plans as well. So deciding not to have another dog or cat because of this is very valid and should be respected, not dismissed.”

I fear I was misunderstood. I don’t disrespect or dismiss anyone’s reasons for choosing not to have a pet. My intention was to compare the results of an on-line survey with the top three reasons that people talk to me about. I understand someone’s reluctance to leave a dog in a boarding kennel. Heck…I OWN a boarding kennel, and I feel sad leaving my own pets, even knowing how well taken care of they will be.

So I can certainly understand someone’s reluctance to leave their pets. But would I choose not to have my pets in my life rather than leave them when I travel? My point was that it isn’t necessary to choose the emptiness I would feel without a dog in my life if leaving the dog behind were the only reason not to have one. I also feel sad for the dog that might have a loving home but for that person’s reluctance to leave it for a fraction of time. To me, personally (which is how I write this column), if I felt I couldn’t leave my dog behind, I would choose never to go on vacation rather than not have a dog share my life.

The reader compares children and dogs, but despite similar emotional attachments, a child’s needs are far different from a dog’s. Aside from the fact that dog’s sleep an average of 22 hours a day, even more importantly, I don’t think most parents change their plans rather than leave a child with even a trusted friend. If so, parents would never hire a babysitter, send a child to overnight camp or sleep over at a friend’s, or leave the child with a trusted family member while the parents go on vacation as my siblings and I were left in the care of my grandparents. Of course parents worry—that’s part of the job requirements. But it’s no reason not to have a child, anymore than I see it as sufficient reason not to have a dog in your life (again, my opinion only).

I understand not wanting to board a dog, but I also see the caring and close relationship that my staff has with the pets in their care, Some dogs do feel “homesick”—as I used to be as a child the first few days I was away from home at summer camp. But just as some kids at camp didn’t miss home at all, and just as I got into the activities and friendships and felt better, the vast majority of dogs that we care for drag their owners through the door when they return to All Dogs Gym, and joyfully greet our kennel staff as good friends. For many of the dogs we care for, ours is the only place they participate in activities they don’t have at home. And just as with children, these experiences enhance rather than diminish their lives.

So while I understand and respect someone’s reluctance to leave a dog behind when they go away, for me, that is not enough reason to deprive yourself of the joys a dog brings to our lives. I don’t “dismiss” anyone’s reasons. I just would hope my column might give a different perspective to consider, so someone could have the best of both worlds—a dog to love and share your life with, and the ability to vacation, knowing that your dog will be happy to see you when you get home.