Fast forward three years, and our greyhound, Greta, has, at the age of three and a half, become a welcome, if not comical, addition to our family. So it only seemed fitting that when we considered another venture up to Mendocino, we decided to take her along for the ride.

The original room we stayed in at MacCallum house, the Gazebo Playhouse, was quite charming and perfect for my husband and myself, but I knew that adding a dog crate and 60-pound pooch to the mix would turn the cozy quarters into a cramped jail cell.  

I finally decided that the best option for everyone was the Bug’s Ear, a stand-alone cottage about a mile away from MacCallum that offered a bit more privacy and much-needed space.

We hit the road on an early August weekday, and as Greta is not very fond of car rides, she was up and down and panting for the majority of the four-hour ride.

We arrived in Mendocino too early to check in, and I was dismayed to find that not one merchant in all of the small town had a dish of water out for a thirsty dog. Finally, we had to resort to begging for some tap water at a local cafe. (I did bring Greta’s dishes and water for the ride, but she is very particular about when she will and won’t drink from a dish, and in a car, moving or not, she won’t.)

Once we got some liquid in Greta and were able to check in, we set up her crate and she was finally able to get some rest.

The next morning, we took Greta to the beach, where she splashed and frolicked in the surf.

We had to keep her on leash, not only because she’s a greyhound, but also because the beach didn’t allow off leash dogs. (We heard there is a beach in Fort Bragg that allows dogs off leash, but we didn’t feel the need to make the 10-mile drive to check it out.)

The MacCallum house charges an extra $30 per night for pets, and they did provide us with a dog bed, blanket, and a few waste bags and treats. They also provided food and water dishes, although they would have been better suited for cats or very small dogs, so I’m glad I brought our large dishes from home. We also could have splurged on the Tail Wagger’s Club Basket (see photo below), but at $85, I decided to pass (since we were already paying an extra $60 for the two-night stay).

Other than a small coffee shop that had outdoor seating, there didn’t seem to be too many places in downtown Mendocino to dine with Greta in tow. We opted to pick up food and take it back to the cottage for lunch during the full day we were there. As breakfast was included with our stay, we did crate Greta both mornings while we ate, and we did the same for the two evenings we dined in town.

I’m glad we went, but next time I think we will stay closer to home and choose a place that’s more dog friendly. We did see a few dogs here and there during our stay, some large and some small, but in all, I was surprised that Mendocino didn’t have a more welcoming mat out for canines and their human travel companions.

• A Sample Dog Training Daily Action Plan [/caption] When it comes to training your dog, we sometimes have to remember that also have to train ourselves. A dog that has a good "pack leader" living with him or her will need to know that you are consistent in the boundaries you set, as well as consistent with......
• 75 Ways to Save Money Every Month Regardless of how economists refer to this economy, recession or no recession, people are hurting, financially. Unemployment, flat wages and rising costs for food and gas have many hurting. Check out these great money saving tips to help your family survive these tough times. Here are a few money saving......
• Things I Love Thursday: Animal Planet's Dogs 101 As many of you know I am an avid dog lover*. I think they are wonderful animals that only want to give you unconditional love, and that every home would be even more blessed if it housed a dog. Recently I found a wonderful show on Animal Planet that gives......
• Strategies for Introducing Dogs to Cats In Your Home [/caption]If you're a pet lover, there's a good chance that you'll end up bringing a dog into a home that already has cats in it. You also are probably already aware of the potential trouble this can cause. But if you take some time to understand pet behavior and take......
• Personal Finance Links (Dogs Rule Edition) This weekend I watched the movie UP. I think it was one of the worst of the Pixar movies, I've seen... but that's to say that it was still very entertaining and well worth seeing. I cried and laughed (in that order mostly). And for the rest of the weekend,......

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.