Does anyone else feel sad to leave their pets when going on a cruise?

[Grits53]

Of course, we feel sad to leave our pets behind! We love them and don't want to leave them. However, we can leave them without much worry, because my best friend house sits for us while we're gone. She loves our dogs, and they love her. If you can find someone that you trust to house sit for you, it will ease your mind so much!

 

BTW, I have 10 horses, and the one I'm riding in my signature is named Goose. :) He's such a character! My friend is also a horse person, and she looks after the horses, too. Of course, I do pay her for her "services", but it is worth every penny to me, and she needs the extra money, so it all works out well for everybody.

[Grits53]

As a "PS" to my above post....Look who made her arrival while I was cruising on the Conquest last week. This time, my DH and adult DD were here to care for the critters, because I was cruising with another friend. What a nice surprise I had when I came home to this little girl! I'm thinking about naming her Caribbean Sun. :)

 

[cree13]

It's so nice to know that others feel the same way. I have a great friend who will come by my house 2x/day to let our outdoor cat in & out. Plus we have 2 indoor cats. I know they're well cared for, but I always miss them when I'm on vacation. That's the reason I am hesitant about taking a 3 week vacation with my BF. That's a long time to be away from my babies! He loves the cats, too, but tells me that they'll be fine!

[Blondilu]

Leaving my 10 month old Chihuahua mix when I go in April will definitely tug at my heart strings. She will be staying with my neighbors who adore her and she adores them. My biggest worry is she will be fat when I come back. I've been accused of spoiling her. Hmmph. I've got nothing on her favorite "Uncle and Auntie" next door.

[noobcruiser]

Simple answer: yes....absolutely.

 

I feel guilty now..but then, the kennel that we place our two dogs in is really a Dog Spa....

 

They get a Deluxe Suite for two with a TV, the suite has access to their own private "yard" and we pay for daily play time with the staff. The last time they were there, the staff let them hang out in the kitchen with them all day.

 

So, while I feel guilty now...I know that they will be well cared for and having a ball (no pun intended).

[goose&mav]

Grits53-- I love your beautiful "Goose"!! My boy cat is named Goose and my big girl cat is named Maverick, hence my name on CC boards.

 

BAILEYHY-- my boy cat is always vocal as well. The last time we went away, he was very clingy when we returned for days. He is a very meticulous cat, always well groomed and NEVER once went outside his litter box until after our last vacation, but for the next 5 days after we got home from that Hawaii vacation, he eliminated in the bathtub. It's so funny, even when he was showing his displeasure at our having "left him", he still went in a place where it would be neat and easy to clean!

 

He's had such a hard life previous to coming to live with us, it breaks my heart. He had a mass in his cheek when we first got him and the vet finally did surgery a yr later and discovered it was a BB pellet that someone had shot at him with when he was living on the streets. :mad: I can't believe how mean people can be to animals. That's why we care for them so much and my DH and I pamper our pets, and why we donate $$$ to the rescue animal organizations.

[CanWeGoYet?]

That's terrible someone did that to Goose. How wonderful for him to have found a good home. I've had rescue guinea pigs in the past, had one little guy that someone tried to feed to a snake. Poor thing was so terrified when I first got him. It took years for him to get over his fear of people.

[ShyGuy215]

Our Maltese, Lily, is a huge part of our family.

The last time we cruised, we found a kennel in Tampa and took her on our vacation with us. We stopped in Orlando before and Myrtle Beach after the cruise and stayed at pet friendly hotels. We felt lucky to be able to take her with us except for the seven days on the cruise. She had a good time too, but, of course, disliked hanging out with a bunch of dogs during our cruise. She is very intelligent and, I think understands that if she had not spent the 7 days in the kennel, she would have had to stay in one at home for 2 1/2 weeks.

I don't know if you have that kind of option since you are going to Europe, but it worked great for us.

[juggles]

me and my husband went without a holiday for 12 years because we couldn't bear to leave our dogs with someone else/kennels.

We once booked a holiday in Egypt then cancelled it, we just couldn't go anywhere without them

[bojomitch]

I do miss my 10-yr old dog Lily when we go on vacation, but not so much that I would cancel my trip. DD comes in 2-3 times a day to take care of her and sometimes takes her to her home. We are leaving in less than three weeks and ever since we put out the suitcases she has been very clingy and doesn't get too far away from us. Trying to put a guilt trip on us.:):):):)

[WeLoveAlaska]

We have a gray tabby named Calypso, and she always stays at my mom and dad's place when we go away. Mom is SO funny ... she calls Callie her "grand-cat"! Even better, Mom's dog Phoebe is my "sister", therefore she is "Aunt Phoebe" to my cat.

 

So even though we miss our kitty very much, we know that she's in very, very good hands.