Traveling with a pet – Sentinel and Enterprise

DEAR PET TALK: We have permission to bring our dog and cat to a campground. We are thrilled, but what advice do you have for transporting them by car? – Traveling Family

DEAR TRAVELING FAMILY: That is great news – I wish more places considered allowing pets to be with their families – much less stress on everyone.  In our experience, dogs make easier travelers than cats (except for Reggie, our therapy cat who does a ton of traveling).

If you have the time to practice with your cat in a carrier on short trips (errands, perhaps), by all means do so. Cats can get used to the sound of a car, being in an enclosure, and having a very different experience from their usual routine (lounging, eating, playing, lounging). If you are using a hard carrier, put a blanket over it. This way, you are taking away one of the cat’s senses (sight), which helps reduce agitation. However, cats can adjust to being in an open carrier, and today’s photo shows what happened once when I drove home from a therapy pet visit.

There is a sharp turn to the right to get to our driveway, and once I’d made the turn, our cat, Mr. Wuffles, (age 15) would venture onto my lap. Mind you, I’m driving less than 5 miles an hour to get up a steep, gravel drive.

But then, he put his paws on the steering wheel. My son got the photo, although we were both  almost breathless with laughter. And no, SNL’s “Toonest the Driving Cat” aside, this is not a practice we’d recommend. (But Mr. Wuffles was old enough to get a Learner’s Permit).

As for dogs – during the summer months I can’t count the number of “driving dogs” I see who are perched on their owner’s lap. This is not recommended – nor is it legal, nor should it be encouraged. However, bear in mind that dogs have been with us since we were migratory early humans. They know that travel is just part of life with bipeds. Our therapy dog Sarrju happily rides in the back of our car, with Reggie (who is in a zippered enclosure – thus no chance of driving!). She knows car rides bring her someplace interesting.

Sally Cragin is the director of Be PAWSitive: Therapy Pets and Community Education. Send questions to bepawsitive01420@gmail.com