I have two yellow labs named Nikita and Ellie and I’m caught between loving being a dog owner and loving to travel.
I tried a kennel where they were very well cared for but it was stressful to both dogs in different ways. Ellie the younger one wouldn’t have anything to do with me for a week after I got back because she was mad at me about the kennel. At least I assume that’s why she was mad at me since she’s normally a very loving dog.
About a year and a half ago the children next door started “dog sitting” for me. They come over 3-5 times a day to let the dogs out and feed them. There are 3 kids who do an incredible job and it’s facilitated by their parents who fill in sometimes when everyone else is busy.
The longest they have done it so far is for almost 4 weeks. This time I’ll be gone 6-8 weeks. I worry about taking advantage of them and running them into the ground with a 4 week trip. Sticking them with the entire responsibility for 6-8 weeks is too much.
To my amazement I’ve found a couple more kids in the neighborhood who want to help. Actually they found me. They stopped by handing out professional looking business cards because they wanted to do yard work, odd jobs, dog sitting to make money. How cool is that? I’ve spoken to one of the boy’s mother and she will coordinate with the parents next door to make sure it goes smoothly.
I can’t believe how lucky I am. I now feel I can leave and the house and dogs will be well cared for.
It’s not done yet, but I want to post pictures and a big thank you on our sponsor page since these people are huge contributors to making the trip possible for me. Watch for it at http://www.motorcycle-journeys.com/sponsors/sponsors.html.