To Travel with Pets...What an Adventure

Posted by Laura Greenland on

My pals Elfy & Bella recently embarked on a mega adventure. Along with their hoomans and pet cat, they travelled from Plymouth in the UK, to Bulgaria. 

I was intrigued to find out what such a journey en-tailed, so I invited them to tell us a bit about it and this is Bella’s account. 

 

Frenchies on tour (across Europe) 

The lead up to our big move was more than a little hectic. We spent months surrounded by boxes as our hoomum packed everything insight, I was sure we’d end up in one of those big brown boxes at some point. 

There were countless trips to the vets for injections and check ups so that we could get our special Animal Health Certificates. Oh and a temporary stay in a different house whilst our dad finished up work because we had to move out of our home a little earlier than our travels. 

Knowing that I’ve never been good with travelling, and Elfy is a complete nightmare when it comes to absolutely any change in routine, mum had ordered some (in her own words, not mine, because I’m far old and too wise now to fall for that trickery) “Magic Drops”. It was actually Dorwest Valerian Compound, and it did the trick. Honestly, I felt so relaxed I even stopped gnawing away at my feet, which is usually what I do when my anxiety is bad. And even better, it stopped Elfy jumping around like a wild hyena which I will be forever grateful for because there's no way I could have travelled four days with that happening. 

Travelling in the summer across Europe is hard work! It’s super hot so make sure your hoomans stock up on loads of water because it’s not fun to dehydrate or overheat; cool mats are a blessing. Don’t sit in silence, if you're in need of a toilet break make sure you bark about it, absolutely no one will appreciate an accident in the back of your vehicle. Thankfully the smalls were all very well-behaved and even Saffie cat (to my surprise) was a good travel companion. 

Weirdly, before we crossed over to France mum let us have some extra goodies because we weren't allowed to take them on to the ferry with us. Apparently meat and dairy are prohibited but we didn't mind! We finished off our JR Pure Duck Treats and ByBenji Sausage Sticks. Luckily, we also had some vegan treats so they kept us going through the rest of the journey. Mum even made us an ice lolly when we arrived in Bulgaria which she filled with a bunch of Soopa Pets Healthy Bites, W’zis treats, and lots of fruit… it was amazing!

 

Bella and a Lolly

 

Travelling with our hoomans was definitely an adventure but maybe next time, we won’t need to go QUITE as far. For now we’re enjoying getting used to our new home, being reunited with mum's family and getting introduced to our new cousins… they bark funny but look like us, it must be the accent!  

Bella & Elfy 🐾

 

I also caught up with my brother-from-another-mother, Bear, a fellow GSD legend that lives down in the depths of Devon. You’ll never believe what his paw-rents got him to do in 2020! Over to you, buddy. 


Living my best (van) dog life

2020 was a bit weird, wasn’t it? 

First of all, mum and dad suddenly seemed to hang out at home a lot more. I mean, no complaints here. More walks and extra belly rubs? Result. 

But there were some odd occurrences that I never really figured out. I have to ask, why was everyone wearing those face blankets in the middle of summer and why did everything smell FAR too clean? You hoomans baffle me. 

Anyway… 

There must have been something in the air because shortly after the world went a bit bizarre, mum and dad started packing up the house. Great, here we go again, I thought. We’ve moved once before and I was a bit glum, because I quite liked the garden here - so many hedgehogs to try and eat!

Top Tip: Don’t try to eat hedgehogs. 

Our stuff started disappearing too. Random people kept showing up and taking our furniture. Despite my best efforts to (loudly) alarm mum and dad of this worrying trend, they didn’t seem too fussed! Bastards even took the sofa! 

Then this huge thing on wheels appeared on the driveway - it was like a car but MASSIVE. I barked when it arrived only to be told it was to be our new home and it was known as “the campervan”. To say I was dubious was an understatement. Me? Living in a van? I mean… I’m not a chihuahua and I come with a lot of balls. 

Honestly, I thought they’d lost their marbles entirely at this point. 

But I have to say, mum and dad might have been onto something. By July of 2020, that was it! The house was empty, I’d spent a few weeks hanging out with my doggo pals at my favourite holiday home before they arrived outside to pick me up. Shame. I always have a blast there and come back with a muddy nose. 

But instead of the car, they were in the campervan. And that was that. I never saw my old house again and the car disappeared too! 

And we were off. New sights, new smells. I mean every day was the biggest adventure. Like imagine getting to go for a walk and cock your leg on a brand new lamp post - every single day. Wild. 

Van life - as I’m told it’s called - it’s pretty bloody awesome if you’re a doggo. Mum and dad installed a funky outdoor shower on the side of the camper, in a vague attempt to keep our home clean. I mean, it got the mud off but HELLO - you have a dog who drops his coat twice a year. Needless to say, the carpet in the camper was lovingly (and permanently) adorned with my fluff. 

 

 

But most of the time, it really was great fun. They had an in-built alarm system - nobody was getting near our valuables! I got to see the world and met so many new friends (two-legged and four) along the way. It was a bit warm in the summer months but I had a cooling vest and an awesome fan. The van-fan. We were great pals. And I mean talk about the biggest back garden ever! 

Mum and dad also treated me to some awesome travel bowls. I mean these things were like magic. Dad could go really fast around corners and my water didn’t spill at all. Genius. 

I suppose I was a bit sad when our van life journey came to an end last year but let’s be honest, I do love my creature comforts. And besides, it’s not so bad where we live now. Although there are these weird looking creatures that live right next door. Mum says they’re called “horses” and that I’m not meant to bark at them but I’m highly suspect either way.  Rumour has it, my mate Enzo has even tried horse (being one of those fancy novel proteins that don’t upset his stomach). You can read a little more about that over on our Instagram here. 

Mum and dad have chatted about getting another campervan, just for the weekends, which I reckon would be pretty fun. I sometimes miss waking up next to the beach so roll on our next adventure! 

Bear 🐾


Ah thanks guys, that was really fun to read! I’m not sure I’d cope with your crazy adventures, especially in the summer heat. I much prefer laying on the sofa with the fan blasting!

You can get your furry little mitts on all the scrummy treats that Bella mentioned by visiting our store. 

Until next time,

Paws Out 🐾

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