by Charmaine Ham

I’ve had dogs for 21 years but it wasn’t until last Fall we took our dog on vacation for the first time. We had reservations but since we knew we’d be gone a month, we couldn’t be w/o Max! We made it fun, bring besides food, his dishes, & his dog bed a bag of new dog toys. We thought if we presented a new toy it would make vacation fun.

The biggest fun was actually walking him in a dog friendly neighborhood. He enjoyed the various smells and scents (he’s beagle/Jack Russell mix) and many people walked their dogs. Even more dog friendly was the beach — oh how he loved walking on the damp sand. If it weren’t for me, he’d walk all day! One time we saw people riding their horses in the surf and I had to pull him back on his leash because he was so curious! I didn’t want him to be stomped on or spook the horses, yet he had never seen horses before.

We did all the work as we were busy cleaning out an inherited house to get ready for rental. So Max was the only one who got a vacation! Then to top it off, we only got breaks when our friends stopped to visit, and as usual, he thought everyone came just to visit him!

I recommend taking a pet on vacation, and do your homework to make the proper preparations. I promised Max we’d go walk the beach again and hope to return this Spring.

Max always wondered what it would be like to go on vaction

Charmaine and Max on their first vacation

Max now knows that vacations are fun but that they also can wear a dog out

When I first met Donna, she was clearly a cat person. She humored me about my dog fanaticism but I could tell that she really didn’t get it. That is, until she got her first Pomeranian puppy, Max. Donna’s life soon revolved around Max: she would only go on vacation if she could bring him along; she made little costumes for him for Halloween and Mardi Gras; she had professional photos taken of Max that she used on her Christmas cards; and she set up a video camera at home so she could see what Max was doing while she was at work. Then she got another puppy, CC and there’s no looking back. She officially lives in the Land of Dog with the rest of us and loves every minute of it.

Donna was the first person to send in photos of her dogs and so here they are. Max is orange and CC is chocolate & white.

Two beautiful Pomeranians from Folsom, LA

The Pomeranians on vacation.