Our family has always owned a dog and we love them like they are our children. When we rented a beach house for a family beach trip, we thought it would be fun to take our dog on vacation with us for the week. Despite our nearly constant supervision, in a very brief moment of distraction, our sweet doggy wandered off from the beach house and got lost. After two hours of intense searching and action, a heaven sent miracle connected us to the stranger who found our dog. When we heard where she had been found and the situation she was in at the time, it was truly a miracle she was safe. I would definitely say it was worse than the time I had to tell my kids it was time to put our dog to sleep. I wanted to share what we learned from that horrifying experience to help you make the decision on whether or not to bring your dog on your vacation and if you do, to help you prepare to keep them safe and happy so you can relax and enjoy your trip.
Should You Take Your Dog on Vacation?
The decision on whether or not to take your beloved pet with you on vacation is not one you should take lightly. It sounds like a lot of fun to have your dog with you for the trip, but have you considered these things?:
What to Do if You Lose Your Dog on Vacation
If Your Dog is Lost for More than 1 Day
We were lucky enough to be reunited with our dog in 2 hours but if you still haven’t been able to find your dog, you should consider doing these things as well:
You have your buddy with you for the trip The pet fee at the rental or hotel might be less than the kennel fee at home Don’t need to find a dog sitter
Less flexibility for doing things you want to do while on the trip Additional responsibility for caring for your pet More gear to pack in your car or bring on the plane Complicates the drive to your destination, especially on hot days when they can’t be left in the car for you to take a restroom break. Risks that your dog could get lost on vacation: Don’t think this could happen? Be sure to keep reading about our family’s story below.
Kenneling felt like a punishment and I worried she’d be lonely without us. After our one and only experience taking her along for a vacation, I now firmly believe that if you love your pet, your biggest concern should just be that they are in the safest place possible. Perhaps that is with you on vacation, perhaps that is in a kennel safe at home, but neither of those choices is inherently bad. A kennel can be a very loving choice. I never thought losing our dog on vacation could happen to us, but your entire routine on vacation is different than home and mistakes can happen in a blink of an eye.
Have a Chain of Responsibility
Everyone on the trip works as team to make sure that one person is in charge of the dog’s safety at all times. When the responsibility changes to another person, be sure the hand-off is secure: “I’m going inside and leaving the dog with you.” should be said out loud and acknowledged by the next in line. We could have saved hours of fear and worry and found our lost dog sooner if we’d had an AirTag attached to her collar with this attachment. It took just 1 minute of distraction for her to sneak away from the family and get lost in the neighborhood where we were renting a beach house. We spent the next couple of hours scouring the island on foot and by car, stopping every person we encountered to ask for help. In the end, our story had a happy ending and our dog was found, but we learned several important lessons: In the end, it was the police having access to that information that connected us to the person who found our dog. We shared posts in a local lost and found group, a local lifeguard group, and a local social group. In the end, the person who found our dog posted on her own Facebook profile. Her friends encouraged her to call the police who already had our information.
