Traveling circus

In my lifetime, I have traveled tens of thousands of miles with dogs.

Piper

My dogs,

Emma, obviously

my bosses' dogs,

Mardi and Holiday

my coworkers' dogs,

Jasmine

my friends' dogs.

Tank and Riley

So many miles.

Darcy

So many dogs.

Abbie

I've also roadtripped with horses, but never - not even one time - have I shared a vehicle with a cat...

or a snake.

I guess I was due.

Earlier this month, I helped my son, James, move from Loveland, Colorado to Madison, Wisconsin with his cat, Guppy, and his girlfriend's snake, Mercury. It was a long trip made longer by lack of proper preparations, but somehow, we made it work.

Credit goes to Guppy/Kimmy - she goes by both names - for being perhaps the sweetest, most amenable cat ever.

Props also to James, for consulting with his vet before we left. He was able to administer some light sedatives throughout the trip, which made things easier for everyone.

"I feel goooood."

Guppy rode in a small dog cat carrier between the seats, and was mostly - but not entirely - quiet.

We let her out every time we stopped, and sometimes we stopped just to let her out. 

We were all in this together and we made it work.

Between Loveland and Madison, we overnighted in two hotels.

Kimmy much preferred this to riding in the truck.

She had a big time exploring every...

single...

inch of both those rooms!

As for Mercury, he was a good traveler, too. In fact, most of the time it was almost like he wasn't there. He rode inside a knotted pillowcase, which was placed on a blanket within a plastic tub with holes in the sides. The tub was placed under my seat in the truck. At the hotel, he stayed in the bathroom with a heat lamp. 

in the Colorado apartment before we left

We didn't feed him or give him any water. I am a mammal person, and I found this incomprehensible. As the trip dragged on days, I started to get very concerned about his health and well-being. Fortunately, my concerns were unfounded. He came out of the pillowcase in fine shape and made himself right at home in Madison.

In regards to travel, dogs are always and forever my first choice of companion. However, I have to admit, I enjoyed road tripping with Guppy and Mercury. 

And James, too. Of course.