Bringing a pet to WDW

[journ116]

Hi all! I figure this site is the perfect spot to ask: For those who bring their pets on their WDW vacations, what do you do? My younger sister and her family would love to make a trip to WDW sometime after her DH returns from a 6-month deployment. Their dilemma though: they are driving so that they can bring their 7-year-old lab, BUT they don't want to board her overnight anywhere (back in Nov. 2012, my sister boarded both of her labs, but on the day she arrived home, her beloved little boy lab, got very ill, and later died). My sister and her DH are beyond paranoid at the thought of ever boarding their little girl pup, so she's trying to come up with alternative places that would accommodate pets.

She had run some numbers for renting an RV, staying at the FW Camp Sites, and paying to have her pup stay at the on-site 'doggie day-care." The sum for a week, (without gas, food, and park passes) came to $3000!

Anyone here run into this dilemma (or know of someone), that eventually found a solution?

Thanks in advance for any advice and/or helpful hints!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Unfortunately, leaving their pup at home at any facility, whether it's boarding her at the vets or somewhere near-by (which was the exact scenario when my sisters' little boy lab died), is not an option. When my sister had to leave the area for a week in November, she boarded both of her pups at a very, very reputable place that had access to a vet's office. Sadly, her black lab got 'bloat,' and succumbed to the repercussions only after suffering 4 back-to-back heart attacks. He was even transferred to an emergency clinic and had a 2-hour surgery. As you can imagine, my sister and her DH do not want to be more than a quick drive from their remaining yellow lab.

But thank you for your thoughts and options!

That's awful! I kind of wonder if the facility didn't take the standard bloat precautions. Labs aren't the first breed I'd think of with bloat, but they are still usually on the "susceptible breeds" list since larger labs are usually deep chested enough to warrant preventative measures...i.e. elevated bowls and other precautions are a must. I remember getting in from a vacay around 2am and picking our dog up from boarding at the emergency vet...only time I've ever seen anyone with a middle of the night emergency and it was bloat. The owner was a wreck and what little I overheard didn't sound good. I know it's pretty tough for a dog to recover from it, even with proper emergency attention. Understandable why they are looking for alternatives, but not sure there are many, if any, good or practical solutions.

Hopefully they'll get everything worked out.