Another Dog? A Road Trip? Absolutely!

guest post by Brock Malibu

© Steven Meckler Photography, Tucson, AZ
Buddy, Delilah, Dino,
Chautauqua, Dorothy, Gotham, and Spirit

I'm thrilled to be able to write a little something about my love of dogs, my dog family, and sharing life and adventures together. We've got seven (yes, seven!) wonderful dogs and as you'd expect, they're an integral part of my family, my time, my fun, my adventure, and most importantly my love, peace, and life.

I'm sure you're wondering if there's possibly something wrong with me for having seven dogs but it all happened quite by accident, and somewhat by design. Four of the dogs were rescued from pet shops, one I inherited from a friend who died, one I adopted as a pup from a shelter, and the youngest, I adopted while at a gas station on vacation on the way to the airport. A couple next to me pumping gas (this was in a little town out in the country in New York) had a little puppy in the back seat pawing at the window. I commented on how cute he was and they asked me if I wanted him because they were on their way to take him to a local shelter to get rid of him.

I thought about their offer for all of one second, said "I want him", stopped at a PetSmart on the way to the airport, bought him an underneath the seat carrier for the plane, some treats, and away we went. He's my lucky number seven and when I arrived home, my other six dogs welcomed him to the family. By the way, I had three layovers cross-country, and he was an absolute joy. So cute it was unbelievable.

My point with all of this is that as I'm sure all of you know, there's nothing more wonderful than the bond, love, and companionship you have with your dog, or in my case, plural. Right now, nearly every shelter in the country has an abundance of puppies and adult dogs, all looking for a home and a family. If you can love and manage one dog, you can do two, and if you have two, well you can do three - - - you get the point.

I'm pretty sure seven is my limit. I've gotten very good at giving seven dogs love and attention all at the same time and am very good at using my hands, feet, legs and arms simultaneously to pet, pat, and hug each of them. Quite a mental picture, right?!

So, go get another dog today. Use your own judgement on the size, breed, temperament, and age of the dog and how well the new doggie will work with your existing family. And, don't forget, dogs love other dog companions and dog company almost as much as they love you. Spoiler Alert: Be careful not to spread yourself too thin; dogs need lots of loving and attention, but I'm sure you can handle it!

You may now be a bit overwhelmed about the thought of bringing another dog into your family, but don't despair! It's the end of the Summer and Fall is right around the corner so now is the perfect time to plan a getaway road trip with your dog family. Maybe you'll have a new addition to the family and you can plan to take a couple of dogs with you on your road trip. Dogs love road trips, so plan an excursion to the city, to the beach, to the mountains, to the country or wherever you love to spend time. Guaranteed, dogs love to travel in the car and explore new places with you! I usually take Gotham, my English Mastiff, and Dorothy, my Cairn Terrier, on my weekend getaways. They are great travel companions, and believe it or not, very manageable! Where to plan to stay with your dogs you ask?

Most hotels and resorts (and many B&Bs) allow dogs; many are very, very pet-friendly. A great resource to find the perfect hotel in your select destination is a new resource website called Absolutely Pet-Friendly and its sister site, the National Pet Friendly Hotel Association. On www.absolutelypetfriendly.com, you can select and book a Recommended hotel by City or search thousands of hotels in their extensive database (there are nearly 28,000 pet-friendly hotels in the United States alone!). Get on the ball and make a plan to get away with your dog (or dogs!) today! There is nothing more fun than traveling with your dogs and staying in a hotel - - - both you and your dogs will love the experience and have memories for a lifetime!


Traveling with your dog is truly one of the most special things you can do. Ever.


Stay tuned . . . I hopefully will have the opportunity to write more about dog travel, creating experiences with your dog, and enjoying your "LB" with your dog. That's Love Bond. I know you know what I'm talking about.