I have a lot of friends with children, and they always make the assumption that traveling is so much easier for my husband and I because we don’t. How little they know! You see, Jim (my husband) and I have pets: two dogs and one cat, to be precise. We also travel a lot, which means that our dear little Fifi, Samson and Princess travel with us.

But before I describe all the trials and tribulations of traveling with pets, I’ll give you a brief introduction to our little “family”. Fifi is a three year old Shih Tzu, and honestly thinks the world revolves around her and her needs! She’s a dear sweet little thing, though, and I couldn’t live without her, puppy tantrums or not! Then there’s Samson, our Cocker Spaniel. He was given to us a couple of years ago by some neighbors who were moving interstate. Now, I’ve never understood how one could give up a pet so easily. For me they’re a part of the family and giving one up would be like amputating an arm! He’s a sweet little thing, who dotes on both Fifi and Princess (unfortunately, Princess isn’t so keen on Samson!) Last but not least is Princess, our treasured little Chartreux cat. We’ve had her seven years, and she’s been spoiled 24/7 ever since we picked her up as a ten week old kitten!

Kids, once they’re past a certain age, you can pretty much trust to behave themselves. Pets are altogether a different story! It’s definitely not a case of sending them outside for a play on the playground!

So what do you do with pets while you travel? (Apart from pray a lot of course…) For starters, you need to know the basics of traveling with pets. When Jim and I stopped going out to work, and began our own home business (which we run 100% online) we realized that suddenly we were given a fantastic opportunity! We were now able to travel the country, seeing the sites and living to our own rules. But first things first…how to travel with two dogs and a cat?

The first thing we needed to do was figure out all the rules and regulations of pet travel. While a driving holiday can be quite fun, sometimes it’s more practical to fly. Definitely not difficult for two middle aged adults, but for two middle aged adults, two dogs and a cat it’s a different story. So we did a bit of online research to discover the ins and outs of airplane pet transport. Unfortunately, most of the news was bad! For example, the number one search we found on a Google listing was a document dealing with the deaths of two dogs on a flight. These dogs had been secured in airline approved pet carriers in the cargo hold. Upon arrival the dogs were found to be unconscious. Even worse was the news that this wasn’t an isolated case! In fact, 5000 animals are either lost, injured or killed every year on airplanes! When I read this I put my foot down and said to Jim, “That’s it! We are NOT flying!”

Jim suggested we do a bit more research… We discovered that on some airlines it is possible to fly with a pet secured in a carrier beneath your seat, provided they meet certain size requirements. This was fine for Fifi and Princess, but Samson? He’s not a huge dog, but no way is he going to be stuffed into a carrier to sit beneath a seat! I pointed out to Jim that the Animal Legal Defense Fund has cautioned against transporting animals by air. In fact the more I read, the more I realized that there was no way I was transporting my precious babies on an airplane full stop! I didn’t read one single thing in favor of transporting animals by air, simply because no matter what recommendations have been made, or Government policies made, animals are treated as little more than baggage by most airlines.

So, what did that mean for us? It meant that our one thousand mile flight was going to become a one thousand mile cross country journey by car!