This is our dog Poppy. She is a pure-bred Australian Cattle Dog (Red Heeler) who came out of a hoarding situation. As far as we know, she has spent most of her brief 2 years either crated or left to her own devices with little or no training and socialization. We adopted her less than a week after we got back from our all-too-brief February trip to El Pescadero. Needless to say, she’s been quite a project.
Given that she is extremely bonded to my wife and (to put it mildly) very tentative toward me, we haven’t gotten out much since she’s been in our lives. We are still trying to smooth out the rough edges before leaving her alone for more than an hour or two, let alone planning a vacation.
We’ve had her boarded exactly once – at a place that already knew her and featured the trainer who first taught her how to walk on a leash a few months ago. At the moment she’s too strong and stubborn for us to trust her with a dog sitter. All of which is to say that should we visit Baja again we will either have to board her for the duration or figure out how to transport her from Cape Cod.
Alaska Air has an excellent reputation with dogs, but flying from Boston to Cabo (and back) would entail 2 full days of flying each way. Other people we know, particularly those who live on the west coast, have made the trek via RV. I couldn’t see us making the trip in something as small as our Jeep Cherokee, so we’re at somewhat of an impasse. We’ve been dog owners since 2001, and have made a few trips with our dogs over the years – the longest one to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (where my wife is from). We’ve never traveled without our dog for more than a week.
Our ideal is to be able to spend more than a week in Baja – perhaps a month or longer. This will be a logistical challenge with a dog, but we know it isn’t impossible. Stay tuned.
Dreams of Pescadero 