The Great Dog Blog: A Greyhound In Canada, Eh?

Rhett and I recently took a road-trip to Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was lovely. It was also our first road-trip as a whole family. Yes, we took little miss Roxie Hart along with us. Typically for vacation, we drop her off at a friends house while we go have fun. We really wanted to bring her on a vacation with us, though, and this was a perfect opportunity. We weren't flying, and we don't have kids, so we loaded up the car, put her little bed in the back seat, and off we went.

We did do our research before leaving. What would we need to take our dog across the border into Canada? What about her food? We looked up Canadian law, and found as long as you weren't going to sell the dog food, any amount under so many kilograms was allowed. All we really needed was her latest paperwork stating she was up-to-date on all her shots. Easy enough! There were plenty of Airbnb lodging options that were pet friendly, so that was taken care of. We brought her an extra water bowl to keep in the car with her, and I kept some treats in my purse. The whole trip went very smoothly.

I'll start from the beginning. We collapsed her kennel and loaded it into the trunk. The bed that usually goes in her kennel went into the back seat along with our cooler full of snacks. We brought her one blanket, one toy, one cow hoof, her food and water bowls with her small bowl riser, enough food for the few days of travel, and all of her paperwork. We made sure her collar had all her tags on it, and that there were enough poop bags on her leash. Other than the bed, it all fit into one big reusable shopping bag we got at Mariano's. Oh! We also brought her bottle of melatonin. The stuff has worked wonders when she gets anxious.

After packing for her, we threw our own stuff into the trunk and drove off. Whenever we stopped for gas or a snack, we'd walk her around a bit to stretch her legs. She's pretty good at following the "potty" command and going, even if she doesn't really need to go that bad. Then we would drive on. At the border, we could've smuggled her in! She was so quiet, and didn't even perk up at the passport check. The guy was real inquisitive about Rhett and I. When we mentioned we had our dog with us he almost looked surprised. He asked for the paperwork, glanced it over, handed it back and said it looked good. No questions about Roxie. She was cool. Lots of questions about Rhett and myself. That was easy, and it was the part I was most worried about!

Once at our destination we set up her kennel, put her bed and blanket in it, and settled in for the evening. The kennel fit right next to my side of the bed. She slept soundly in it every night. She wasn't so sure about this new place we were staying in, but her kennel made her feel more secure I think.

In the morning we took her on a long walk along the beach of lake Ontario. She started to love Canada around then. There weren't many people around, but there were a lot of dogs and a lot of squirrels. Just like everywhere else, anyone who saw Roxie just thought she was beautiful! We had a lot of people stop us and ask questions about her. I think she was a bit relieved to get back to the Airbnb for a bit. We gave her some melatonin, put her in her kennel with the extra bowl of water, and went out to explore downtown Toronto for a few hours. We waited outside to make sure she wouldn't whine or try to break out of her kennel (she's quite the hound-ini when she wants to be).The city itself is very pet friendly, with water bowls outside every 3rd shop or so, and lots of patio seating. Probably every 3rd person we ran into had a dog. When we got back, Roxie was happy to see us and calm as ever. I was impressed with her. It was nice just to relax and chill that evening in our Airbnb apartment. The wind outside came through the windows, it was quiet, and the 3 of us just lay in the bedroom playing games and snoozing. We put Roxie back in her kennel to sleep that night. She didn't make one peep. What a good girl.

Day 2 was our big day, because it was the day we'd be going to see Niagara falls! The weather that week was supposed to be pretty moderate, but of course a heat wave came through that day. I'm pretty sure some people thought we were bad owners because Miss Drama Queen was panting super hard and walking slow, but refusing to take a drink. We parked about a 3 minute walk away from the Falls, and tried to keep on the grass because the pavement was a little too hot for dog paws. Once we finally got down to see the Falls, we stopped under a shady tree to let Roxie cool off. The walkway along the falls from the Rainbow bridge (back to the States) to the Visitors Center at the horseshoe part of the falls was just over a mile. We stopped probably 10 times along our way to sit in the shade and cool off. Roxies extra bowl was packed in Rhett's backpack, and we had a big water bottle just for her that we'd use to fill it a little at each stop. It reminded me of going on vacation with my grandma before she passed away, with the constant stopping to rest and slow walking. It actually made for a very relaxing and enjoyable day.

During our stops, we met a lot of people who either stared at her, or would ask us if she's a greyhound, or ask if they could pet her. We met a grandmother and grandson from Australia who also rescue greyhounds (Australia has a huge greyhound rescue. They take in dogs not only from Aussie tracks, but the bring in grey's from tracks in Taiwan, China, and Thailand, too). We met an older couple from Florida who live near a few active tracks. A man from Montreal was highly impressed with her, as he had only ever seen Italian Greyhounds in real life. And we met a woman from northern India who asked if Roxie was a Saluki. Then she talked about how seeing Roxie made her heart so happy, because it reminded her of home, when the men would march through her village on their way to war. They had Saluki's who were known as caravan dogs, because they traveled with the caravan of soldiers and provided food for them by hunting. Each person who approached us had a different story about a greyhound (or greyhound cousin) in their lives. Everyone who stopped us told us how beautiful she is. And they're all right. She is the most beautiful dog! And spoiled...

We finally stopped to eat lunch at a statue of Nikola Tesla. We sat in the shade on some grass for about 45 minutes with a great view of the falls, and far enough away from people that Roxie started to feel more comfortable. She also thought the big grassy plants tasted super good. We spent some time taking pictures at the horseshoe falls by the visitors center on the south end of the park, where Rhett and I took turns using the restrooms and picking out postcards for the family. While Rhett and Roxie were waiting for me to be done, a sweet old Asian man came up to them and dropped some coins in Roxie's water bowl. Rhett tried to protest, but the man didn't seem to speak any English. I guess they looked homeless? Bonus for us on having a water bowl that makes it look like we're beggars. Hahahaha!

By the time we had done all of our activites, the heat wave had passed, the weather once again became mild, and we started to make our way back. The walk back only had one "cool off" stop where we had enough cell service to call our parents and say hello. We didn't need to make the stop for Roxie that time, but she got a drink anyways. Then she did something I've never seen her do: she wallowed in the grass. I'm talking full on belly up, feet up, rubbing her head and shoulders in the clover. I wish I had gotten a picture it was so funny! She finished real quick, but she just lay in the grass and smiled for awhile. Then we went "home." Roxie crashed in the back seat the whole way back. I don't think she moved once. We wore her out good.

When we got "home" we put her in her kennel so we could go get us some dinner. I'm pretty sure she slept the entire time we were eating, because when we got back, she was still sleeping. We took her out to potty, and all of us went to bed. We always gave Roxie a few opportunities to eat each morning and evening, but she didn't each much during the trip unless it was a treat. I didn't expect her to, but we brought enough food just in case she did find her appetite. She resumed eating as normal after our vacation was over.

The next morning we drove home, and Roxie did great, again. We didn't even have to mention her at the border, and she didn't perk up again. She did so well all day. When we did get home, she immediately went and laid on her dog bed as if she had missed it more than anything in the world. It took her another day of sleep to recover, but I think she had a grey-t time! Rhett and I sure did!