Who took care of your pets while cruising?

[smoosh21]

I loves dogs but don't have one, because I'm hardly home on weekends. When I go on a cruise alone, I always ask fellow cruisers how are their pets back home? Sort of an ice breaker after asking where they are from.

 

I remember one couple saying they took their old dog to stay at a friend's house two miles away. The dog ran home. Now whey they go on a cruise, the dog stays home but someone will come in to take care of it.

 

So who looks after your pets? And do they give you an attitude when you return?

 

I don't mind see some pictures too.

 

Thanks,

 

Tom

 

When we go away for more than just a few days my partners mother stays at our house and takes care of the cats and the guinea pigs. If we are only going away for 2-3 days, we usually have someone stop by to check on the cat. We try to avoid boarding the cat if we can because she does prefer to be at home, so she can sleep in our bed.

[mrsmoku]

We have DogLady. She's super bizarre and awkward with humans but LOVES dogs and is a great dog watcher/boarder. You have to fill out like a booklet about everything about your dog which is kind of funny since it's in the dog's point of view (like: My favorite food is: or Mom and dad get mad because I sometimes do this: ). Her house is devoted to dogs and she cooks them special meals and walks around with cooked chicken in her pockets.

 

We usually tell Cooper (picture below :) couldn't help it!) that he is going to a sleepover at DogLadys house and he gets excited. We make it like a fun thing we we drop him off and he doesn't seem to mind staying there when we're gone.

 

 

She's also British (which is totally awesome) and I pick up accents REALLY REALLY fast so by the time we've dropped Cooper off, I'm speaking in an legit British accent which my husband finds hilarious.

[mrsmoku]

Thats a great question as we love to cruise , and when I went on disabitly I decided to get a dog as companion , and couldnt stand the though of putting him in a kennel , so after browsing ads on craigslist ,we found a lady/ family that kept him at her house . She is about 30 miles away but we call it Camp Tiffany and Cosmo knows where he is going , he loves going there , he evens sleeps in thier bed with thier dogs . She charges me $15 a day and I usally bring her back a bottle of Rum LOL April 4th he heads to camp .

 

What a cutie!!!

[mrsmoku]

I leave Melman with family, depending on who is going with us. I am lucky enough to have plenty to choose from that lives near me.

 

 

 

What a gorgeous (and BIG!) dog!

[NovCruisin]

Since we have cats they are not very found of being uprooted, so we usually have a family member or close friend stop by every other day to check in on them but we leave a million bowls of food and water, luckily cats unlike dogs don't eat everything in the bowl immediately after we leave! :p

[wocheez]

Ours goes to grandma's house and gets spoiled rotten....

[Abilene01]

We have a woman in our adoption group who does Greyhound pet sitting in her home. She charges $20 per day per dog! So at $80 per day, it is almost like we are paying for our dogs to cruise with us!

[ATTACH]262305[/ATTACH]

We have several rescues, mostly greyhounds, and we pay a young girl to stay at our house while we are gone. This keeps them stress-free and she gets to bring her dog over to run in our large yard. We hate leaving them and miss them terribly-we take them on their own vacation every year to the beach. I think we spend more time preparing to leave them than we do when we pack ourselves.

[Duddy]

We board Madison in the kennel. They run 'em and play with them; outside if the weather is good. She gets her shots and nails clipped. She loves new people so except for those few things, it is really a vacation for her too!

 

~Bob~

[Happy2cruise]

We're fortunate to have a friend who insists on taking our dog when we cruise. It makes it easier for us knowing the dog is in a loving environment getting lots of love and affection.

[flowers44]

I found a mother and daughter who dog sit for people. They come and get my two dogs, a Shih Tzu and a goldendoodle, and take them to their house. I tried a kennel for a weekend when the goldendoodle was just 9 months old and she was terrified all weekend. She was hiding in her house when I went back to pick her up. The Shih Tzu had been there for several years and did not mind it. Knew I could not do that to the goldendoodle again and found this great arrangement with the mother and daughter.

They charge us $20 a day total for both dogs. It is a great deal. They are out in the country and live in the house with the resident dogs. I have a great time knowing my "babies" are having a great time too.

[sousak78]

I usually send my dog to board at the doggie daycare facility he attends on a regular basis (he's a weimaraner so he needs the mental stimulation as much as the physical stimulation that doggie daycare provides to wear him out). This doggie daycare is run out of the owner's home so it's a homey environment. He LOVES it there - runs free and plays with his doggie daycare pals during the day, then gets tucked into bed with a treat in the evening.

 

Even though I know he's in great hands, I still feel a little guilty when I drop him off before I leave for a vacation.

 

I'll get tackled and covered with slobbery kisses when I first get back from a trip, but then he'll snub me and mope around the house for the next few days. I think the attitude I get is a combo of his being mad that I left him and upset that I've taken him away from all of his friends at doggie daycare :D.

[higgib]

We have 2 cats and they go and stay with my parents when we go away. We call their house 'Grandma's Kitty Hotel'! The cats love it as they get lots of attention at home from our kids, but at Grandma's they get left to sleep wherever they like for as long as they like undisturbed, but Mum says they often go to her for strokes and cuddles when they want to.

 

I was worried the first time they went that they would go outside and get lost, but they are very clever boys, and know how to find their way back if they've been out, and Mum enjoys their company.:)

[Debitoo]

Spidey (see avatar) and his sister Callie stay at home. They've never been outside! I have a GREAT neighbor who comes in twice a day to feed, play and scoop. We pay her $100 per week plus we shower her and her family with gifts at Christmas and birthdays. It's worth every penny!

[Trekker954]

I use a pet service Pup eze. Heidi takes care of our doberman, parrot and cat (including medicine if necessary) and house, mail, papers, etc. . She is great. It does get expensive but its a relief to know she's there. She has a busy service but always fits me in. She does have extra charges for holidays and weekends, but still couldn't live without her.

[GraphicsChyk]

My first cruise was with my mom & DS, and DH stayed home (he had to work) and took care of our critters (only cats at that time). The second cruise was me, DH and DS and my mom came and stayed at our house to take care of the cats and our furkid Cardigan Welsh Corgi Topper.

 

 

My next cruise is once again mom, me & DS and my sister this time, so hubby once again gets pet sitting duties. :D

[icedzz]

We have 2 little brother and sister Moorkies (1/2 Yorkie & 1/2 Maltese) which are the loves of our life. We also have 3 indoor Main Coons. Our dogs go to my daughter's and stay for the week, and play with her 2 Moorkies. Then we have a close friend come daily to feed and play with the cats. I put out 5 or 6 disposable litter boxes all the way down the hallwasy. The is no mess and plenty of boxexfor the cats!!;)

[SHICHIDAN]

We board at our local vet. They get walked, health checks and any shots or other needs. We know they are safe and cared for. Gets expensive but worth it. Part of cruise expenses to us.

[rose102798]

Miss Pumpkin stays at Auntie Lynn's while we are away. (Spoiled!!)

I do fear one of these times she will not come home with us when we return.

 

(I caught her on rccl.com last week booking us a 12 night Med. cruise -- she's the smartest dog in the world!!) LOL:D

[frito58]

What a cutie!!!

 

Thanks , yours to . He's not spoiled or anything :rolleyes: as he sits here waiting for my last bite of bacon I am having for lunch. ;)

[Robinhill]

I loves dogs but don't have one, because I'm hardly home on weekends. When I go on a cruise alone, I always ask fellow cruisers how are their pets back home? Sort of an ice breaker after asking where they are from.

 

I remember one couple saying they took their old dog to stay at a friend's house two miles away. The dog ran home. Now whey they go on a cruise, the dog stays home but someone will come in to take care of it.

 

So who looks after your pets? And do they give you an attitude when you return?

 

I don't mind see some pictures too.

 

Thanks,

 

Tom

 

I put an add on Craigslist some years ago and interviewed several people. I found a young single girl who works at the local Emergency Vet hospital as a veterinary technician and she actually comes and stays in my house for the week or 10 days that I am gone because I have 3 dogs and an outside fish pond. I end up paying her less than what it would cost to board them and i have the benefit of having someone stay at night in my house with the dogs and giving them lots of attention. I also have a back up person who loves animals and used to do dog walking. I checked references from both girls and have been happy with both. I usually give them a little extra- stock the fridge etc with foods they would like to have for the week and get a small gift in one of the ports for them. It works great for me. Yes they do have a little bit of an attitude when I get home for about one hour. And when they see me pull out the suitcase to start packing they give me the cold shoulder too and act depressed. So I try not to pack until the day or evening before I am leaving.

[MrsKC08]

In the past we always had a pet sitter come over a couple times per day to walk, feed and play with our fur babies (Savannah and Dixie), but a year ago we moved to a new area and thankfully have some great neighbors who graciously care for our babies when we are away. They don't ever accept money from us, but we occassionally cook dinner for them or take them out to dinner and always bring them back gifts from our travels.

Sadly I am at work and not photos of my babies here :( But I am loving these pet photos! You all have some beautiful "kids"

[booze brothers]

Because all of our cats are rescues and most are special needs, we pay someone to come live in our house and take care of them just as we would while we are gone. It is pricey but well worth the cost to know that we don't have to worry about them while we are gone. :)

 

There is a place down the street that boards cats but we would have to rent out the entire place and that is just cost prohibitive. We also have four fosters right now so it's just easier to have someone live at the house. :D

 

 

Raptor2010.....I like you !! My kind of person,:)

[clcurry]

I have four cats, one of which is special needs. I keep two cats at my house and my parents stop by once a day to feed, water, and scoop them. My special needs cat stays at my parents' house with another of my cats (to keep him company). Mr. Kitty is my special needs guy; he takes medication twice a day for seizures.

 

My parents are very gracious to care for so many of my babies. The two that stay at my house are low maintenance, but Mr. Kitty is another story. I leave them a checklist of his medication times and also the number to his vet (who we have a close relationship with).

 

Attached is Mr. Kitty (the black tux) with his arm around his friend, Indigo (or "Indie"). The second attachment is Ollie (a gray tux). And the diva of them all, Lulu (tortie) is the last attachment.

 

Usually when my BF and I go on vacation, we rent a pet-friendly house and take the cat kids with us. Cruising is a different story, though! We have to do some coaxing and planning since we will be away from them for so long.

[ejeffo]

I have a Cattle Dog, who is very needy of exercise and attention. I leave him with a boarding kennel where he gets all of the above. It is very expensive but he gets his own "suite" with a TV, ceiling fan, and his own bedding and food. They take him out a couple times a day for business and to play. When we get home he freaks out and glues himself to me. After a day or two he gets back to normal. I hate to leave him but I love taking vacations AND having a dog.

[critterchick]

We have somebody move into the house to take care of our menagerie. We used to put the dogs in storage and they were miserable. The housesitter is fabulous and we know that the dogs (got a new rescue yesterday; it's a little chaotic right now) will be well taken care of - probably better than we do, in fact. The cats are happier sleeping on our bed (under it right now until they get used to the new guy) and it saves us a ton of money. Plus the house is lived in, so not a target for thieves.