Typist: Bethany
Upon learning I was planning a budget road trip from Seattle to San Francisco a friend in Portland offered for me to stay at his place. "Thank you so much but you should know that I am traveling with my dogs," I replied. There was a long pause and a shaky "oh..." at the other end of the phone. It was obvious my friend was not comfortable with this turn but was hesitating to rescind his lodging offer. "Is there room for me to put up my tiny tent in your back yard?" I queried quickly. A very different "oh" came from my friend this time. It was lighter, louder and followed by a "yes! Yes, of course." One night of free road trip lodging was secured. Hooray!
Upon learning I was planning a budget road trip from Seattle to San Francisco a friend in Portland offered for me to stay at his place. "Thank you so much but you should know that I am traveling with my dogs," I replied. There was a long pause and a shaky "oh..." at the other end of the phone. It was obvious my friend was not comfortable with this turn but was hesitating to rescind his lodging offer. "Is there room for me to put up my tiny tent in your back yard?" I queried quickly. A very different "oh" came from my friend this time. It was lighter, louder and followed by a "yes! Yes, of course." One night of free road trip lodging was secured. Hooray!
Tent camping in a friend's yard.
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Seeking hotels and motels that are pet friendly let alone budget friendly is often an excruciatingly difficult task. I always prefer to tent camp but if I am left with no choice but to find indoor accommodations I begin road trip planning by considering a stay with friends. Obviously this is not the easiest task with pets in tow either, but it is more affordable. I am always willing to keep the pets in a safely parked car or to secure them in their crates and cages in a pet friendly part of the house like the garage, if it makes our hosts more comfortable. With this same flexible attitude, it is possible to couch surf or stay in hostels while traveling with pets. As long as my pets are safe, comfortable and not too hot or cold, cheap or free lodging works.
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One thing I get asked a lot when planning pet friendly road trip lodging is "are your pets well behaved." The answer, of course, is yes. But I have had people tell me their dog or cat is "extremely friendly" a split second before it turns into a snarling, teeth barring wild thing. Just last night, a woman told me about a parrot at a street fair that the owner was insisting passers-by pet or hold because the parrot was "so very nice." Then the woman showed me the scar from where this "nice" parrot bit her. So all pets are friendly and nice and everyone should be allowed to bring their pets everywhere, right? Wrong. Pets, particularly traveling pets, are unpredictable and rules, especially those of the host, should always be respected. My host, be it cheap accommodations or free lodging, knows I have pets, in advance and upon arrival. I make sure the host knows that I have no intention of breaking their rules about how my pets stay. When I am a well behaved pet traveler, it doesn't matter whether or not my pets are "well behaved." My goal is my hosts to not even know my pets are with me except for when I told them and we agreed upon the best way for my pets to spend the night.
As I exited my backyard tent in Portland, my friend came out to say good morning. I walked and fed the dogs as my friend and I visited. As we sat and sipped coffee my friend suddenly exclaimed "you didn't say you had trained dogs. It probably would have been fine for all of you to stay in the house." Again, I thanked him and made sure he knew we were truly comfortable in the tent. But his compliment did lay the foundation for the rest of my awesome pet friendly road trip south as well as many, many more.
Trained traveling dogs.
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