Rocky my Chihuahua more than our terrier cocker mix Nikita. Rocky goes with us to visit my mom in Florida to Vegas to visit the boys.

They really are a big part of our family. All of our pets are. My mom who cannot have a dog where she lives and couldn't take care of one loves him too. She looks forward to his visits and asks for him at every call.

Rocky is like a child to us. Niki is fast becoming the same way too.

BRENT72,FIRST OF NO YOUR NOT STRANGE.LOL MY HUSBAND AND I BOTH WOULD NOT LEAVE OUR DOG IN A KENNEL.MY HUSBAND TRAVELED FOE A LIVING AND WE TOOK OUR DOG WITH US,HE HAS BEEN TO MANY STATES.IN 2005 I STOPPED GOING WITH MY HUSBAND,I HAVE A PINCHED NERVE IN MY NECK THAT JUST HURT ME A LOT,ITS A LOT BETTER.OUR DOG STAYED HOME WITH ME,IN WHICH I AM SURE HE IS GALD.YES WHEN WE GET A DOG,WE TREAT THEM AS WE WOULD OUR KIDS.WE DO HAVE A DAUGHTER.LOL WHEN SOMEONE GETS PET I AGREE WITH YOU,ITS SOMETHING SOMEONE SHOULD THINK ABOUT,BECAUSE ITS JUST AS YOU SAY,THERE ARE VET BILLS AND SPEICAL FOOD AND THINGS YOU BUY THEM.I KNOW WHEN I WAS OUT OF STATE,I TOOK MY VET NUMBER WITH ME.I HAVE TWO DOGS,BOTH ARE SHELITES,AND A HUGE PART OF OUR FAMILY.MY MALE WHO HAS BEEN SICK,BUT IS SO MUCH BETTER IS 11 1/1 YEARS OLD AND I HAVE A FEAMLE WHO IS ABOUT 16 MONTHS OLD.tHEY BOTH ARE THE SAME COLOR AND ARE AKC,ANOTHER BILL THAT COMES WITH IF YOU WANT A FULL BLOOD WITH PAPERS.I HAVE HAD ALL KINDS OF DOGS AND I HAVE TWO CATS TOO THAT ARE PART OF OUR FAMILY.SO I CAN RELATE TO EVERYTHING YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT.IF WE GO OFF AND THINK WE WILL BE GONE A LONG TIME,THEY GO WITH US,IF NOT THEN WE LEAVE THE TV ON FOR THEM,FOOD AND WATER FOR THEMWHILE WE ARE GONE AND IF ANYTHING COMES UP,MY DAUGHTER CHECKS ON THEM FOR US.ALL OUR PETS ARE LIKE FAMILY TO US. YOU ARE NOT ALONE.LOL

Luckily I am retired so I can arrange my life so as not to leave the dogs on their own for more than 3 hours. Little Lucy will entertain herself or curl up and have a sleep, but Leon starts to get anxious after that and I don't want to put him through that. We have used kennels twice. Both times were significant family birthdays where the whole family went to a resort for the weekend. Of course we thought about them a lot, and rang the kennels every day! We were very lucky to find a really good kennel. The owner was warm and doted on dogs and it was like a home away from home. The dogs were happy and relaxed and were obviously having a good time when we picked them up. I actually think they enjoyed the stimulation of new surroundings and meeting new dogs. We would never leave them in a place we weren't happy with, but in my opinion, if you find a good kennel it can be a positive experience for them.

My dogs are part of our family. We do travel and most of the time the boys come with us. But when we go away on a cruise. My sisters son comes and lives and looks after the boys. We are so fortunate. They are my babies now and forever.

Cody is a part of our family...completely. We are planning a family trip to Disneyland and my neice will be staying here when we go. That way he will be at home in his house. I couldn't leave him in a kennel..that would break my heart.

((gentle hugs))

We take our dogs with us, when we go 4 hours away to see our parents. If we do go out of town, if they can, I take them with us but if we cant take them, then we leave them with my father in law. I will never trust a kennel again, cause we used one for our big dog that we have. We had the kennel shot for him and come to find out, he still got kennel cough. We brought him home and he started coughing so we took him to the emergency vet clinic, and they did an xray and found out it was kennel cough. We have 2 other dogs besides him so all 3 of our dogs ended up with kennel cough. After spending over $1100 and over a month to get them well, I vowed to never use a kennel again. We even called the kennel owner and she couldnt even call back to check on how he was doing. We were so mad, and stressed cause all of our dogs were sick. What a mess that was. So Please people, even though you get the shot that they need, they can still get kennel cough, so keep that in mind if and when you do think of using a kennel.

I never have left my animals in a kennel. Luckily, I have a great housekeeper, best friend and other "animal sitters". Since one of my cats and my dog need regular meds, I need someone who knows them and they trust. I'm lucky to have that.

The two cats and dog are my babies and I make sure that they are well cared for at home if I have to be gone.

Lynne

Well, I don't think that putting a pet in a kennel means they are not a "real family member", or that their owner loves them any less than you love yours. I have never kenneled my pets. They do go with us if we leave town, on short errands, even visiting some relatives. But we really don't have the need for a kennel as we are never gone too long and take short, day trips. We did have an over-night last summer ( to pick-up our new schipperke pup in another state and ,yes, we did take our dog with us to meet her). Some people find it easier to leave pets in kennels if they are to be gone longer as traveling with pets isn't always easy. I think it unfair to judge these individuals based on this. Do they care for their pets and provide proper housing and love, food and vet services to them? Doesn't that mean more? Some areas do not offer pet sitters and some people are not comfortable having strangers in their homes. The person posting about what you want in a kennel at least seems to care enough to ask to make your pet's stay as comfortable as possible...or they wouldn't have asked. I'm sure most people would love to take their pets with them anywhere they go....it just can't always be feasible for some. But, that certainly doesn't mean they are not "part of the family".....it just means that we are lucky enough to be able to have ours with us...and I am sorry they are not. Peace
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Not goodbye.....just until
Marmy always comes back for you
Leibchen March 12,1994 - November 15,2006

I don't "vacation" unless we can have someone come to our home to "animal sit". I could never put them in a kennel. That's not to say that others are wrong in doing so. I just couldn't bring myself to do that. I love my animals so much, I sometimes wonder if I'm "sick in the head"!! I have 2 dogs (big dogs) and two cats, so taking them with me is impossible. Yes, they are members of the family.

I would just like to say a word about kennel cough. The vaccine is very good but I have been told by more than one vet that, similar to flu vaccines, it helps to prevent the dog from getting it but is not 100% guarunteed. I don't think it's very common, I attended springer field trials with my husband who was a pro trainer for years and never came across a dog who ever had it. But it is highly contagious and it can be picked up from other areas, not just a kennel - the dog park, walking down the street if he greets another dog, the vets office if another dog has come in with it. You just never know. That kennel should have been more understanding and hopefully that woman who ran it cleaned the place from top to bottom and shut down for a period of time.

I consider my dog part of the family, but unfortunately we did go away and we had no one to keep her, so we had to put her in a kennel, I was so nervous about doing it, I even knew the people, but I had people her in the group to ease my worries, Thank God. She was fine when we picked her up she was jumping and kissing the owner so I knew she was comfortable there, it was a very good experience, so now I know I can feel at ease next time I have to leave her, she's eight mos. old and they say its best to introduce them to a kennel when their young. So she made a couple new friends(dogs and people) and we got to go visit my family. Sometimes in life there comes a time when you have to do things you really don't want to, but we are very blessed to have found a safe haven for my dog.

My dog, never goes out of my yard. He is an inside dog mostly, and the only place he could have gotten the kennel cough was from that kennel. Yes he goes on walks but before we left he hadnt even gone on a walk so the only logical conclusion is he got it from that kennel. I was just saying I will never trust another kennel cause of that situation. I wont but its up to others to use them if they want. I was just warning people that although they get the shot, they can still get kennel cough.

WE DON'T HAVE CHILDREN. WE HAVE DOGGIES

You are NOT strange!!! I have 2 Yorkies, (and 2 cats which I have had since they were 2 weeks old). I LOVE THEM all. We got our first Yorkie 15 years ago. My husband and I made such a fuss that everyone referred to him as our 'first born' Our second Yorkie came 6 years ago, she has been a handful and had many medical problems but we always look after them. Our 2 dogs love each other. They are my kids and I would never leave them in a Kennel. I am not saying that is wrong, but it is a personal thing with me and my husband. I can be very over protective. We have managed to take holidays only if we can bring our pets. Which has never been a problem. Our dogs love to go anywhere with us. Many places accept pets without any trouble. We have rented cottages and gone to hotels. Never had a problem. Now our cats are a bit different. WE love them as much and miss them, but they do not like to travel at ALL. We always bring my husbands brother to come in and stay at our house while we go away. I could not put them in a kennel either. I hope that I don't upset Kennel owners, because I know that Kennels are OK. This is just a personal thing with me.
So don't feel that you are strange at all.

Hi, i agree with you. I go nowhere unless i can bring my dog. Sge is like my child. She sleeps with me, goes every where with my family. She has never been to a kennel or crated and never will be.