Take Them With You (If Necessary)

When I got the job at the site that came before this site, we moved across the country (or mostly across the country) with two cats. When I eventually left, we moved all the way back across the country with those same two cats.

On the way out, we purchased a kennel for a small dog and set it up in the back seat of my car. It fit both of the cats, and I set up some blankets for comfort and a bowl of food. At timed stops along the way, we gave them water and offered them a chance to use the litter box. It would be, I thought, romantic, the whole family spending days in the car.

It turned out to be a nightmare.

One of my cats, the quieter one, went into a state of anxious paralysis. Anytime I looked in the mirror or over my shoulder, his eyes would shift to meet mine, and his gaze would be thick with malevolence. Otherwise, he didn’t move.

The other one, a more vocal tux, had a speed range he would abide by. If I went faster than he deemed to be acceptable, he would start yowling. If I dropped a few miles per hour under his desired speed, he would also start yowling. I’m talking deep guttural ‘brraaoowwws’ that echoed through the compact car.

When we eventually moved away, we flew them out, one at a time. And when we did, we used a carrier like this.

Soft-sided and comfortable, you can put your cat or little dog into it, and then slide it under the seat in front of you for take-off and landing. During the flight, you can move it into your lap, open the zipper a tiny bit, and put your hand in to provide reassuring pats and scritches. And it has pockets, so you don’t need to put your paperback or your passport right there into the compartment along with your pet.

In other words, it’s perfect for when you need to travel with your pets.

But I would challenge all of those people who do travel with pets, especially dog owners, to consider this; is it, as I say, absolutely necessary that your pet comes along with you on whatever trip your taking?

Moving, a prolonged stay, an emergency–I get it. But I’ll say this: in the past few years, I’ve had so many weird interactions with dogs where they really should not be. Dogs that won’t stop barking in the hotel room next to mine; unleashed dogs in the park who have me backed up against a tree growling; dogs lounging in a front yard, no fence, who are just not friendly or well-behaved enough to be trusted unsupervised.

And in each of these cases, I don’t blame the dog. I blame the owner. Because their apologies always come across half-hearted (if not outright annoyed that I would have the gall to, you know, criticize their dog’s shitty behavior).

So again, this is a good pet carrier. And it would be great for flying. But please, consider, does your pet really need to come with you? That’s all I ask.