Chloe Goes On Vacation

Chloe Goes On Vacation

8.27.2014

Viewing Chloe on the Camp Bow Wow Internet cameras over my iPhone

A vacation is a word that is best defined as a break from the usual routine. Here in the high desert, my wife and I define a vacation as chance to change the scenery, or in other words search out either the Atlantic or Pacific oceans, and that’s what we did earlier this week when we headed for the California shoreline.

However, having a dog in the family generally makes vacation planning a little more complicated. Of course you could load up the station wagon and bring them along, but if your plans include flying, putting a dog on an airplane isn’t always an option. Southwest airlines will allow dogs or cats on board the plane provided that they’re basically T-cup in size, and if they can fit under the seat in front of you, in a pet carrier of course, they fly for free.

Well, obviously a cocker spaniel is not the size of a small T-cup, which means no flying for them in the passenger cabin, unless of course they could qualify under the definition of being a “service dog.” Such a qualification requires that your canine be extremely well behaved, specifically trained to be around people, and can sit quietly in front of your seat. 

So back to answering the question …where does your dog stay?  Of course you might get another family member involved to watch over them, or even an outside dog sitter I suppose? But if you don’t want to open your house to a strange dog sitter, the next solution is a well-respected boarding kennel. 

Chloe with the other small dogs at Camp Bow Wow.

Here in Albuquerque, there are a number of such operations that will board your dog overnight, and as I wrote in an earlier entry, my preferred choice is “Camp Bow Wow”, which uses a camping theme as their marketing angle. The establishment, not only separate the small dogs from the large dogs, but most importantly I have the opportunity to see how the kennel is actually treating my dog by way of the Internet cameras. At anytime during the day, I can remote into the kennel using my computer, my iPhone, or iPad. You even have the choice to pay for a dog suite where at night you can watch if Fido is actually sleeping or just messing around.

So for four nights this past week, Chloe spent her vacation at Camp Bow Wow, where my wife and I would routinely check in on our girl from my iPhone. Regardless if we were on our hotel balcony over looking the Pacific, or on a ship that was in search of whales, we always knew how Chloe was doing. When your beloved pet can’t join you on vacation, the next best thing is seeing that they are indeed being treated with kindness.

Chloe rests after chasing dogs all day at Camp Bow Wow.