Tips for Traveling With Your Furry Companion

If you are like us, pets are family members. Fun family members, the type we like to take with us on our trips, as opposed to the family we need a break from. Sometimes it is a hassle, but it is almost always worth it once we arrive at our destination. When we plan our travel, we always have our pets in mind as we chart our stops and stays.

Some customers plan in advance to make sure the place they are staying at is pet-friendly. Others either assume a place is pet-friendly, or simply don’t think about it at all and just bring Fido along. Finally, some sneak them in as if we aren’t going to notice. (Our motel has 15 rooms and an office that overlooks the motel. We always know.)

Most of the time we can accommodate those unplanned arrivals. Sometimes we can’t, and we will turn those folks away. It’s not that we don’t like animals — quite the opposite; but we get frequent requests for rooms that are NOT pet-friendly, so we have to limit which rooms can accommodate our four-legged guests. Just like our king bed rooms cannot accommodate 4 guests, they cannot accommodate 4-legged guests.

If you love your pet, you will always check in advance. It can save you time and money.

Here area a few travel tips for traveling with your furry companion:
     •  Use a travel crate. It’s safer for them in the car and safer for them in the room.
            °  In the unfortunate event of an accident, crates offer some protection and keep your animal from running away.
            °  Hotel/motel staff can enter your room at any time without notice. You do not want Fido or Whiskers bolting out the door into a
               parking lot, road or into the mouth of a hungry mountain lion.
     •  Carry a copy of their vaccination records — even a photo of the records on your phone will often do.
     •  Always keep your pet on leash when outside. Not only are they likely in a very strange place, which can trigger unexpected behaviors, there
        may be other animals around that don’t react well to unfamiliar four-legged creatures. If your unleashed dog ends up on the bad side of a
        leashed dog, that’s all on you. Plus, the aforementioned mountain lions.

One other note: “Emotional Support Animals” are NOT recognized under the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) as Service Animals. Always check the hotel/motel policies in advance, and familiarize yourself with the ADA in that regard. Some states do recognize emotional support animals as service animals — New Mexico does not.

If you are planning on coming through with your best furry friend and want to stay with us, give us a call. You cannot book them online – they must be booked directly. We hold onto our pet-friendly rooms just so we can accommodate you and your friend!