Pet Patrol

In our camp orientation package we were told not only of the activities and classes available at the camp, but also information about the attractions in the Marlboro vicinity. One of these attractions, Hogback Mountain, bore checking out, as the papers mentioned that it offered an incredible view.

Susie has for the moment declared a truce with all rabbits to focus on the need to have a safe holiday season with pets and their human companions. Whether it is Easter, Passover or Holy Week, there is a plethora of extra activity and extra holiday goodies to keep an eye on. Susie, like most dogs, has a set policy, if it falls on the floor it is legally mine. This means humans who have pets need to be especially watchful over what does fall on the floor or is accessible to their pets – whether they are dogs, cats, ferrets, pigs, iguanas and so on.

On Tuesday, June 4, 2013, after breakfast we headed back to the herding field and pen for both a brief talk by Roy on herding and his experience, as well as another opportunity for camp dogs to try the herding experience. Susie signed up on the list and waited her turn.

From our arrival at Camp Gone to the Dogs and seeing the various offerings, Susie was ready to try herding for the first time.   After speaking with the herding instructors, Roy and Debbie Johnson, we signed up for a private session on Monday morning.  Private sessions are fifteen minutes to prevent both dog and sheep from being to worn out.

After our two night stay in Niagara Falls, Canada, it was finally time to head home.  The other adventures in the Niagara Falls area will appear later in the Guest Patrol, since they are not primarily related to pet travel. These will include the fireworks show on Sunday night, a visit to a large Buddhist temple and exploring the river down from the Falls, and the ride up to the Falls on the Maid of the Mist. Obviously Susie would not have enjoyed the fireworks display, nor would she appreciate the soaking we received near the Canadian Horseshoe Falls.  The pet friendliness of the Fallsview Hotel made it possible to make these short local side trips knowing that Susie was well cared for when I was gone whether for a meal or to see a site unsuited for pets. 

We had reached the halfway point of our day trip and would soon need to head back to camp in Vermont. Riding down the Maine coast there was an old fort marked on the map that looked interesting, Fort McClary at Kittery Point, so we decided to have a look. 

After leaving Montpelier we decided to start looking for a place to have lunch as we approached Burlington. We exited just before Burlington, but couldn’t find any restaurants close to I-89. Since we had our Garmin GPS to get back on track, we continued about five miles down the road until we came to Essex Junction and saw the Firebird Café on the left-hand side. Since this was obviously a local place and not a fast-food chain, we decided to stop and check it out.

Quick – when I say beach and lake resort, what's the first place that comes to mind? If you said Iowa, frankly, I'd be shocked, but for this review, you would be correct!

Taffy Morgan organized a field trip for campers who wanted to visit a local maple syrup farm, both to see how the syrup is produced as well as to purchase really high quality maple syrup to take home. Susie and I joined the group going to Dave Matt’s sugar shack on Thursday evening after dinner at camp.

Traveling and can’t take your feline companion with you, but would like to enjoy some feline companionship – look for a cat café where you can enjoy a cup of tea or joe and relax petting a willing pussycat.

Sunday evening of June 9, 2023 we rolled into Niagara Falls, Ontario and made our way to our base station for the next two nights, the Niagara Falls Fallsview Best Western. The hotel had been recommended to us by a friend at the dog park in Louisville, who told us how dog friendly the hotel was. They didn’t overstate it. While writing this article, I saw a site that lists the top 12 pet friendly hotels in the world and the Fallsview Best Western was on the list.

Susie wanted to share her experience crossing her first international border into Canada. Not only was she entering Canada, but crossing the border into French speaking Quebec where she is now known as Mademoiselle Suzette and  Mademoiselle Suzi.

Right at the top of the list of things that Susie enjoys doing is making a trip to the dog park. It is amazing to see how she knows when we are getting close and as soon as she sees the fence with her friends – both canine and human – on the other side, she begins to vocalize and get excited. 

Some of Susie’s Canadian friends brought an interesting place in Canada to our attention.  Dog Paddling Adventures is a group that offers adventures for dogs and their humans in Ontario province during every season of the year.

Dog Mountain came to our attention when Susie and I were at Camp Gone to the Dogs.  The proceeds from an auction at the end of our week at camp were dedicated to the support of Dog Mountain in northeastern Vermont near St.Johnsbury. Unfortunately our schedule did not allow for a visit on this trip, since we were traveling up the western side of the state into Canada on our way to Montreal.

One of Susie’s doggie buddies out west told her about a giant Beagle wandering around in Idaho. You can’t help but wonder if Paul Bunyan and Babe are also nearby. We decided to check it out and discovered the Dog Bark Park Inn in Cottonwood, Idaho where you can stay and relax comfortably in the doghouse – a bed and breakfast built as a giant wood Beagle. Susie’s daddy calls it the “Trojan Beagle.”

Susie is always glad to hear from her canine friends, admirers, and boyfriends, both in the United States and abroad. She just received news from her German Shepherd buddy, Fritz, that there is a dog hotel at the airport in Frankfurt, Germany.  Of course Fritz, a bit on the fresh side, invited Susie to join him in one of the kennels at the hotel. Although Susie will pass on the opportunity for now, who knows what the future holds.

Situated about 2 hours by car from Los Angeles is the fun-filled desert town of Palm Springs, the former playground of the Rat Pack, Elvis Presley and currently, the majority of stars in Hollywood. Talk about a great place to spend a week, or if you are visiting L.A., a long weekend away from the City.

This town has it all – great restaurants, a lively night life, fantastic shopping, fabulous tours and some of the hippest hotels in the world. 

As pet-friendly travel becomes more and more common we can expect the trend to even move to the cruise lines.  A 2005 court ruling requires all cruise lines to comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act which opens the door to allow trained service pets to accompany their disabled owners on cruises. This is a start towards more open acceptance of pets on cruises.

Recently we had the unfortunate need to travel to Beaumont, Texas for a family funeral.  Since this amounted to a journey of 950 miles each way, it was imperative for us to stop for the night along our route.  We were looking for somewhere to divide up the trip into a two day drive, and Grenada, Mississippi was a little more than half-way.

On our arrival at camp on Sunday, June 2, it was a warm to hot summer day. Our room was on the second floor of Marlboro North and fortunately we brought a fan to help cool things down. Of course a front moved through and the rest of the week was cool, but for a couple of Southerners cool water and iced drinks were imperative.

Debbie Murray is a dog enthusiast from LaGrange, KY. She currently has five dogs - all Miniature Australian Shepherds who share a house with her and her husband Paul. Debbie also breeds her pets on occasion to share this marvelous breed with other dog enthusiasts. Susie is excited because she hopes to be getting another mini Aussie to keep her company from Debbie's  next litter. Debbie has been kind enough to share this article on choosing a veterinarian with the Boomer Travel Patrol.

For more detailed information on Debbie and her dogs you can visit her web site Alangus Mini & Toy Aussies as well as her blog. This article is one recently featured on her blog and offers excellent advice on selecting a veterinarian.

Susie wants to see more and more dog friendly restaurants where she can be with her daddy especially on road trips. In order to accomplish this she wants to get the word out that without proper canine etiquette this cannot happen. 

One of Susie’s many good friends, in this case a human one, told her about a marvelous camp for dogs and their significant others in the beautiful setting of Vermont. Susie’s ears perked up immediately with the familiar “let’s go” look on her face. She made it clear to her daddy that he should check in to this.