Now It's Easy To Travel With Four-Legged Friends

The travel industry makes it easier to take along four-legged friends.

- Susan B. Barnes

When we filled out our application to adopt our dog from a miniature schnauzer rescue organization nearly three years ago, one of the desired traits we included was a dog who would travel well — not a surprise when one of the two of us is a travel journalist. A week after we adopted Scout (just shy of her eighth birthday), we packed up the car and took off on our first road trip. A few months later, she earned her wings on her first flight when we traveled to Maine for a stay at the dog-friendly Inn by the Sea. Since those first trips, Scout travels with us whenever possible.

We are not alone in adding a furry member to our family. According to the 2017–2018 American Pet Products Association, Inc. National Pet Survey, 68 percent of all U.S. households have pets living in them, or 84.6 million homes. Within those homes live nearly 90 million dogs and 94 million cats. With so many pets in our homes, it comes as little surprise we want our four-legged family members to join us when we travel, and the travel industry is listening by offering more ways for our pets to accompany us.

Flying with your pet can make traveling to your destination quick and easy, but there are some things to keep in mind. If your pet is small enough to fit under the seat in front of you, she can join you comfortably in the cabin. However, if he’s a bit bigger, he will likely need to be checked as cargo. While that can be a bit worrisome for us pet parents, Delta Cargo put our minds at ease when it recently announced an exclusive partnership with CarePod, a pet technology startup that developed a new standard of first-class safety and care for pet air travel. One of the ways CarePod provides safety and care for pets — as well as peace of mind for their families — is with real-time GPS tracking service for pet shipments.