Welcome back to GoTravelDog.com! Where you may search and book pet-friendly hotels across North America. It’s a privilege to share my passion for travel and my love of dogs with you. I would like to dedicate this site to my beautiful mom (pictured as a young child with her dog and cat). She passed away last fall after a valiant fight with cancer, surrounded by her family and her beloved dogs; who never left her side. My mom taught me to love and respect the animals in our home and to treat them like family. It was no surprise to her that I gravitated towards the travel business, with a special interest in traveling with dogs.
Growing up, I dreamed of traveling, day and night. I just wanted to “go” and get out there to see the world. But I worried about leaving my family and pets behind. When my mom was sick, she recounted some of the memories from my childhood, remembering that I wanted to be like Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer. When I was 5-6 years old, there was a railroad track near to our house with a big, open field on one side of it, with grass two feet high in length. Whenever I would hear the train whistle off in the distance, I would grab my big stick with a pillow case tied to the end of it, filled with everything I thought I would need for a journey at that age, and I would high tail it to the field and hunker down waiting for my opportunity to jump the train and travel off to parts unknown. Of course, I never got the nerve (thank God). But sometimes I would run alongside the train as fast as I could (at a safe distance) and will myself to hop aboard to see our nation’s land. I distinctly remember giving up on this idea because I didn’t want to leave my pet mice behind (they were the sweetest little rodents).
In grade school, my family would take part in a long lost pastime. All of the kids would pile into the car with our parents, with plenty of snacks and soda pop, and drive to the open fields near the airport. Once we were safely parked, we would all climb to the roof of the car and lie down on our backs and watch the airplanes pass over our heads. There were always other families nearby, doing the exact same thing. I couldn’t help but wave at them with a big grin on my face. With the roar of the plane engines vibrating through our bodies and the brilliant lights cast upon us, my imagination would run wild! I made up elaborate stories in my mind about where the passengers were going and what they were like. Oh, how I longed to join them on their journeys. If only I could take my dog, Shannon, with me!
When I was in middle school, we moved out to the country with several acres of land. We had a beautiful creek that ran through our property that emptied into one of our country’s Great Lakes. When it would rain heavily, this creek became more like a small, white capped river racing to it’s final destination. I was bound and determined to make a raft and let the waters take me to exciting destinations. Part of our property was heavily wooded. I would hunt for fallen branches and light logs to make my homemade rafts with twine that I squirreled away from the garage. There were a number of times when the waters took me downstream at a rapid pace (not to worry, the water was only 12 inches deep, at the most), but I would always get stuck on some rocks (with a bit of relief) and would head back home with my exhilerating adventure tucked secretly in my heart. With each attempted raft trip, I would feel sad that I couldn’t take my dogs and cat and birds. By the time I reached high school, I was content to take short road trips with my friends.
Which brings me to the present day. I’m blessed to travel frequently with my beautiful canine companions, making all of my childhood dreams come true. We are always on the go, exploring pet friendly destinations across North America. I look forward to sharing our experiences with you and to helping you plan your trips with pets. I have found that dogs bring more joy to the journey. And hope that you do too. Thank you for visiting GoTravelDog.com!
