Living life to the Max... a little doggie’s odyssey
In the past six years he has been to France, to Hungary, to the Netherlands, to Belgium, to Slovakia, to Germany, and to Austria. And to the UK, of course, a city break to London being one of his more runof-the-mill trips. For when you are only six-and-a-half years old and have already walked the streets of Salzburg and Vienna, strolled through the flower market beside the Singel canal in Amsterdam, shopped in a supermarket near Trouville, taken a cablecar ride in the Alps, watched people crossing the Chain Bridge in Budapest, and wandered through the city of Bratislava, then that’s pretty good going, travel wise, in anyone’s book.
Also something of a seasoned traveller through the Eurotunnel and an old hand, at this stage, at the overnight train routine all over Europe, Max is far better travelled than many people twice or three times his age.
Except that Max doesn’t actually fit the ‘people’ label at all because Max is a dog. A lovely Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, to be precise, and a mutt who is never happier than when he is travelling somewhere in the company of the rest of his family.
And that would be my friend, Anne-Marie, her husband, David, and their teenage daughter, Rosie. Where they go – barring the odd jaunt across the pond to the US – Max goes too.
And it couldn’t be simpler, Anne-Marie tells me.
Now, back in 2010, when Gerry, my late husband, and I were heading to Venice (again!) for a month-long stay, we considered taking Oscar and Finn, our two Irish Wheaten Terriers. Flying was out of the question because no airline would carry canines so we seriously thought about driving.
In the end it didn’t work out but, even though we knew the boys were being really well cared for back at home, we missed them dreadfully. That’s the thing when you love your dog – he or she is part of the family and so, when it comes to holidays, it’s only natural that you want to take them with you.
Which is what Anne-Marie and family do when it comes to Max. Their first trip with him was to France – to Normandy – when he was about nine months old.
They travelled by ferry from Rosslare to Cherbourg and while they visited the D-Day beaches, the museums and the war cemeteries, Max enjoyed a nap in the familiar territory of the family car.
They always travel with a foldable canvas travel crate and wherever they are – in a hotel, on a train or in dog-friendly accommodation – out comes the same travel bed and Max is as happy as Larry.
He has his Pet Passport, of course, showing that he is microchipped and that all his vaccinations are up to date but once that is sorted out it seems that it couldn’t be easier.
The only other thing to consider is that within three days of bringing your dog back into Ireland (or the UK) he has to be given a ‘no tapeworm’ stamp of approval by a local vet.
When travelling through the Eurotunnel, Max’s family always stay the night before in a dogfriendly hotel in nearby Folkestone, in Kent.
Max even gets to go to the breakfastroom there in the morning before they head off for France.
On the whole, however, renting an apartment when away has proved to be a great option, according to Anne-Marie.
You can check out where is dogfriendly online and book accordingly.
It also means that when they are in a city – say, Amsterdam – while they are touring the Rijksmuseum there or visiting the Anne Frank house, Max can be curled up in his familiar travel bed back at the apartment having already had his morning constitutional.
And with a dog in tow, you invariably get to see parts of a city that you might never discover if he was left at home. (If it’s summer and you are somewhere hot, then make sure, says Anne-Marie, that there is airconditioning in the apartment if you intend to leave your dog for a few hours.)
The overnight train option has also proved to be both Max-friendly and stress free.
On the train (that also takes your car, of course) from Dusseldorf to Vienna, for example, Max and his family had their own compartment, with all of them waking up refreshed the next morning as the train pulled into Vienna at 8am.
From there they drove on to Budapest where they spent a few days in an apartment before catching another overnight train homewards, this time via Innsbruck.
And when, on another occasion, they were perusing the option of staying for a couple of days in the swanky Hotel Schloss Leopoldskron outside Salzburg, they were amazed to discover that this historic palace permitted dogs.
And, unlike some pet-friendly hotels which consign your pooch to a kennel in the stables or wherever, in this one Max could actually sleep in the bedroom.
So, if you are feeling daunted at the prospect of trying to take your dog to Europe this summer, then take heart. From Budapest to Bratislava, London to Normandy, Vienna to Dusseldorf, Amsterdam to the Austrian Alps, Max has been there and done that.
He must surely be the best travelled dog in Ireland!