So excited to write the first of hopefully many blogs about traveling with Maverick! For those new here, three months ago this #lostintheworld traveler bought a puppy! His first big trip was to Beacon, NY to visit one of my best friends. We took Amtrak for this trip and tried out his new puppy travel bag! We will hopefully be using it on a plane sometime later this year! I wanted to make sure he was comfortable with it and gets used to the idea.

I was worried he was going to bark and scratch at the sides and just want out, but he just fell asleep the whole time! Best…dog…ever!

The ‘buy things on a whim and hope it works’ version of me is in hiding. Instead I obsessed for two weeks over which dog carrier to buy. I ended up with this ‘off brand’ cat carrier (ha!) I chose this over all the others for a few reasons. First, it had a lot of ventilation so he wouldn’t feel suffocated in his little traveling home. I also liked that the sides opened up in a way that once settled at the new location it felt like a little dog bed ‘safe area’ for him. It also has a strap to go over your suitcase handle to maneuver easily. (Note: this works great ONLY if you have a roller bag that rolls well next to you. If you have to pull it behind you…. not as much). It also folds up small when you aren’t using it, so it fits my condo lifestyle well by being out of the way when not in use. It worked amazing!

Amtrak employees in DC, Maryland, and NY were so friendly and kind. No side eye to the dog or the carrier. Also note: there’s no ‘under the seat’ space in Amtrak, so the dog carrier had to sit between my legs. It was a bit tight. Amtrak charges $75 round trip to add an animal, but my ticket didn’t state that and they didn’t check. *wink wink.

In the city we rolled around Times Square. I had him in his carrier with the top open so he could see and have the wind in his hair, but didn’t have to walk on the dirty ground. It was also a HOT day so his little puppy pads would have burned on the side walk.

As per usual, we got lots of “awwww! Look at that puppy!” the whole…way…there!

Mav is doing so well traveling and seeing new places. Bathroom schedules are still getting used to it, but we’ll get there. Where should we go for our next ‘Adventure with Mav!” ?