Considering I have been to Winslow, AZ and now to Ashland, OH with shelter dogs I should have blogged about Tails of Two Cities.



Traveling with dogs can be good for the soul. I have a renewed appreciation for author John Steinbeck. He wrote TRAVELS WITH CHARLEY, probably before most of you were born.

When I take one of these long jaunts with a pooch I find people are friendlier and even more helpful, i.e. the Tire Plus team off Prospect in Champaign-Urbana. Many people have educated their children on how to approach a strange dog - good for them! If not, I can chat a bit about it with them. Ask first. If OK, put your hand out, limp, back of your hand to the dog. Let the dog sniff it and accept you...and so on.

Eating healthy can be a challenge. I don't leave a critter in the car, crated or not, for very long. So a "sit down" meal is next to impossible. Ah-HA! Pack it and do carryout from home! Since I pay my own way that makes sense too!

Staying in hotels is working better these days as places such as Super 8 and Days Inn have pet considerations. One has a deposit you get back. The other charges a pet rate. I think Holiday Inn Express has a policy too but the one time I asked in the western burbs of Chicago it was $50 to bring a dog. That's hardly pet-friendly.

We haven't heard from Boyd. I do miss him still but understand that a clean break can be right. But I want to see how he grows. We learned so much from him and we know we will always want a big dog in our lives, whether he comes as a puppy or as a big fella, like our Tripp did. There's something about the big dogs that is special. Small ones are special in their own way too.

Hope you're able to pet your pup or cat. If you can, thank your shelter with a donation. If you cannot, thank them for what they do, with a donation. These are the worst of times.

(Book appreciators will recognize the connection between the first sentence and the last.)