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When Paul Salley and Brianna Feehan got their English cream golden retriever in January last year, they figured they would leave the dog with their parents when they traveled.
As content creators, they spend 80% of their time on the road shooting and producing hospitality and lifestyle content for clients, as well as running their Instagram account and blog.
But leaving their dog, Koda, behind started to get too difficult for them. “When we’re gone, we’re always missing her,” Feehan told Business Insider.
The couple decided to take fewer international trips and focus on domestic travel. Last April, they took Koda on her first road trip from Connecticut to Florida.
“She had the best time,” said Feehan, who described Koda as the “happiest dog in the world.”
Now, the couple, who are in their late-20s, bring Koda with them on every trip they take. To date, they say they’ve taken around 15 trips and visited 22 states together.
They plan their trips around Koda
From finding dog-friendly accommodations and eateries to ensuring that Koda is comfortable on the road, Salley and Feehan now center their trips around her. This means they stay longer at each accommodation.
“If we move from Airbnb to Airbnb every night, she’ll stop eating. She doesn’t drink as much,” said Salley, who added that Koda has anxiety if they don’t spend enough time settling into a new environment.
Car rides are also longer. For their first road trip to Florida, Apple Maps estimated their journey would take 18 hours. But after making more than 10 stops along the way to ensure that the dog was comfortable and had enough water and treats, the journey took 24.
Before they got Koda, they stuck to a tighter budget
When traveling with Koda, they often have to pay extra fees for accommodation. So far, the cheapest pet fee they paid was $30 at a Best Western Hotel, while the most expensive was at a Marriot hotel, where they say the pet fee was $75. Airbnbs usually charge around $50 for pets, they observed.
Salley estimates they would spend less than $1,500 on a weeklong trip to Florida if they went alone. He added that the couple would have also saved money by staying in hostels and cheaper places in the past.
But with Koda, their total expenditure on that trip was around $3,000.
For longer trips with Koda, they set a maximum budget of $6,000 for seven weeks. “We also don’t try to spend that much, but we definitely set a lot more aside for worst-case scenarios,” Salley said.
They recalled a harrowing incident when Koda had diarrhea 14 times on the road. They rushed her to the veterinarian and spent $1,100 on X-rays and bloodwork.
“It was a lot of money, and we wasted two or three days just watching her go outside and be sick. It was awful,” Feehan said.
Salley added that pet owners going on trips with their pets should consider buying pet insurance. “Don’t expect things to go as planned. there’s always going to be a curveball with an animal,” he said.
They found Wyoming to be the dog-friendliest and Los Angeles to be one of the least
“We could just walk into a restaurant with our dog and eat with her sitting next to us at a table,” Feehan said about Wyoming.
Alabama is a close second. “The beaches, the bars, the shops — everywhere’s dog friendly,” she added.
On the flip side, the couple said they would never take Koda to New York City for a vacation — even though they only live an hour away.
They once cut their three-day trip short in Los Angeles because they found it lacked dog-friendly accommodations — and were appalled when they saw that one dog park membership cost $120 monthly.
“A lot of dogs live in LA, but we’re not used to city life. So, we just pivot and go somewhere else,” Feehan said.
Their next goal is to fly abroad with Koda
They are not alone. In June, a Forbes Advisor survey of 10,000 American dog owners found that 33% of respondents travel with their dogs by plane. Of the respondents, 37% also said that being unable to bring their dog on their travels is their top annoyance.
As more pet owners prefer to travel with their pets, some commercial airlines are simplifying the process to bring pets on board. American Airlines updated its policy in March to allow flyers to board with their pet in addition to a carry-on bag.
A growing number of shared private jet flights allows owners to travel more comfortably with their pets — albeit with a hefty price tag. In April, BI reported on pet subscription service BarkBox’s launch of its ultra-luxury private jet carrier, Bark Air. The round-trip from New York to Los Angeles costs $12,000 and comes with “dog champagne” and a private chef.
Some pet owners have gone a step further by arranging private jets for their pets. Hong Kong investment banker Gladys Tsoi previously told BI that she spent $38,000 to fly to Japan with her pet poodle on a private jet. Although the trip was costly, she’s planning another trip for her two dogs.
The couple no longer see themselves traveling without Koda
“It feels so complete just being the three of us. There’s nothing that we really miss from home besides the comforts of home,” Feehan said.
“She just helps us relax at a destination and enjoy the beauty of watching her swim or sniff,” Salley added.
Before getting Koda, they would be up at sunrise, shooting and vlogging all day. But with Koda, they’ve learned to slow down.
