I am more of a campground guy than a hotel guy but recently I had occasion to find overnight lodging for four dogs. To my surprise, not only was it not a hassle, it wasn't even an issue. When I started this website over 10 years ago the "horror" story of traveling with dogs was still a magazine staple. In 2011, the hotel I stayed in hosted 140 dogs that weekend. It was easier to find a dog in the lobby than a USA Today. I picked up a copy of the Motel 6 Directory to scout out a place to stay on the next leg of the journey and started looking for that little terrier symbol that always indicates "dog friendly." There were none. Not because no hotels allowed dogs but because ALL hotels welcomed dogs. The little terrier has been dispatched. Maybe I'm the last one to hear but if anybody has been reluctant to travel with dogs because it is too much of a bother, well, those days are history.
These days we see dogs in hotel beds, at outdoor cafe tables, in the stands at baseball games - all places we normally would not expect to find dogs. Yet the places where we should expect to see dogs - like a beach or in a park - sometimes remain off limits to dogs. The common denominator is, of course, money. In tougher economic times all those reasons to exclude dogs in the past no longer seem to apply. Apparently they were just excuses, not legitimate explanations. But nobody is making any money by allowing our dogs on that spectacular trail in Bryce Canyon or into that gorge in Yellowstone. So maybe in the future all it will take for our dogs to enjoy all trails is a user fee at our cash-strapped parks. And maybe someday the need for this website will disappear like those pet-friendly hotel guides.
RETURN TO MAY 2011 NEWSLETTER
No Dogs Allowed?
Don’t let this happen to you
The Hiking With Dogs group on Facebook is the place to post photos and info on your favorite canine hikes. Also get questions answered and find advice from members: join now
Find a new tail-friendly trail every day at the hikewithyourdog blog...