There is no better reason to join the RV lifestyle than a desire to travel with your pets. Regardless of whether you have a dog, cat or even birds, you can take them on the road. An RV makes travel easier and supplies your pet a safe, comfortable, familiar home. Each time you move, you have a new neighborhood, but the home is the same.
For dogs especially, this can be a nice balance between the familiar and all kinds of new things to smell. According to the ASPCA, prior to the pandemic 44% of US households had a dog and 35% had a cat and those numbers only increased in 2020.
This spring, my wife and I left on a two-month RV trip. We were travelling with three elderly dogs. The largest one is a 13-year-old German Shepherd named Sabre who is my wife’s retired K-9 police partner. Our family also included two small dogs, Scooter, a 16-year-old Pomeranian and a 15-year-old Miniature Pinscher named Aggie. We travel in our 2019 24.1 Thor Vegas which is a perfect size for us. One of the best features for our big dog are the interior steps. They are much easier for Sabre to navigate than the outside extension steps we had on our first RV. Our rig also has a slide out which provides ample space for a 100-pound Shepherd to get comfortable. The table in the cab area makes dining a nice respite from the dogs.
Having been pet owners for years, we knew you always need to be prepared for pet emergencies. Before leaving on a trip, we research vet clinics along our route, particularly those that provide 24-hour emergency care. It is worthwhile to spend some time on research. Pet clinics, just like any other business will have a social media presence and client reviews. Do not rely on having great cell service to do the research in an emergency.
We were at the first campground of our recent journey when we noticed that Aggie was just not herself. By the time we got to our second stop, it had become concerning. We pulled out the list of nearby vets and made an appointment. Because of Covid, neither of us were able to go into the office with her. They came out to the car to get her and having read the reviews; we had a high level of confidence that they would give her quality care.
We left that vet with a prescription that they were able to fill right on premise. Because our campground was within an hour’s drive to the Veterinary School at the University of Missouri, visiting a specialist would be an option if her condition worsened. At first, she got better but soon, she began to have labored breathing, so we made an appointment to see a specialist and were lucky to get in quickly when they had a last-minute cancellation. During this time, we stayed in close contact with our vet back home. All the vet offices were completely willing to send the records to our vet they also sent out her medical history as needed. The visit with the specialist gave us more information and another medicine to try but also a dose of reality. The specialist felt that she had a respiratory condition that would only worsen with time and could deteriorate quickly.
By now, we had moved on to our next destination at Mark Twain Lake Indian Creek Campground and we could see she was no longer improving. We had to accept that the end was near, and it was time to let her go peacefully. We called our home vet and described her symptoms. They assured us we were making the right decision. We knew that it was too far to drive back to the University of Missouri, so we used our list to find the closest vet which was in Hannibal, Missouri. Never having met us, they showed us such kindness and treated Aggie with much respect.
This time, we were able to be inside the vet’s office with her. They gave us space and wanted to know about her life. Aggie was a puppy mill rescue dog that we had adopted eleven years earlier. Prior to us, Aggie had never experienced human touch or been socialized, and she certainly had never stepped on grass. We trained and socialized her and in time she became a certified pet therapy dog with an organization called Love on a Leash. We visited nursing homes and other facilities where she shared her five pounds of love. It was not long before she was snuggling with anyone that would hold her. Walking out the door of that office without our beloved Aggie was not easy. In the lobby, on the main counter a candle was burning. The candle signified that we had just said goodbye to a beloved pet.
Our loss reminded me that there are kind and wonderful people everywhere and sometimes even strangers know just what to say and do. We were prepared and because of that we found you can face such a difficult life event while on the road. As we continued our journey. Scooter and Sabre both could sense our grief and they too missed their little friend but continuing the trip was the best idea for all of us. In a twist of good fortunate, our next campground after Mark Twain Lake was in Hannibal. Soon after we arrived, we were able to pick up Aggie’s ashes. The vet office had made sure that the ashes were delivered in a beautiful wooden box with her name inscribed on top.