Dog Jaunt

Apr 21 2013

Interstate travel and health certificates, including U.S. airlines’ requirements

Please note that Alaska Airlines has changed its policy re health certificate for in-cabin pets three times since early December 2014. Here’s my most recent post about this maddening situation. Since I’ve learned that Things Change, often Without Warning, I urge you to click on the link I’ve provided for each airline name to double-check the current policy.

The first thing to know is that individual states make their own rules about the movement of pets across their borders. The USDA’s APHIS (Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service) website makes that clear: “USDA APHIS VS, our agency, does not set requirements for the movement of pets across state lines. The requirements are actually set by each individual state. Therefore, you should contact the State Veterinarian of the state you are traveling to. They will provide you with the requirements.”

Oh, great, you’re saying — I have to figure out the rules for each state I’m flying to with my dog. And what if my flight is diverted to a state I hadn’t researched? Officially, you’re right. Here are the things you need to ponder (please note that Hawaii is horribly complicated and will get a separate post):

Nearly all of the states require that dogs over 12 weeks old be vaccinated against rabies, so it’s simplest to have your dog vaccinated at 12 weeks, put the rabies tag on her collar, and hang on to her most current vaccination certificate. A handful of states allow you to wait until she’s 4, 5 or even 6 months old, so if you’re anxious about vaccinating, you’ll want to look at each state’s rules.
Nearly all of the states require a Certificate of Veterinary Inspection (typically called a “health certificate”), signed by a veterinarian and saying that your dog is fit to travel and up to date on all of her vaccinations. Some don’t, including California.
If you’re driving between states, or through several states, you may want to consider how likely it is that the issue will ever come up. Will I get a health certificate for Chloe when we drive to Eastern Oregon to visit my uncle later this year? Probably not, even though Oregon would like me to.
Flying is a different story. All U.S. airlines require you to obtain a health certificate before flying to another state with your checked dog, and you’ll be asked for that document by the ticketing agent. Most U.S. airlines don’t require that an in-cabin pet have a health certificate. (As you’ll see in the chart below, the only exceptions are Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines — and again, you should expect that the ticketing agent will ask for documentation.) Since it costs about $30 to get a health certificate, if you’re flying on a carrier other than Alaska or Hawaiian, you may decide it’s worth it to do some quick research and see whether your plans are taking you between states that don’t have a health certificate requirement. (You may, in fact, decide that even if the states on your itinerary do have a health certificate requirement, you’ll take the risk. I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t, myself.)
One final twist is that a health certificate is only good for 30 days after your vet signs it. Keep in mind that both ends of your journey need to be covered by the certificate, and don’t strand yourself in another state with a just-expired certificate. As you’ll see in the chart below, some airlines require that the certificate be issued within 10 days of travel, and others require that it be issued within 30 days of travel. If you’re going to get a health certificate for your dog, it’s simplest to get one within 10 days of travel.

What happens, you ask, if your certificate does expire while you’re still on vacation? One airline, Allegiant, has thought about the problem, and offers a solution. [2/4/12 Allegiant no longer requires health certificates, so the airline’s neat solution (“If a certificate is accepted on the originating flight, it will be accepted on the return flight if it is within 180 days of the originating flight and if the return flight was booked with the same itinerary as the originating flight. If a current veterinary certificate is not available, a current shot record on appropriate veterinary letterhead will be accepted.”) no longer appears on Allegiant’s website]. Otherwise, you’ll need to locate a vet and schedule an appointment, have your dog’s records faxed over, and get a new certificate issued for your return trip.

If you want to dig into specific state and airline requirements, you’ll need USDA APHIS’s handy link to each state’s import regulations. And here’s a chart showing which major U.S. airlines require a health certificate for your dog (and which don’t), and when a certificate needs to be issued. Table last updated April 15, 2013. This is the kind of information that rapidly goes out of date, so be sure to check the current rules for the airline you’re planning to use, using the links I’ve provided in the first column.

Airline	Where can pets travel?	Health certificate required?	Dated
AirTran	In-cabin only	No (says AirTran customer service)
Alaska	In-cabin, checked and cargo	Yes for checked and cargo pets, and currently (1/2/14) yes for in-cabin pets; Alaska's policy changes frequently, however, so check and double-check as you plan	"Within 10 days of outbound travel and 30 days of return travel"
Allegiant	In-cabin only	No (says Allegiant customer service)
American	In-cabin, checked and cargo	No for in-cabin, yes for checked	"Within 10 days of originating travel, and within 60 days of return travel on the same ticket. Return travel on a separate ticket will be subject to the 10 day restriction"
Continental	Same as United	Same as United	Same as United
Delta	In-cabin, checked and cargo	No for in-cabin and checked, yes for cargo	Within 10 days of transport
Frontier	In-cabin and checked	No for in-cabin pets traveling within the U.S.; yes for international travel	Within 5-15 days of transport, depending on the country being entered
Hawaiian	In-cabin (not to HI), checked and cargo	Yes, except for travel within the state of HI	Within 10 days of travel (leaving HI); within 14 days of travel (going to HI)
JetBlue	In-cabin only	No
Southwest	In-cabin only	No
Spirit	In-cabin only	No
Sun Country	In-cabin and checked	No for in-cabin (says Sun Country customer service), yes for checked	Within 30 days of departure
United	In-cabin and cargo only	No for in-cabin (says United customer service); yes for cargo and international travel	Within 10 days of travel
U.S. Air	In-cabin only	No (says USAirways customer service)
Virgin America	In-cabin only	No (says Virgin America customer service)

Apr 19 2013

Photo Friday: Puccini in Italy

A couple of weeks ago, I posted two pictures of Italian scoop law signs sent to me by reader Gail. When I thanked her for them, she sent me a couple of pictures of her pup Puccini (who, like Chloe, is a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel weighing about 13-14 lbs.), and kindly agreed to let me post them on the blog.

Here’s Puccini, enjoying the view from Gail’s rental in Umbria:

I…just…this picture leaves me speechless.

And here she is on the red sightseeing bus in Napoli:

Still speechless. Those eyes! The paw!

Gail told me, “We were out walking around the city that day, and on the spur of the moment decided to ride the Hop-On-Hop-Off bus. When the ticket seller saw Puccini, she said that Puccini would have to be in a ‘trasportino’ or dog carrier. I told her that, unfortunately, we did not have the carrier with us at the moment — she looked at my husband’s small lightweight daypack and said that if we could manage to get most of Puccini in there, it would be fine. So we did, and that’s the photo of Puccini looking rather perplexed about the situation, but happy as always to be with us for the adventure!”

Adaptable, willing, and good-natured, that’s our Cavaliers. Thank you so much for the enchanting pictures, Gail, and have fun in Lucca! (That’s where Gail and Puccini are now — take a look at the recent posts on Dog Jaunt’s Facebook page and you’ll see a picture of Puccini in Lucca, at the feet of a statue of…Giacomo Puccini.)

Apr 18 2013

Reader’s report: Departing the U.K. with an in-cabin pet

Visiting the U.K. with a small pet is a good news/bad news situation. You start with good news: Back in 2012, the quarantine rules changed and it’s now no harder to meet the U.K.’s import requirements than it is to meet those of the rest of the European Union (well, with some differences, including a requirement that dogs be treated for tapeworm not less than 24 hours and not more than 120 hours before arriving in the U.K.).

Dog on Portobello Road (Photo by Rupert Ganzer)

Then there’s bad news: Pets cannot arrive in-cabin to the U.K. All pets must arrive as cargo. That’s vexing, but the workaround is good news in its own way: If you want your pet to travel in-cabin, you’ll have to fly into Paris or Amsterdam or Brussels (or even Copenhagen or Madrid, though the ferries are pretty distant from both), and then make your way to the ferry company of your choice (and DEFRA’s choice), or rent a car and take it (with you and your pet in it) to the U.K. via the Eurotunnel Le Shuttle. How bad is it, really, to be forced to spend time in any of those cities?

There is, however, a strong argument that ferry crossings, or the logistics of car rental and driving under unfamiliar rules, are annoying, so it would seem appropriate for the pendulum to swing back to good news. The U.K.’s DEFRA site says nothing about leaving the U.K. with an in-cabin pet, and for a long time I assumed that was possible. Recently, however, I got an e-mail from reader Heather which knocked me off my pins.

She told me that she was working on her return trip to the U.S., after 12 years of living in London, and was considering what carrier to choose for her 9 lb. Havanese — and mentioned in an aside that she’d be “flying from Amsterdam in order to ensure Lucas is able to travel in-cabin, as the UK does not allow any in-cabin pets to travel in or out.” In or out?, I wrote back, and asked her to tell me more. Here’s what she said:

“We have traveled back and forth between the UK and continental Europe many times — this is very easy because we drive to the Eurotunnel and put our car on a train there. The Eurostar passenger trains do not allow dogs (except assistance dogs) which is a real pity as it’s a very convenient way to travel. There are no requirements for entering continental Europe from the UK. Lucas has his PETS passport, which has proof of his vaccination record and allows him to re-enter the UK without any issue. The only minor hassle is the requirement to visit a vet in Europe for tapeworm treatment between 1 and 5 days prior to returning to the UK (this used to be 24-48 hours, which was a real problem if it happened to be on a weekend). The important thing is to ensure the vet stamps the passport with the details of the medication, the date and the time (we were unfortunately held up at the Eurotunnel because the vet forgot to put the time, so they made us wait till after midnight to take a train).

As for traveling out of the UK by airplane with an in-cabin pet — I have heard different things and although I’ve read some stories online of people being able to do this from the UK to Europe on Lufthansa (but not directly to the US), I don’t personally know anyone who has done it and I haven’t found anything definite enough (or on an official website such as DEFRA) to make me comfortable with attempting it.”

That’s bad news, people, and my research seemed to confirm what Heather told me. Delta’s site states that it “will not accept any live animals as checked or carry-on baggage to/from the United Kingdom,” and that’s United’s policy too (the site only talks about importing pets to the U.K., but a United customer service representative told me that the rules also apply to departing pets). British Airways and Virgin Atlantic both link pet owners automatically to their cargo service, which is an answer in itself. While Gatwick is mum on the subject, Heathrow’s site states that departing pets have only two travel options: Checked baggage or cargo (arriving pets can only arrive as cargo).

In desperation, I tried Heather’s lead and called Lufthansa, and there was the good news I was hoping for: The customer service representative firmly assured me that while in-cabin pets can only travel to the U.K. as cargo, they can leave the U.K. in-cabin. Today, I realized that in my first call, I had emphasized the phrases “leaving the U.K.” and “pet dog,” but I hadn’t mentioned the point Heather raised about a possible difference between flying from the U.K. to the U.S., or elsewhere. I called Lufthansa back, and today’s customer service rep confirmed what her colleague had told me, and told me that it does not make a difference if the U.S. is your destination — pets can leave the U.K. in-cabin on Lufthansa. How pleased I am to find this bit of good news to end with! Three cheers for Lufthansa!!

Lufthansa’s page about pet travel does not go into that kind of detail, so I cannot give you a supporting link. When you are making your plans, I recommend calling Lufthansa a couple of times to confirm and re-confirm that your pet will be allowed into the cabin, and take good notes each time of the name of the person you spoke to, and the date of your conversation.

Apr 14 2013

Chloe’s Clicks: This week’s best dog travel links

Too many weeks have gone by, and the heap of pet travel links is spilling onto the floor. Time to get to work:

The oldest link in the stack is also the saddest. Blogger Helen Fazio, who writes Travels With My Dog, posted a cautionary tale about a friend’s dog, a retractable leash, and a really horrible death. Not too long ago, I wrote a quick post on Dog Jaunt’s Facebook page about a similar near-miss I had just seen at the Seattle airport. I too expressed anxiety about retractable leashes, and the range of responses I got showed how strongly people feel for and against them. There’s nothing controversial, though, about Helen’s suggestion to “shorten up your leashes around cars, driveways and when traversing alleys and streets. It’s hard to pick up multiple dogs, but picking up a small dog in random traffic areas isn’t a bad idea either.”

There’s nowhere to go from there but up, and, indeed, the rest of the links I have for you are cheerful. My favorite comes from ilovedogfriendly.com, a site that helps you identify dog-friendly hotels and other resources, and it’s a list of ten U.S. hospitals that allow a patient’s pet dog to visit. Speaking of pets in public places, check out this useful post from Keep The Tail Wagging about pet etiquette at street fairs and festivals.

The collection of fun places to go with your dog starts with a review of an Orlando dog park from Terrier Torrent (with a link to an earlier post about another one), and then heads north. Arlington, VA is the latest community to allow restaurant owners to apply for a variance allowing dogs to join their owners on outdoor patios. I was happy to find this tool from the NYC Parks & Recreation department, letting you identify dog-friendly city parks (I clicked on the dog icon to get the page you’ll see). Boston.com posted a list of six appealing suggestions for dog-friendly vacation lodgings in New England.

Heading west, a Dallas restaurant scheduled to open in May will be a “modern day ‘roadside’ burger stand” with a large outdoor patio open to diners with dogs. Speaking of Dallas, residents and visitors might want to follow the active and information-packed Facebook page for Dog About Town. Another ilovedogfriendly.com post highlights five dog-friendly coffee shops in Los Angeles. Cementing its reputation as a truly dog-friendly destination, Mendocino has its own local dog blogger, Hairy Putter’s Review Blog. The last spot in the U.S. is only a couple of miles from where I’m sitting as I type this: CityDog Magazine has some nice suggestions for dog-friendly things to do in Pioneer Square, the historic heart of Seattle.

With that, we go overseas. Two new mobile apps will be of interest to dog owners living in, or visiting, the U.K. Here’s a screenshot of the first, from Inapub Ltd., called Best Dog Friendly Pubs:

Why is this screenshot so small? Why???

The iPhone version is only available from the U.K. store; there also appear to be a couple of Android versions. The other app I should tell you about is from Alastair Sawday’s, which means that the listings will be splendid — but a customer service rep told me that this version only tells you, via an icon, if the pub you’ve clicked on is dog-friendly. As yet, there’s no way to search for dog-friendly pubs.

Speaking of the U.K., check out this helpful tool from Britain’s Finest, identifying dog-friendly gardens open for visiting. And while we’re listing dog travel resources, how did I miss, until now, the series of “Dog Friendly Walks” books from Walking with Boomerang? Also new to me: A dog travel blog called Phileas Dogg, with many things you’ll want to click on, especially including the Attlee’s Adventures tab. The last U.K. link I have is to a lovely-looking campsite near Truro, in Cornwall — you know a place is truly dog-friendly when they have a pets-welcome page like this one.

On to France! Gigi Griffis posted some tips about enjoying Paris‘s Montmartre neighborhood with a small dog, and I discovered another new-to-me dog travel blog called Travels With My Spaniel, about hiking in the French Pyrenees region.

One last spin of the globe brings us to Australia, which is starting to catch on to the dog-friendly thing, though it’s unclear whether articles like this one, about the new “Palazzo Pooch Package” at the Gold Coast Palazzo Versace Hotel, are going to do much for the cause.

Neatly enough, the last three links I have for you are all about gear. Montecristo Travels drew my attention to the Buddyrider Bicycle Pet Seat, and an inventor is marketing another approach to a locking leash, called the StayBoy Lock (to protect your pup while you race into a shop). Doggie Stylish pointed me to a post on Martha Stewart’s blog about making a soft crate pad out of two hand towels. Not difficult, not expensive, and machine-washable. I’d make a stack of them, though, since 1/2″ thick batting is pretty thin (you could use thicker batting, but in that case you’d likely want to make your pad out of a bath towel folded in half, to compensate). Now that I’m thinking about it, why not make a pad out of a t-shirt? You’d just use the body, cutting off the sleeves and the neck — Martha would never approve, but it would certainly be soft.

Apr 12 2013

Photo Friday: Waiting for the Interurban, with a pup

I posted this on Dog Jaunt’s Facebook and Google+ pages before it occurred to me that it’s Friday, and I should be posting it here! I hardly ever drive north across Seattle’s Fremont Bridge, and I’d only seen the statue “Waiting for the Interurban” from the front. That’s entertaining enough, because the group of sculptures is often dressed seasonally — right now, appropriately, they’re wearing warm hats and rain jackets. From the other direction, though, you can tell that the group includes a dog:

Photo taken by my husband from a distance and under trying circumstances. Thanks, sweetie!

That’s right and proper, because Seattle is one of those rare cities where leashed dogs (as well as small pets in carriers) are allowed on public transit. The Seattle-Everett Interurban, an electric railway, reached the end of the line in 1939 [PDF], but the statue commemorating it is one of the pillars of Seattle’s offbeat Fremont community (along with a concrete troll that lives under the Fremont Bridge, a space ship, and a gigantic vintage statue of Lenin).

Apr 11 2013

Dog Jaunt’s 4th anniversary, and a birthday gift-away (Smart Space pet carrier)

Photo by Till Westermeyer

Four years ago, in the very first post I wrote for Dog Jaunt, I said that “I first started gathering all this information for my own use, but soon realized that there must be other pet owners out there who have the same questions I did. I hope that Dog Jaunt will answer your questions and motivate you to bring your dog with you on your next trip — whether it’s on a picnic in the neighborhood park, or across the country!”

Writing that paragraph today, I’d change the last phrase to “or around the globe!” In fact, I’d rewrite the whole sentence: I’ve learned over the past four years that Dog Jaunt is not a place where I “answer your questions and motivate you” — the answers and motivation flow in both directions, and I love the community effort the blog has become. Thank you all for your company and support!

Since we’re celebrating a birthday, I thought I’d give away a gift. Remember how there was some confusion over the Brinkmann Smart Space pet carrier — still being made? in a new, smaller size? — and I bought one to figure out what was going on? And remember how the new version is smaller, and a very useful carrier indeed for a pet, say, under 10 lbs?

Well, Chloe’s larger than that. So I’m giving away my brand-new Smart Space carrier (value: $69.99), and all you have to do to have a chance to win it is leave a comment letting me know what works for you on the blog and/or on Dog Jaunt’s Facebook page, and/or what you’d like to see added or changed, before 11:59 PM PST on Friday, April 19, 2013. Please also let me know your pup’s name, and how tall s/he is at the shoulder (I like hearing about your pup, plus it’ll help remind you that this really is a carrier for dogs 10″ high at the shoulder and smaller). Please fill in the e-mail field of the comment form (your e-mail address isn’t shared with anyone, and I will not send you e-mail unless you win).

Announcing the winner

I will choose a winner randomly and announce the results here, on Dog Jaunt’s Facebook page, and in Dog Jaunt’s Twitter feed on Monday, April 22, 2013.

Rules

Please, only one comment per person per giveaway post. Duplicate comments and anonymous comments will be discarded. Please make sure that the e-mail address in your comment form is valid (e-mail addresses are never public). Winners must claim their prize within three business days after the date of notification of such prize. A sweepstakes winner’s failure to respond to the prize notification and provide a shipping address within the specified three business days will be considered such sweepstakes winner’s forfeiture of the prize and an alternate winner may be selected from the pool of eligible entries. If an entrant is found to be ineligible, an alternate winner may also be selected from the pool of eligible entries. To enter, you must be a U.S. resident, age 18 or older. Employees, partners and vendors of Dog Jaunt and their immediate family members are not eligible to enter. Entries that appear to be generated by scripts and other automated technology will be disqualified. When applicable, the winner may be required to execute and return within five business days an Affidavit of Eligibility and a Liability and Publicity Release to be eligible for the prize or an alternate winner will be selected. All prizes will be awarded. No substitutions including for cash are permitted, except that Dog Jaunt reserves the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater monetary value for any prize. Winners shall be responsible and liable for all federal, state and local taxes on the value of their prize.

P.S. If you like this giveaway, and want to share it with your friends, please use one (or more!) of the buttons below.

Apr 8 2013

Five European castles: Which are dog-friendly?

Scrolling through the BBC’s recent travel articles, my eye was caught by a Lonely Planet guest post entitled “Five European castles to stay in.” The list included a frothy Loire Valley château, a sober Scottish tower house, and a sun-soaked sprawl of a monastery in Tuscany, and the question, of course, was whether any of them welcomes pet dogs. E-mails shot out, sites were searched, and here’s what I’ve learned:

Hellifield Peel Castle (Yorkshire, U.K.) — Not pet-friendly, so I decline to provide a link to its home page. Looks terrible anyway (and that’s the first time I’ve ever lied to you).

Château de Chissay (Chissay-en-Touraine, France) — No answer to e-mails, so I called the hotel. The kind (and English-speaking) lady who answered told me that pet dogs are indeed welcome, for a fee of € 15 per day. They may not join their owners in the restaurant.

Castle of Park (Glenluce, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland) — Dogs are allowed; since there are no apparent exemptions, up to 2 dogs are allowed

Affordable castle living in Galloway (photo by Landmark Trust)

Castel Monastero (Tuscany, Italy) — The reservations office told me in an e-mail message that “We are happy to confirm that pets are welcome to our Resort. The additional supplement is € 30 per day; of course they cannot enter the Spa and restaurants.”

El Castillo de Buen Amor (Salamanca, Spain) — The reply I got from the hotel was a little garbled (“The dog rooms surround the Castle. Inside cannot have pets.”), but close attention to TripAdvisor reviews indicates that rooms where dogs can stay are on the outer edge of the castle, still inside its walls but with good access to the out-of-doors. In any event, dogs are allowed, and appear to be welcome (“We were travelling with our dog and arrived at this very beautiful restored 15th century castle and found a dog bed and bowl waiting for us in our suite”). Fee is “10% + VAT.” Please let them know when you’re making your reservation that you’ll be arriving with your dog.

Apr 5 2013

Photo Friday: Two scoop law signs from Italy

I cannot tell you how happy it makes me to see new-to-me scoop law signs. (I also get way more excited than I should about clever features of pet carriers — it’s taken me a long time, but with this blog, I have clearly found my joy.) So of course I squeaked happily when reader Gail sent me two pictures from a trip to Italy, one from Portofino, and the other from Sorrento.

The Portofino sign — a graphic design disaster, but leaves no questions unanswered

Gail also kindly sent translations for both signs, so I know that this one tells you, in no uncertain terms, to keep your dog on a leash (brief pause while I sigh over the glorious word “guinzaglio”) and to remove your dog’s poop from public land and pedestrian areas. Making its point with crystal clarity (and a really regrettable font), the sign continues: “Excrement must be removed with suitable means, inserted in appropriate bags and deposited inside of solid waste containers provided by the city.” There you have it. No ambiguity whatsoever, and notice, too, how the leash law reference neatly ties in the picture of a dog holding its own leash (it’s an Italian dog, however, so reader Shannon could be right when she suggests that it’s not a leash but rather a stylish skinny scarf).

This is, in fact, the exact same image I jeered at last week when it appeared on a Kansas scoop law sign, though the Kansas dog was facing the other direction. The Kansas dog was also green, and not nearly as happy — neither wagging its tail nor, um, bobbing its head. I worry about that Kansas dog.

Things are less clear in the Sorrento sign:

“Eco-friendly dog island,” it says at the top, and then “I do my business here! Violators will be punished according to existing laws.” Fine, but no word about picking the business up — and the dog in the picture is apparently covering over his business himself, with an extremely vigorous scratching motion. Or perhaps he’s just reaching for his own right ear.

Thank you so much, Gail, for the entertainment! Keep sending them, readers of Dog Jaunt, and I’ll keep posting them. If you want to see the others in the collection, click on the “scoop law” tag below this post, or type “scoop law” in the search box.

Apr 3 2013

Dog jaunt: Visiting U.S. battlefields with a pet dog

Memorial Day is coming up (this year, it’s on May 27). Too often, U.S. cemeteries are off-limits to pet dogs (Arlington National Cemetery is a notable exception), but you and your pup can pay your respects in a different way — by visiting a battlefield together. This particular post was triggered by an article in the current issue of Smithsonian magazine about the restoration of the Gettysburg battlefield. Trees that weren’t there in 1863 have been removed (along with a hotel, observation tower, and a Stuckey’s restaurant); orchards that were have been replanted; and snake fences that criss-crossed the battlefield have been rebuilt.

The Peach Orchard at Gettysburg National Military Park (photo by National Park Service)

I find battlefields both intellectually stimulating and deeply moving. Military strategy and troop movements are fascinating enough in a (well-written) book, but there is nothing like being where the events described in that book took place and understanding, with your own eyes and feet, how the terrain participated in the battle. And while battlefields are deserted, and often beautiful, places now, they still shriek and jangle with the strongest of emotions.

I totally get it if you’re looking at this page with perplexity. Not too long ago, my husband and I visited, in quick succession, the battlefield at Chickamauga and the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, AL. He’s from Chattanooga, and had ancestors who wore grey; I love the history of the Mercury and Apollo space programs. And yet he was ready to call it a day after about half an hour at Chickamauga (while I viewed the moon rocks with interest, but without reverence). But if you, like me, have thought, heck, wouldn’t an entire vacation visiting Civil War battlefields be terrific, read on.

Generally speaking, leashed pet dogs are allowed on U.S. battlefields, but not inside any related structures. The Gettysburg battlefield is one example (its pet policy page is unusually detailed), and so is the Shiloh battlefield I wrote about back in 2009. There aren’t any buildings to worry about at Chickamauga, or at Yorktown (which we visited this past Christmas). How about other famous U.S. battlefields? Here’s a short list, with links to their pet policies:

Minute Man National Historical Park (Lexington/Concord, MA) — Where the “shot heard round the world” was fired on April 19, 1775

The Freedom Trail (Boston, MA) — A 2.5 mile walking trail (marked with a red brick line in the sidewalk) connecting 16 significant sites associated with the American Revolution, including the small Breed’s Hill (Bunker Hill) battlefield park

Saratoga National Historical Park (Saratoga, NY) — A crucial October 1777 win in the Revolutionary War, prompting France to ally itself with the young colonial government

Harpers Ferry National Historical Park (Harpers Ferry, WV) — There are many layers of history here, but since this is a post about battlefields, I should highlight the September 1862 Battle of Harper’s Ferry, where Confederate forces under Stonewall Jackson rolled up the Union garrison. The old town of Harpers Ferry is, essentially, the battlefield, and it’s a delightful place to visit. A half hour’s drive will bring you to the Antietam/Sharpsburg battlefield, where, just two days after the Harpers Ferry fracas, the Union and Confederate armies mauled each other.

The Battlefields Park (Québec City, Québec) — How silly it would be not to extend the focus of this post over the Canadian border to this beautiful park, site of, among other things, the September 13, 1759 Battle of the Plains of Abraham, a dramatic turning point in the war between France and England.

Please note that I haven’t included several important sites because their pet policies restrict visitors to less interesting areas (at Fort McHenry, for example, pets “are welcome on the fort grounds, but not in the historic area…defined by the wooden fence which surrounds the fort”), or ban pets altogether (e.g., Little Bighorn Battlefield, The Alamo, Fort Sumter, Pearl Harbor). I’ve left out tons of battlefields, however, through ignorance and oversight — if you have a favorite that welcomes pet dogs, please let us all know about it in a comment!

Please also note that battlefields are more often than not open spaces, and in the summer you and your pet will be flailed by sun and heat. Not being allowed inside battlefield buildings means that the only shelter you can count on is shelter you bring with you — wear a hat, bring sun protection for yourself and a cooling jacket for your pup, and carry lots of water. If you can, visit with a friend, so one of you can dash inside and view the interpretive exhibits while the other keeps your pup company (and then vice versa). Be sure to bring your own poop bags, and not only out of concern for the environment/wildlife — these are battlefields, where people died and were grievously hurt, and it shows respect to pick up after your pup. And as many of the sites point out, heavy grass cover harbors ticks and other wildlife. Be cautious walking around out there, dose your pup with Frontline Plus, and check everyone for stowaways when the day is over.

Mar 29 2013

Photo Friday: Two scoop law signs, from France and Kansas

My post earlier this month about the two scoop law signs I saw in Tacoma, WA jogged the memory of reader Joan, who had planned to share the one she found in Entraygues-sur-Truyère, “a beautiful town in the central mountains of France.” I’m glad she remembered, because it’s a hoot:

Now that’s a dog. Compare, if you will, the standard PNW dog we’ve now seen in both the Seattle and Tacoma signs — also a hound, but lacking the character and avoirdupois (and eyes) of his French counterpart. And what could be more charming than that Hershey’s Kiss of a pile of poop? You have to ask whether a dog as chubby as this one really needs a chain-link leash, but the main thing to notice is that the sign says nothing about picking the poop up.

By contrast, this sign (sent in by reader Shannon from a Kansas road trip) noisily urges you to pick up after your pet, but goes all coy about what, exactly, you’re picking up. There’s no poop in sight; the only object depicted, in fact, other than a dog, is a leash — and the dog has already picked it up.

The more I think about this sign, in fact, the more it irritates me. What is with the leash in the dog’s mouth?? You can see from the background that Shannon was at a rest area when she took the picture, and it’s a cardinal rule in pet travel safety that you slap a leash on your dog even before you exit your car in a strange place like a rest area. Not only does this sign fail in its intended purpose, it tends to encourage dog owners to engage in risky behavior.

My thanks to Joan and Shannon for the wonderful photos — keep them coming, my friends! If you want to see the others in the collection, click on the “scoop law” tag below this post, or type “scoop law” in the search box.