From JuJu with Love

I love to travel.
It’s my passion.

New cultures. New cities. New countries.
New foods, new people, new experiences.

But there’s one part of travel I will never love.

The goodbye.

Because as much as I love seeing the world…
I also love my sled dog doodle.

And I hate leaving her behind.

The moment she sees my suitcase, I swear she knows.
I see it in her eyes. The shift. The sadness.

So I’ve learned to get strategic.

I bring my suitcase upstairs when she’s at the groomer.
I hide it in the guest bedroom—one of the only rooms she rarely goes into—so she doesn’t see it until the very last minute.

Because once she knows… I feel guilty.

Every time.

Whenever I can, I have a dog sitter stay at the house so her routine doesn’t change.
But sometimes that’s not possible, and I have to find somewhere for her to go.

She doesn’t like other dogs—she’s actually terrified of them—so a kennel has never been an option.

So I plan ahead. Way ahead.

My friend is a dog sitter, and she’s always booked. So the minute I put down a deposit on a trip, I text her.

Because if I’m not here… Cathy and Joe are the next best thing for her.

Because if she’s not okay…I’m not okay. And there’s no way I could enjoy the trip.

The first time I brought Maizey over for a meet-and-greet, she charged straight into their living room and jumped up on the couch while I ran behind her, apologizing and trying to grab her.

They just laughed.

“It’s okay,” they said. “If she’s allowed on your furniture, she’s allowed on ours.”

And just like that… I knew she’d be okay.

One of her favorite treats is a Dogel.
It’s like a teething bagel—but for dogs.

She is so proud when I give her one.

She doesn’t even eat it right away.
She carries it around the house like it’s her baby for four or five days.

She brings it to bed.
She barks at me to play catch with it.
She guards it like it’s the most important thing in the world.

And if she hasn’t eaten it before I leave…
I’ll pack it with her things so she can take it on her vacation too.

Along with her food, her toys, her bed, her ThunderShirt, and a Kong…
I always pack her little blanket.

The one that smells like home.

Especially when I’m gone for more than two weeks, I don’t want her to be scared.

And right before I leave, I always say the same thing:

“Be a good girl. I’ll be back.”

Because no matter where I go…
no matter how far I travel…

I leave.

But I always come home.

For Maizey.

The hardest part of travel isn’t packing… it’s leaving the one who would follow you anywhere.

And later today I will zip up my suitcase…and do it all over again.

✈️🇯🇵

If you want to follow along on this next adventure (and see how my sled dog doodle survives 2.5 weeks without me), you can subscribe here…

From Juju with love 💙🐾