If my wife would fly, we would most likely find a summer home on Vancouver Island and continue our visits. But she won't get on a plane so that settles that. Also,our little Bear Killers have been our companions for 17 years and we would not leave them behind
Another factor was that while we were in Nebraska getting ready to leave for VI, our little female Bichon was having seizures for unknown reasons. Took her to a local vet, but didn't get any real answers. That added to the other factors.
Back home, our local vet asked about her diet, and then said she was getting too much protein. Also,cheese and chicken are heavy contributors to those seizures. Our litte poochkies always got their share of cheese,and to go boxes from restaurants were almost always chicken. We restricted the diet,and she has had no more problems.