A couple of weeks back, I wrote a piece about how much I missed my
family's dog when I traveled. (If you missed it, it was called
"Good Dog" and you can click here to read it).
Apparently, it touched a chord among pet owners in the travel
industry, because I've had more responses to it than to anything
else I've written in recent times.
Ady Gelber, the president of Isram Travel in New York City,
called to tell me he was glad to read that someone else was so
attached to his dog. He is so smitten with Caesar, his golden
retriever, that he thought perhaps he was "over the top" on the
subject, but the column reassured him that others were just as
emotionally attached to their dogs.
Other readers sent e-mails with their own stories of canine
attachment. One wrote that she and her husband get so homesick for
their golden retriever, Casper, that they call to talk to him while
they're away, including making "expensive ship-to-shore calls to
hear him grunt on the phone." (She's not alone. A colleague here
told me the other day that she called her dog's kennel from
Dubrovnik on a recent trip).
Another reader wrote: "The loyalty and love a dog has for its
family is unequalled by any living creature (humans included). This
loyalty and love is unconditional and constant...I take a picture
of my baby with me every time I travel, and I call my brother to
check up on her several times during the trip."
A few people suggested I consider taking my dog, Dusty, on trips
with me. But he'd miss the rest of his family too much, and I don't
think I could handle his being in the cargo department.
I haven't reached the point of carrying his picture around with
me or calling to talk to him. But I understand how important pets
can be to people and how much the animals can be missed while their
owners are traveling.
I appreciate all the replies from readers about the "family dog"
column.
I promise to return to writing about the burning issues of the
travel industry tomorrow.