I took a drive to Chicago on Sunday to visit Debbie (TotallyTotoNTuffy) and came home yesterday. It's only a 2 1/2 hour drive with good traffic. Well yesterday I was in a traffic jamb and it ended up taking almost 3 1/2 hours. Normally I have a 'camel' bladder and don't have to worry about stopping for bathroom breaks very often, and certainly not for a 3 hour trip! But I guess I had one too many cups of coffee before I left Debbie's and I had to stop. I ended up stopping at one of those rest stop areas that have food courts and gift shops along the toll road. It was daylight and I parked right up front. I have fairly dark tinted windows and thankfully it was gray and dreary out so you really couldn't see in to see my babies unless you were right beside the car. Even at that I was a nervous wreck to leave them locked in the car for the 3 minutes it took me to go to the bathroom. I've never been that fast in my life and my heart was pounding the entire time I was so nervous! I ran outside to make sure theywere fine, then went back inside to the Starbuck's that was in the middle of the entryway, so I could see my car the entire time, to order some more coffee. (I was a bit sleepy ) So I asked the guy working there if it was permissable to bring a dog in if you were only going to use the bathroom if it were dark or didn't feel safe leaving a dog in the car. There are no signs that say no pets. He said he really didn't know but didn't think it would be allowed. So that got me to thinking. I'm hoping to do some longer road trips with my two in the future and I'll most likely be doing them alone. So how does one safely stop for bathroom breaks?

That's a good question. I've wondered about that myself. Personally I would probably put Jasmyne in a purse and take her in with me. I'd also have to hang the purse on the door because bathroom floors are gross! (it's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission).

If I only had one that's exactly what I would have done. But a little more of a challenge with two. I know without a doubt that if it were dark or I had to park far away, I would have taken them in with me and just let someone stop me! LOL I'm just wondering what others do. I didn't take my stroller with me on this trip, but I can't help but think if they were confined in a stroller, that would be acceptable.

i say, if there is no sign that says "no pets allowed" they are welcome. I remember my sister took cupcake into a gas station to pay for gas... and the lady said, "mam i dont think dogs are allowed in here" and my sister goes... "well obviously they are, otherwise there would be a sign..." lol my sister is very outspoken...

and usually theyre will be a sign that says no pets allowed.

i would have taken them in no matter what... i wouldnt leave my girls in the car in a strange place... i worry toooo much.

When i first drove by myself with Cup to dallas (5 hrs from here) i went straight thru... i was dying to pee, but i didnt want to leave cup in the car, and i was scared.. lol.

luckily now that i travel Robby has been with me and we take turns going potty.... he'll go first while Cup goes potty... and ill go next while he lets muffin g potty...

I would take a carrier with me and put them both in there and take them in with me. If someone said something to me about the dogs i would just tell them they are going with me to the restroom and i'm not leaving them in the car. I mean they would be in a carrier and not disturbing anyone or getting hair anywhere.

Traveling alone does present a problem and two really presents a problem!!!! I would get a hugh canvas tote bag and put both of them in it and hang it on the door and go as fast as you can to the restroom!!!! I have a medium tote that was given to me from Lands End and it would easily carry two malts with room to spare and the handles are nice and sturdy to carry on your shoulder. Bless your heart..........

That is one of my worries too if I were to travel alone with the furkids. I usually go on trips with peter so we take turns going to the restrooms.

I took a road trip with Parker this past summer, and potty breaks was the biggest challenge for me. Those darn public bathrooms at the rest stop don't allow pets. I mean, I can understand not allowing pets where food or drinks or sold or served, but a public rest stop?

Since the dogs are small, place them in a carrier and bring them in with you. The worst thing that can happen is that you get kicked out and can't go pee.

I probably would have done just what you did, lock your doors.....and....HURRY!
If I took Abbey inside with me, she would probably start barking or wiggling to get down!!

I could never carry Abbey and "chubby" Archie at the same time - oh - and I almost forgot Tink!

Forget it, I'd lock the doors, run, hurry and worry.

Hi, I'm Sasha's (Shoni's sister) Mom,

The few times I've traveled with Sasha, I put her in her tote bag when I've wanted (or needed!) to go into those cute little shops they have at resort areas. She's not a barker, so instead of walking in with the bag's straps over my shoulder, I hold the straps in my hand like a purse, so that the bag is closer to my knees. I walk into the store with a smile on my face and say "hello" to the salespeople, and they're so busy looking at my face that they never notice that there's a puppy head sticking out of the bag! (only the occasional small child -- who's at that level also -- will notice and stare, but their parents are so busy dragging them behind themselves that they never notice, either! By the time I get to the back of the store, I hoist the bag over my shoulder. Sasha is happy, I'm comfortable, and the salespeople never realize she's there until I'm on my way out of the shop or at the register to pay. By then, they've seen that it's made no difference whatsoever that a "dog" was in their store, and they often "ooh" and "aah" over her. After that, going to the potty in a public restroom is a breeze.

I wouldn't ask. I'd put my babies in a bag and walk in like nothing's wrong. No one will ever notice if you act natural. And there are plenty of puppy totes that fold over like a flap bag. The pups aren't particularly crazy about those, but no one will ever see them that way. Then you can potty in peace!

LOL...actually, had there been one of those actual plain rest stops that have bathrooms, maps, vending machines I would have taken them in without even worrying. I never see people there working to enforce the 'no pets' sign. But on the section of the toll road I was on, the only rest stops had fast food places and gift shops in them. I found it interesting that the ones where no one works at say 'No Pets', but the other ones didn't have a sign.



Thanks Pat! I was beginning to think I was a bad mom for doing that. I never would have done it if it had been dark or I couldn't park right up front. More than one certainly does pose a challenge doesn't it? I'm fortunate enough that mine love to travel in the car and only need potty breaks at around 1:00 in the afternoon and dinner time. Unfortunately, depending on my need for caffiene, I may need more breaks then they do.



Well hello Sasha's Mom!! Welcome to SM!! Actually mine go shopping with me all the time. I very rarely ever have a problem taking them into stores. However it's my mission, so to speak, to try and encourage more businesses to become dog friendly so I always ask first before entering a new store. So far the only places I know I can't take them is WalMart, Target, and grocery stores. So I don't even try to sneak them because they really prefer their HotDog bags where their little head sticks out. But those rest plaza's that have food courts in them make me think they would have a policy like Target and WalMart. But I know I would sneak them if I had to if it were dark out.

I find it so interesting how many customers come into my store feeling like they had to 'sneak' their dogs into the stores in my little touristy town. They are really surprised when I tell them dogs are allowed and they don't need to 'sneak', so please let their babies be more comfy in say, a nice new HotDog Bag?

I never travel alone , I can't manage the SCREAMING HOARD by myself Sarah

Well, if worst comes to worst, you can always carry one of those little porta potties. (Not sure of the
real name).

This is always a problem with me and Mia...I usually travel alone when driving up to N. Cal, and I park in the front and RUN in and go as fast as i can...Mia is always screaming though....she has bad anxiety...She will start screaming as soon as we pull up anywhere...

I travel alone a lot with my dogs. They are crates in the back of the dog van. I park apart from other cars, go in and pee, THEN let my dogs out. I never let anyone see I have dogs in the car. I cover the tops of the crates so if someone did look in, they still could not see the dogs. Unfortunately, on 11 hour drives I have to pee...no way around it. Not ideal, but that's life. My dogs are silent in their crates.

This is exactly what I do especially now that I have three....

and that's exactly what i do with only one LOL. i usually park kinda far out, not where people are going to be walking past my car, crack the sunroof, and run in. butter's not a barker, she'll just sit in her seat and wait patiently. sometimes if i see a security guy around, i'll ask him to keep an eye out, but usually we're parked far enough away from the maddening crowds that i'm not too worried (disclaimer: this is not to be interpreted as "ann marie doesn't care if her dog gets stolen" but rather i don't park where i'm not comfortable, whether alone, with a dog, or with people traveling in my car...). i took butter in with me once or twice and it was more trouble and anxiety for both of us than had we just done it the other way LOL

like JMM said, sometimes on an 11-12 hr drive by yourself... ya just gotta go!

I guess I don't understand the reasoning behind parking far away from everyone else. To me, that would make it more enticing if someone wanted to break into your car to take them. I'd rather park right up front, next to the building where there is a bunch of people to observe things to make it less enticing for someone to break in. Kind of like keeping things well lit around the outside of your house because a thief would rather break in where it's dark and would be unnoticed as opposed to breaking into a well lit area in the front where people could observe you. At least that was my thinking when I parked where I parked.

I just returned from my trip to Asheville, NC. I stopped at a rest area on the way going there. After letting the T's tinkle, I saw a touring bus de-busing (lol what else do you call it?) a bus load of seniors who were making their way to the restrooms. I thought rut ro, I better get in there fast or the line will be a mile long. As I neared the door I saw the no pets sign on the door and ignored it. The T's were wearing their respective pink "Mommy's Girl" and blue "Mommy's Boy" harnesses and politely waited in line with me. The ladies in line with us were quite charmed by the babies. One lady teasingly told me that "Mommy's Boy" Toto was in the wrong bathroom. It was challenging to hold onto two leashes inside a small bathroom stall and keep the T's inside of it with me. They were sticking their heads under the stall to look at other bathroom goers and out toward the sinks. We mostly had laughter and maybe two dirty looks....oh well.

Yesterday was return drive home and I boldly decided to "go for it" and not stay over in Lexington, KY as I had done on the way there. BIG MISTAKE There were two separate crashes on I-65, one near Indianapolis and one closer to Chicago that caused authorities to shut down the highway completely for an hour for each. We ended up being in the car for 12 hours and had two pee stops at gas station/restaurant locations. On both occasions I parked as close as I could to the front and flew in and out with my heart in my throat. I have the same mindset about parking in a well lit highly visible area Crystal. I think it's safer for the babies and safer for us too.

As a sidenote, the look out seats that I purchased from you are amazing. Most of the trip they slept very comfortably w/o a squeak or whimper (except when we were at a standstill for those crashes, Toto was NOT happy). There were a few times that I caught both Toto and Tuffy looking out the window as we were cruising along and they looked so happy. Thank you again for bringing them to us. It was great to see you and the babies, they are both doll babies. "His Humpiness" (Toto) says come visit more often!