Ron Bexel
Vacation With Dog In Canada – Ambassadors Noodle (Scooter the dog) and Shamus (and their humans, Bree and Kyle) go to investigate the Canadian border. Here’s what they learned.
For the past three years, we’ve been planning summer road trips with Noodle, Shamus, and our van Elmer. The Canadian Rockies are at the top of the list this year after the pandemic limited travel the past two summers. We live near the Canadian border and we take our kids to Vancouver often but we don’t get out that long.
Vacation With Dog In Canada
It’s been a long time since we first reviewed the state of transporting animals across borders. (For Canada’s policy on crossing the border with animals, see Canada’s official policy on traveling with pets.)
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The website has drop down options to create your specific display based on animal and age. For Noodle and Shamus, it’s easy to travel for personal reasons – we need proof of rabies vaccination. The Border Patrol has the right to stop the crossing if the dog is sick. We were always worried about Noodles because of his spinal cord injury, but so far he is doing well.
I keep vet records digitally, but just to be safe, I went to our vet to get signed copies. Both Shamus and Noodle regularly bark at drive-thrus and at strangers incessantly, never barking at border guards. I think they sense our fear.
I would say that 90% of the time we cross the border with dogs, we are not asked to show proof of rabies. But we made the trip. Fortunately, a quick look at the signed forms and we were on our way.
Earlier, we were selected for a random search, which required a lengthy explanation to the police about removing Noodle and his scooter from the vehicle prior to the search. He makes a show when all the border guards meet him with his tires.
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Another important provision for cross-border dogs relates to food and treats. Packages must be sealed by the manufacturer and there are limits on the amount shipped. Read Canada’s rules for bringing pet food here and learn about Canada’s rules for bringing pet food across the border. .
Once in Canada we visited Mount Revelstoke National Park, Mount Robson Provincial Park, Jasper National Park and Banff National Park. We headed to Roseland for a little hotel stay and some creature comforts for everyone.
Unlike the United States National Parks, which restrict all dog activity to campgrounds and parking lots, we had no problem finding trails and overlooks in the aforementioned National Parks that allow dogs on leashes. Learn more about the rules for bringing dogs into Canada’s national parks here. .
We explored several Noodle-approved trails including Peyto Lake, Kinky Lake Loop (outside the park), and Malin Canyon. Noodle and Kyle took a 20+ mile bike ride along the Bow Valley Parkway to Johnston Canyon, where Shamus and I hiked up to Moose Meadows.
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A local resident in the Banff area told us about the Bow Valley Parkway. Banff National Park is closed to vehicles during the shoulder season. And to push cyclists, they continued a 3-year pilot program to allow cyclists to commute without having to worry about cars. Such local input and use of all tracks is invaluable to us in determining the precise details of track conditions, length, and gain that will help determine if a noodle can participate in a selected activity.
The Fernie™ Dog Sweater is a must for late night noodles. With his spinal cord injury, temperature regulation is very difficult and keeping him warm is essential to his health. Camper van gear for our dogs includes the BaseCamp™ Dog Bed, Noodle to keep the skin soft and the Not-a-Hitch™ to keep Shamus tied up at camp. Roving Roving.
Our trip was in September so we packed for all weather possibilities. We have them – ice from the rain, hot sun up to 28 degrees in the morning and unfortunately smoke from the fire. We are ready, at least we have dogs. I had to buy some warm clothes, thinking that summer is still here.
Our trip ended at a small dog-friendly hotel in Red Mountain. Unfortunately, some fires at this time limited our desire and health to get out on the hike, so we took a break and caught the college ball. Our trip was long, beautiful and worth all the planning. I’ll have to check it out when I have more time. Author Katie Hewitt with her husband Graham McCarthy and their Wheaton terrier Charlie in Medicine Hat, Alta. Graham McCarthy/Supplied
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Snow-capped peaks cradle Lake Louise. I shivered in my light jacket and looked at Charlie’s thick coat. My traveling companion had never seen mountains.
On our way from Toronto to Vancouver, we were in Banff, Alta., on the last leg of a nine-day westward migration that took us through five provinces for my husband’s work and some living in nature. More than a new one. Hopefully Charlie will be inspired by the Canadian Rockies and glacial lakes as we stick up for him and travel over 4,700 kilometers to our new home.
Flying can be intimidating for people with a basic knowledge of aerodynamics. Charlie is a 10-year-old Scottish terrier with separation anxiety. And at 20 kilograms (about 45 pounds), he was too big for the room. He must travel in an airline-approved, checked bag, pressurized – but not necessarily temperature-controlled – box. (Service dogs are allowed in the cabin, but Charlie isn’t very helpful.)
The flight from Toronto to Vancouver was about five hours, not to mention sitting on the tarmac indefinitely, and we signed the lease on July 1 — hot tar weather. Air Canada enforces temperature restrictions for pet travel on domestic flights when the temperature is above 29.5 degrees. “We love Canada but, unfortunately, the heat is not the problem,” WestJet said on its website. We continued after British Columbia’s extreme heat wave, the worst weather event in Canadian history, where the temperature in the province reached 49.6 C.
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Both WestJet and Air Canada’s websites state that the airlines are “not responsible” for the care or feeding of pets in transit. I wonder who is responsible. To us, Charlie is kind but defiant, a restless furball who loves Black Forest ham more than ever, and strives to smell every tree he passes. In an airline, he is cargo.
Fortunately, airlines don’t put animals in the way of transfer bags, but even one incident is enough to scare pet owners.
In 2013, Larry the Greyhound died while traveling with Air Canada. In 2017, WestJet sent Cooper, a labradoodle, on the wrong flight. Earlier this year, Air Canada lost a Dewey cat at Toronto’s Pearson Airport; She was missing for more than three weeks and emaciated before being found. Devi’s owner originally booked a direct flight, but the airline changed it.
Filmed in Medicine Hat, traveling with Charlie meant scheduling vet appointments, renting a car and confirming dog-friendly hotels. Graham McCarthy/Provided
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These are the most common problems when traveling with a pet. But we are going through a pandemic, and Covid-19 is not friendly in the skies. Travel restrictions, labor shortages and fewer flights can lead to overbooking, last-minute cancellations, changing departure times and changing flights without warning. What if we make our plane and Charlie doesn’t? What if our aircraft switched to one without temperature control?
My husband and I moved to Vancouver in July, leaving Charlie with my parents and their big yard. We returned in October to bring him home after spending hours planning our great Canadian puppy road trip.
“I’m like a dog’s executive assistant,” my husband jokes as he scrambles to schedule vet appointments, rent a car, and confirm dog-friendly hotels.
Traveling by plane is cheaper if you don’t have your own car, so we decided to make the trip as perfect as possible with the Covid-19 restrictions – I haven’t seen much of Canada.
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Before the pandemic, I traveled abroad a lot. After seeing the world, I thought Canada was always vast and solid. I am in no rush to explore this great country, perhaps taking it for granted.
So without Charlie, I wouldn’t have seen the Terry Fox Memorial in Thunder Bay, deserted except for early morning dog walkers. I might have missed the Canadian Museum of Human Rights in Winnipeg and the iconic Lake Louise
