Finding a pet friendly park when you’re in the middle of holiday traffic and Fido is whining furiously on the back seat is no cup of tea. Locating some good doggie parks and planning ahead is the key to successful pet friendly travel. Because everyone needs a wee stop!
Don’t just accept any wide, grassy spot on the side of the road as a place for your dog to stop — many parks aren’t set up to handle your dog, and random grassy knolls might not be able to cope with your dog’s… ahem… urgency. Not to mention the mums and bubs who might be sitting nearby. Without a fence or similar method to contain your pet, off-leash experiences may end in disaster — especially when there are roads and traffic involved. Eep!
And, just as devastatingly, your emergency ‘borrowing’ of a patch of grass could find you in possession of a large council fine. Not the stuff of great holiday memories, right?
As soon as you know you’re going to take your pet on holidays, check out a good pet-friendly travel website or mobile app that features detailed listings of pet friendly locations like dog parks and off-leash areas.
Like anything in life, prevention is often the key to success — and knowing that the next town en route has a dog park is valuable information when you’re trying to explain to an officer why your dog has left a present on someone’s front lawn.
What emergency pet-stops have you made on holidays? And how do you find a good pet friendly park when you needed one?