A few weeks ago I decided Griffin needed to make a last minute trip to see a vet rehab type specialist. The next week, we had an appointment – they had an opening on the only day I could come.
Favorite van on a 2012 trip to MI
The biggest challenge was my dog van. I’ve had this van for 3 years and it has been the best one yet. My previous few dog vans were quite unreliable and would break down quite often – this one has been great! I didn’t want to test it on the 12 hour-each-way drive and I didn’t have time to replace it on such short notice, so it was time to rent a car.
Some car rental places are more pet friendly than others. Our friends recently rented a van to use with their dogs for a week. I somehow ended up with a company that was very -not- pet friendly. I only found that out as I was picking up the car. I did continue through and go with the car- my trip was the next day, but the whole trip I was very stressed about what would happen if the car broke down and they brought a replacement – and saw my dog/s. We went with the smallest regular car, and even with the rental expense it ended up being about the same cost for car+gas as it would have been to just feed my van for such a long drive.
Blaze and his friend Gabby taking a nap. Waterproof seat covers are a great invention!
I learned that big dogs do not do well in cars. I didn’t have room for crates so I had to use the seatbelts. I learned that only one (small) golden retriever will take up the entire back seat! Blaze also went on the trip and spent half the time on the seat and half the time in the foot area. I bruised my head and shins getting in and out, I’m not used to a small car!
Griffins favorite sleeping position
When I brought the car home I immediately covered the back seat with a tarp and cut out holes for the seatbelts. I used bungees to attach it to the head rests. I covered the tarp with blankets and the front seat and other (black) carpeted areas with sheets. If I had a dog-car-seat-cover I would have used that, but mine fell apart a few years ago and now my dogs are always crated.
Before our drive I bathed, force dried, and completely brushed out the dogs so we would not have loose hair. Right before I left I used the dryer on them again.
During the drive I realized how difficult seatbelts are to get a dog in and out of the car. Crates are 100 times easier and faster! Griffin and Blaze both prefer being on a seat to a crate, but they didn’t like having to share the space. I had extra towels to dry off the dogs any time they were more wet or muddy.
“Are we there yet?” – somewhere in WI
Once we got home I removed all the layers, vacuumed, used a sticky roller, and then took it somewhere to be cleaned. And we got our deposit back!
I will probably have to rent a car again at some point – I definitely will be more cautious about the company we rent from and if I’m taking more than one dog I will get something big enough for crates.
The results of our trip? Not so great, that will be it’s own post at some point. I wish we had made the drive a long time ago. My lesson learned is to make an effort to go and find the right kind of specialist. My second lesson: we can travel on our own! It’s a lot easier and safer with another person (backup to help if something goes wrong) – but it was by far my longest trip without another person. Next up – another big project and then when I get home we’ll be replacing the much loved red van!