I think the hardest part about keeping up a blog about military relocation and PCS’ing is the number of topics to choose from! Over the years I have discovered that there are so many areas of our lives that are impacted by frequent moves – even ones you wouldn’t normally consider. When we moved from Fort Sill, Oklahoma to Presidio of Monterey in California we discovered that our French Bulldog Bubba was prone to anxiety attacks while travelling. He would get carsick and woozy and begin to hyperventilate. My husband, needless to say, was thrilled when Bubba had to sit on his lap through New Mexico and Arizona in the middle of summer with the window open!
Since that time, we have PCS’d twice more with pets. If I had known then what I know now, I would have done the following:
- Make sure all shots are up to date and keep copies of EVERYTHING with the records you are travelling with
- Check if your pets need to be licensed at your new place of residence
- Micro-chip! Pets have been known to wander off and get lost when they are enroute or at the new location. And don’t forget to update your contact information.
- Find a good kennel and vet in your new town. Word of mouth is the best way to identify these. Feel free to drop me a comment if you want to know more about those in my area.
- Get pet prozac if you think they’ll need it! You can take the edge off your pet’s anxiety with a quick trip to the vet for a prescription.
- Be sure you plan your route carefully – stay in pet friendly hotels. This one is a biggie because not all base lodging allowed pets when we made our trek cross-country. Here is a helpful link
Those are my top six! In addition are the obvious – enough food for travel, water bowls & bottled water, & don’t forget their leashes! Happy Traveling!
