Do you miss your dog or cat while you are gone?

[cruznon]

Thanks for starting this thread, it's good to know so many of us share similiar concerns for our furry family!

 

As soon as the suitcases come out, Princess (our golden/sheppard mix) becomes my shadow. She gets as close as she can, then looks at me as if to say,"You can't be doing this AGAIN?" Then Maxwell (small white terrier mix) joins in, following us everywhere.

Then they mope about with such sad looks.

 

However, they adore our house/pet sitter! As soon as Aimee arrives the tails wag and all is well.

We miss them and always call to see that they are doing well. Once we're off the ship, we can't wait to see them !

 

[chcats]

As you can tell from my name I am a cat person. I have 3 cats, Chipper, Ben, and Jerry. Ben and Jerry are really pigs disguised in cat's bodies since they are unbelievable eaters and can inhale a can of cat food in no time flat. I miss them terribly when I travel, but feel very comforted by the fact that my sister and brother in law who love them very much take care of them while we are away.

[debshomespun]

I also have 3 cats that I do miss while I am gone. They go to visit with "grandma" (my mom) while we go away. I do miss them. Here is a picture of the 3 of them.

[Two@Sea]

We have two Havanese, Oliver and Maggie. They are so precious to us that I only trust the breeder to keep them when we travel. If she is too busy, we don't go!

 

I also have several Havanese that "visit" with us when their people travel. They know I understand how I would want mine cared for, and that I will treat their little ones exactly that way when they stay with us.

 

(I must be doing ok, as I got a call just this morning that one little guy keeps digging out his lease and dragging it to the door... and the only time they use that leash is when he comes to stay with us! :) )

[dvdfreakmc]

We have two cats that we miss terribly when we are gone, Max and Pumpkin. But we are blessed to bring my son's service dog with us, Werin a golden lab. She always gets lots of love from everyone on board missing their pets.

[dcsam]

We have 3 Brittany dogs (1 is a beautiful 'rescue' dog), and a cat. We always have somebody take care of our 'babies' (in our house) while we're away. But our cat hates strangers and usually hides under the house while we're away. He'll sneak in at night, just to eat, then 'hightails' it back under the house till we come home. The worst part of vacationing: leaving our beloved pets at home. Life would be much simpler without all the hastle of owning pets, but they certainly enrich and complete our lives.

[willowoodf]

I miss my kitties, Sassy and Sasha terribly when we are away! We find that they much prefer to be left at home instead of boarding at the vet's, so they stay home with a petsitter coming to check on them through the day. We also have a couple of "Sassycams" set up that we check while we are away. We are always so happy to see a (usually) sleeping cat on the camera!

 

 

Mary

[kjw869]

Oh yes we miss our Riley. We usually joke about how he would probably spend most of his time in the Lido working the crowd for treats. He is a Golden but we swear somewhere in his family tree someone slipped in a pig.

 

 

 

 

 

Wow, another pup named Riley. Our Riley is a 4-year old Sheltie who we very much missed while on the Westerdam in May. We have seven months to go before leaving him when we sail on the Eurodam in January. It gets tougher each time we leave. Our Riley would also hang out in the Lido waiting for handouts!

[sjmccmjs]

In Sept, we will leave our baby for the first time and I already am soooo worried about it. Roxy is a 10 month old mini dachshund and she is the light of our lives. She is so attached to me that when I leave the room she has to follow. And if I leave her only for an hour or two, she acts like I've been gone for days when I return. I can't imagine how she will be when we leave for 13 days. :( But between our DS and DIL and their new puppy, and both her grandmas, she should be well taken care of. We will be celebrating our 25th anniversary and we are so looking forward tro going to Alaska for the first time, but I hope I don't spend the whole time crying for my baby!!!! And don't tell my kids that I am more worried about being away from my dog them from them!!!:p

[LovesBeagles]

We miss our 2 dogs bunches but that hasn't stopped us from traveling:). Before we moved to Virginia this year, we boarded our dogs with our vet in Florida. We paid extra for the 2 to be in the "suites". Each one was painted with a differnet mural. They could "go to" London, Scotland, Mexico, etc. They too got to travel! My only disappointment was that with spending the extra money, they didn't come home speaking french or scottish!

On a serious note, 3 years ago while we were on a TA cruise, our beloved beagle Bailey passed away. It wasn't until 2wks later that we found out. She was 9 but healthy. (A beagle autopsy didn't reveal a cause). Things do happen. After I said no more dogs, 3 months later we got Lucy the beagle. She is a delight. Our other dog, Belle, is a "pound puppy" She is a beagle/jack russell mix. Or as we call her....a brussell!

[brucory]

Is there a secret way of taking your pets on cruises?

 

:D:D:D

[dukeysmom]

Our 14-year-old rescue dog, Sheena, is a member of our family. We haven't been on a cruise in three years :( because of her! I would never forgive myself if she passed while we "abandoned" her at doggie camp.

 

I think only true pet lovers would understand.

 

Kudos to Floridaadguy - keep up the good work!

[KathyPet]

I do miss our two rescue kitties Storm and Cloud (they were found in a ditch during a thunderstorm). I board them because I just don't trust a cat sitter to really show up every day and I don't like them left at home by themselves for 23 hours a day because they are such "people friendly" kitties. They go to a boarding facility that only takes cats. They have their own 6 x 6 "suite" with two windows and a nice bench covered in blankets to sit on and look out the windows at the birds and other wildlife that visit this isolated location. Twice a day they have playtime out in the open area in the center of the facility where they can climb on the cat climbers and the staff plays with them. I do miss them and am always happy to see them when we return.

[CowPrincess]

In Sept, we will leave our baby for the first time and I already am soooo worried about it. Roxy is a 10 month old mini dachshund and she is the light of our lives. She is so attached to me that when I leave the room she has to follow. And if I leave her only for an hour or two, she acts like I've been gone for days when I return. I can't imagine how she will be when we leave for 13 days. :( But between our DS and DIL and their new puppy, and both her grandmas, she should be well taken care of. We will be celebrating our 25th anniversary and we are so looking forward tro going to Alaska for the first time, but I hope I don't spend the whole time crying for my baby!!!! And don't tell my kids that I am more worried about being away from my dog them from them!!!:p

 

Do your dear little pooch a favor, and start training her now that you WILL come back. One thing is to do is let her have a few "practice" visits where she will be staying while you are gone, starting with 1/2 hour or so, and slowly increase the length of her visits to an overnight. She may still be "fussy" for a couple of days when you actually go on vacation, but she will also know that every time you've left her, you've come back.

 

I'm a petsitter, and it just SLAYS me when people go away for the first time, and it is a long vacation -- I've actually had people try to leave a 12 year old dog for a month, as the dog's first experience at ever being left.

 

A little time and effort in advance can usually help your pets adjust to your absence. Before we go away and kennel our dog, we always let her have a few "practice boarding sessions" so she remembers that we DO come back. Otherwise, she'd be inconsolable.

[SparklingBlonde]

I have two shelties and I miss them so much when I am gone it is almost enough to stop me from going on another cruise.

 

Here's a pic from Halloween 2008.

 

[babyher]

We have a 13 yr old American Satffordshire (YES she's a pit bull *LOL*) that is just the love of our lives .

 

When we go away she stays home with our DS and DD and they do take very good care of her.

 

We miss her terribly when we go away. The kids can take care of themselves and can't wait to get rid of us *LOL* but I know our puppy misses us

[MarilouR]

I might be a little bit odd here. We have two 14 year old cats who we love to death. However, when we are on holidays, while we do think of them, we are also glad for a bit of a break. We always make sure that they are well cared for while we are gone - usually we have someone stay with them. But we don't miss the litter box or the crying or playing in the middle of the night - which they seem to do a lot more as they get older - or having to fight with them for space in the bed :) - they sleep with us and tend to get first dibs.

 

That said, when we return home we are always so happy to see them (and them to see us) and we all happily return to all our routines. :) :)

[Two@Sea]

Do your dear little pooch a favor, and start training her now that you WILL come back. One thing is to do is let her have a few "practice" visits where she will be staying while you are gone, starting with 1/2 hour or so, and slowly increase the length of her visits to an overnight. She may still be "fussy" for a couple of days when you actually go on vacation, but she will also know that every time you've left her, you've come back.

 

I'm a petsitter, and it just SLAYS me when people go away for the first time, and it is a long vacation -- I've actually had people try to leave a 12 year old dog for a month, as the dog's first experience at ever being left.

 

A little time and effort in advance can usually help your pets adjust to your absence. Before we go away and kennel our dog, we always let her have a few "practice boarding sessions" so she remembers that we DO come back. Otherwise, she'd be inconsolable.

 

EXCELLENT advise, CowPrincess! I insist that every new "visitor" come to the house and spend some time before they will be staying with us. I also want the owners to be comfortable, and let them know they will not hurt my feelings if they decide to make other arrangements.

 

With proper planning, and preparation, owners and sitters pets all have a wonderful time!

[SparklingBlonde]

Both of our shelties are from shelters and we tried to leave them at a kennel/doggy daycare for an extended weekend. When they came home they vomitted for a day a two after that, so we never took them back. We always leave them with a family member when we are gone. They do much better there than at a kennel.

[CowPrincess]

I might be a little bit odd here. We have two 14 year old cats who we love to death. However, when we are on holidays, while we do think of them, we are also glad for a bit of a break. We always make sure that they are well cared for while we are gone - usually we have someone stay with them. But we don't miss the litter box or the crying or playing in the middle of the night - which they seem to do a lot more as they get older - or having to fight with them for space in the bed :) - they sleep with us and tend to get first dibs.

 

That said, when we return home we are always so happy to see them (and them to see us) and we all happily return to all our routines. :) :)

 

Yowling and crying in the middle of the night may indicate that your cat is feeling unwell. We found this out from our vet when our little darling was diagnosed with a problem -- she'd been yowling for a couple of months, we thought she was getting a bit senile. Nope, in older cats it MAY (but not always) be a symptom.

[sjmccmjs]

Do your dear little pooch a favor, and start training her now that you WILL come back. One thing is to do is let her have a few "practice" visits where she will be staying while you are gone, starting with 1/2 hour or so, and slowly increase the length of her visits to an overnight. She may still be "fussy" for a couple of days when you actually go on vacation, but she will also know that every time you've left her, you've come back.

 

I'm a petsitter, and it just SLAYS me when people go away for the first time, and it is a long vacation -- I've actually had people try to leave a 12 year old dog for a month, as the dog's first experience at ever being left.

 

A little time and effort in advance can usually help your pets adjust to your absence. Before we go away and kennel our dog, we always let her have a few "practice boarding sessions" so she remembers that we DO come back. Otherwise, she'd be inconsolable.

 

Great advice. I'm sure my baby will be fine. She spends alot of time with my DS and DIL and their puppy Cooper, who is her best friend. I'm just worried about at night since she sleeps with us. I think we will have a practice night. She can have a sleepover!! Now if I can just remember how I ever fell asleep without her plastered to my side all night, we should all be ok!!!

[primetime99]

We are very lucky, our daughter lives in the area and takes care of our beloved Lola. We miss her terribly when on a cruise and "her dad" will often say when we get back to the cabin, "I wonder what Lola is doing".

 

It's nice to know there are many of us out there.

 

Marilyn

[Scottydogs]

Yes! Yes! We miss them very much but I sometimes wonder how much they miss us since they can't wait to get in the door to the "spa" (aka kennel) and come home hoarse from all the "visiting" they do while there. As you can see from my name and picture, they are also Scotties.

[moondoggie]

We wouldn't dare send our three (two goldens, one golden mix) to 'dog prison', aka a kennel, no matter how wonderful it was. We pay a married couple to move into our house whenever we are cruising--they let the dogs sleep in bed with them! They cost more than the cruise fare for one of us!

 

I always hope for a service animal or two on our cruise, so we can have a 'dose of dog' while we're gone. Yes, we grovel and scrape to befriend the owners, just to get a few minutes with the dog when he's 'off duty'.

[SarasMommy]

Yes! Yes! We miss them very much but I sometimes wonder how much they miss us since they can't wait to get in the door to the "spa" (aka kennel) and come home hoarse from all the "visiting" they do while there. As you can see from my name and picture, they are also Scotties.

 

Your picture brings back memories of my little Scottie who left for the Rainbow Bridge 12 years ago this coming Sunday. :-(

 

I absolutely miss my pound puppy Sara when we travel, but we too are lucky to have DH's wonderful parents who love to take care of her, not to mention her uncle Zac (DH's parent's black and white cat from hell). My MIL even turned down an assignment with her temp agency a few years ago because she had already agreed to take care of our Ra! We joked with them once that maybe we would go on a 30 day cruise and my FIL said that if we did then we wouldn't get her back!