Photo: WBZ NewsRadio
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) - Family travel can be a challenge under the best of circumstances.
But that isn't stopping people from traveling.
In fact more people than ever have been hitting the roads with travel records getting broken this past July 4th holiday.
Add a pet into the equation, and travel becomes even more complicated.
Just the decision to bring Fido or not requires lots of planning.
Whether by road, rail, or in the air, if you're bringing the dog with you, how you get everyone to your destination safely needs to be figured out.
If you're not staying with family or really good friends, finding and paying for pet-friendly accommodations can be an issue.
Regina said her family's two most important considerations when traveling by car with their senior dog are avoiding traffic jams and finding good, reliable, pet-friendly accommodations.
She said they got up very early over the July 4 holiday with one goal in mind. "Beat the traffic, 100 percent," she said. "That was our plan. And I was really tired."
Once they arrived, Regina said it was important they planned ahead to find a pet-friendly hotel. "We hung out by the lake, but he's 16, so he was mostly asleep," she laughed.
Regina added that traveling with their dog is a relatively new concept since he got older. "He's in his twilight years. And he just wants to be held by my Mom."
Justin prefers to leave his dog Luna behind when traveling saying pet travel is just too complicated. "We usually give it (Luna) to a friend or family member, as long as they have the time to do it," he said.
Meanwhile, along with a friend or family member willing to 'pet-sit,' there's also pet lodging available that brings along its own set of challenges including cost and trust.
Justin said that one of his go-to methods when it comes to travel is planning his trips before and after the holidays when more people are available to pet sit for him. "I already went on vacation, a little trip to New Hampshire, that's about it," he said.
WBZ NewsRadio's Emma Friedman (@EmmaFriedmanWBZ) reports.