Should We Stay or Should We Go: Pets and Holiday Travel

by | Nov 18, 2014 | Animals & Pets, Sponsored | 2 comments

As much as our pets are our family, it is sometimes just impossible or at least very difficult to take our pets with us when we head out for the holidays.

Pets and holiday travel, y’all.

The question of “What do we do with the dog(s)?” has always been an issue for us. With a family of 5 and a minivan, it is just not possible to take our dogs on a 3 day drive to grandma and grandpa’s for the holidays.

The dogs would lose their minds.

The humans would lose their minds.

And also, I always pack WAY. TOO. MUCH.

*This post is sponsored by Rover.com, yet all the feels about my doggies and stories and admission that I am an over-packer are my own.

There is simply not enough room for le animals in le minivan.

I’d need a MAXIvan.

Which is nothing like a maxipad… but I digress.

PLUS, grandma and grandpa’s house is not terribly pet friendly.

My friends over at Rover.com have created an interesting infographic around this common dilemma – what to do with the dogs.

We can’t leave our four-footed family home alone… I can’t imagine leaving my free-spirited wanderers in a kennel… We are not comfortable asking so much of friends… And I realize we are not alone in our quandary:

Screen Shot 2014-11-18 at 12.20.42 PMYou can see the full infographic here.
I was so excited to learn about Rover.com. Though since learning about the service I’ve not needed to utilize it, there will come a day. There will come a day our family will head out for a week… and Gus and Kevin will need some love, and of course food. Poor Kevin. He doesn’t want to live in a kennel…

kevin
Rover offers a great alternative. It is generally more affordable than a kennel plus the dog (or cat, bird, pot belly pig) are in a comfortable home with a loving sitter. In addition to connecting pet owners with sitters, the Rover platform offers complimentary premium insurance for all services booked through Rover, access to 24/7 vet consultation, mobile apps, photo sharing, videos of stay highlights, and optional sitter background checks.

Will we choose in-home care or find a home Kevin and Gus can visit? I’m not sure. They love adventure, but they love their home.

The thing is, with Rover.com, WE HAVE OPTIONS and I love me some options.

Speaking of options… Visit Rover.com for your first booking and enter Jenny’sVIPFriends for $25 off! Offer expires 12.31.14. In order to be eligible for this promotion, the transaction must be booked through Rover.com. Applies to new Rover.com customers only. The $25 coupon value will be applied to your Rover account once redeemed. Limit one per customer. Rover.com will charge no processing fee. Void where prohibited. Your stay is subject to the Rover.com Terms and Conditions.

More about Rover.com: Rover.com connects dog owners with a nationwide network of dog lovers for hire, enabling everyone to experience the utter joy and unconditional love of a dog. Services available through Rover include overnight dog sitting in the dog owner’s home or the sitter’s home, dog daycare, and dog walking. The Rover website and mobile app connect dog owners with the largest network of reviewed and approved sitters in the country. We review our sitters individually to ensure we hire only those sitters who will treat your dog just like family. Of course you can always visit the website to get all the detailed information you need!

Rover also has a great program their sitters can choose to participate in… Sit-a-Dog, Save-a-Life Rover believes all dogs deserve a happy and loving home. In support of that cause, Rover’s Sit-a-Dog, Save-a-Life program allows its sitters to easily donate a portion of their proceeds to supporting animal rescues and shelters nationwide, including the Seattle Humane Society, San Francisco SPCA, PAWS NY and K9s for Warriors. Rover currently works with more than 50 organizations nationwide and has more than 1,200 sitters who donate on a monthly basis.

What are your thoughts? Do you have pets who need care while you are away? Are you someone who LOVES animals? Becoming a Rover sitter could be a great way to fill your life with four-footed treasures and a little extra cash! What do you usually do with your animals when you have to go and can’t take them with you?

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