Traveling With Your Service Animal? 3 Steps To Get It Prepared
You depend on your service animal to make your life easier. In fact, it's probably by your side 24 hours a day. To provide for your needs, your service animal depends on you too. Under normal circumstances, you probably know what your service animal needs throughout the day. However, if you're about to take your first trip abroad with your service animal, you might not know how to prepare for the adventure. To help get you started, here are three steps you should take when preparing for your vacation.
Remember the Food
If your service animal is on a special diet, you'll need to plan for its meals. Before you leave on vacation, find out if the food your service animal eats is available in the country you'll be visiting. If it is, pack just enough food to provide for your service animal during the travel time.
Once you get to your destination, you can purchase the remaining food you'll need for your vacation time. If the food is not available in the country you'll be visiting, be sure to pack enough food to adequately feed your service animal during the trip. If you're planning an extended stay, you can also contact the supplier and arrange to have a supply of food delivered to your location.
Prepare for Medical Needs
If your service animal has medical issues that require medication, be sure to pack an extra supply of medication for the trip. It's also a good idea to take a pet first aid class. This will allow you to provide immediate care for your pet should it suffer a medical emergency while you're traveling. Talk to your veterinarian about any other health considerations you should make when traveling with your service animal.
Contact Veterinarians in Advance
If your service animal gets sick while you're traveling, you'll need to know where to go for help. That can be difficult if you're in a foreign country. Before you leave on your trip, take the time to contact veterinarians in the areas you'll be visiting. Provide them with vital information about your service animal, such as name, age, breed, and medical history. This will ensure that you have a veterinarian available should your service animal fall ill while you're away from home.
If you're going to be traveling with your service animal, you're going to be depending on it to provide you with the care you need. Make sure you're prepared to care for its needs by following the tips provided here.
