pets anyone ?

We left "Butch" in WV two years ago, he was 14 and in poor health and pain he had traveled fulltime with us for four years. I told DW we would not get another pup till after we went to Alaska. We are there now and talking about breeds and size, not big and not small. May turn out to be a rescue if we find one we like though I prefer a pup to train with no habits to break.

We have two budgies that come with us if we are not crossing the border, they get to fly around the house, but not the rv. The dogs come with us both countries.

RavensFan24 wrote:


Do what you think is best and the rest will work itself out.

Yes, please do what is best. For the animal, not you!

We travel with 3 dogs. A big reason for having a trailer is because of dogs. We got our first trailer with just one dog. We used that trailer to travel from CA to MD while spending 3 months sight seeing across the country. We had an amazing trip and fell in love with RVing. Other than that trip, we've just used it for random local trips. Our new trailer was an upgrade due to the fact that we now have 3 dogs. We needed more floor space in the trailer. The nice thing is that while we still loving using the RV for camping, we also use it more now as a rolling hotel. With 3 dogs totaling 180lbs, there isn't a lot of hotels that would take us and this way we can enjoy the RV, have our dogs with us and still go do whatever it is we were planning on doing.

We leave them in the RV when we're off doing things. The new trailer is much quieter inside than our old one. We typically leave the AC on (we're in FL) and the radio to keep them distracted by inside noises. We've asked neighbors if they barked at all and they said they never heard them. I know many places say not to leave your pet unattended, but it's impossible to take your animals everywhere.

I'm sure we could do a lot more and stay out longer during the day if we didn't have dogs, but the adventures and fun we do get to have with them far outweighs the convenience of not having a dog....for us anyway. There are definitely times (like wanting to go to a multi-day music festival that doesn't allow pets) that we'd love for the dogs to have a spot to stay while we're having fun, but that's what I get for not wanting to kennel them and living 1000 miles from my family in MD.

Do what you think is best and the rest will work itself out.

2gypsies wrote:
We also did doggy daycare for folks in campgrounds

I had a 'temporary cat' last spring, at a campground where I stayed for a month. She had a human, a permanent resident, but he was much more into his dog. She and I had a great time together. I seriously considered adopting her, but I already have too many rescue animals.

At least for the time, it was good for both of us -- we were both missing the cross-species closeness we were accustomed to.

We are dog lovers who had many in our lifetime. However, when we began full-timing we want to really see the country. We've accomplished a lot and a dog would not have fit in. We like to do things, not sit in a campground. We wouldn't feel right leaving it alone for hours at a time and in many places that's not even allowed. Hiking in the national parks can't include dogs. We rafted the Grand Canyon for nine nights - no dogs allowed. We volunteered at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta and could not have done it with a pet. We took glacier cruises in Alaska and fishing trips - too long to leave a dog.

However, we occasionally volunteered at shelters, walking or just playing with the animals. We also did doggy daycare for folks in campgrounds that wanted to do some exploring but couldn't because of their dog. One, in particular, was done in Death Valley. We had never met the couple but we got to talking with them like RVers do. They wanted to visit the park's Scotty's Castle and it would have been too long of day for a dog. They brought over the pup's lunchbox filled with snacks and toys and it's blanket and we had a grand time. The couple has been friends since then - 15 years. So...like grandkids... you can still enjoy animals - on your own time. :)

We did have a stuffed dog that put a smile on our face whenever we looked at her.

We've had four dogs, now down to two. Both are getting older and we take them almost everywhere. "Almost" is because they sometimes just look at us and don't want to go. Wouldn't be surprised to come back early and catch them having a party with every dog from the campground. Can't imagine coming back to an empty RV. All of ours have been rescues and can't conceive of doing it any other way. Save a dog, go get one tomorrow.

Here's the deal from our POV.

DW and I have had dogs and cats nearly throughout our entire lives. When we went fulltime 15 years ago, it was with 3 cats who were acquired via the Humane Society. One was 1 y/o when she came to us, the other 2 as kittens 6-8 weeks old. All a bit older when we "left home". One died at age 10 and the other 2 last year at ages 17 and 18. All of them were FT troupers. They didn't know that a rolling home wasn't just the way it was supposed to be. They are sorely missed. I'm misty as I type this. BUT:

We decided not to have any more pets because we believe that at this point it would be more selfish by us and less beneficial to them. We are 64 and 60 respectively and have no family with whom we would entrust the care of them at the inevitable event of our demise. We simply believe that it is irresponsible to acquire a pet who is likely to outlive you.

We gave up "stuffed animals" when I outgrew my childhood.

We travel with a real live dog. Man's best friend. We don't consider him a bother or intrusion on our freedom to roam.

Rusty earns his keep, not that he has to, as a companion, comforter, and watch dog and asks little in return but love and care.

All I can add is when in doubt about getting another dog....don't.

2chiefsRus wrote:
We traveled over 5 years as fulltimers with two elderly cats because we already had them when we became full timers. When they passed at 18 & 20, we decided to wait to get more pets for a while. It has been nearly 3 years now and I am amazed at how differently we travel now. We do things we wouldn't have done before and even the things we would have done, we do now without worrying about how they are doing back at the RV. Don't get me wrong, I loved those two so very much.

One of the reasons we waited to get another pet is because my Mom has cats and we wanted to be able to take hers in just in case the need should arise.

I really miss having pets but for now it is the right decision for us.

That is so nice and so responsible for you to be considering your Mom's cats. I volunteer for a rescue and we see so many cats come in from the elderly, it's very sad.