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Chihuahua romantic sunset honeymoon babymoon

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Dec 3, 2019

I brought my dog on a 'babymoon'

By Jennifer Young
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My long-haired chihuahua, Kalman, was my starter baby. Long before my husband and I considered a human addition to our family, we took a chance on a little black-and-tan fluffball who quickly became the centre of our lives. I worried about feeding him the right food, if the grass in our local park had pesticides, and if he had enough doggy friends. We celebrated his birthday and his adopt-a-versary, and included him on all major family trips. So, when we learned we were expecting a human baby, I began to worry about how to best ease the transition from only-Chihuahua to big brother status. 

When we decided to take a "babymoon" vacation the summer before our November due date, it was only natural that we would include our dog. In fact, we planned much of our vacation around him, so that we would all have one big adventure together before our family dynamic changed. As a Canadian living in New York, it was important to me to revisit my roots so we decided on a vacation to Atlantic Canada, where I’d spent several happy summer vacations as a kid. We took a quick flight to Halifax, rented a car, and headed to the south shore of Prince Edward Island. 

Kalman loved the ferry ride to PEI. As my husband and I checked out the scenery, we shared a Cow's vanilla ice cream cone with Kalman (he got to eat the cone). We stopped to eat at the outdoor patio of a pub in Charlottetown before continuing to our destination, a beachside cottage near Augustine Cove.

This is where our dog’s dream vacation truly began. We all romped on the red sand beaches for hours, splashing in the puddles left by the tide. Kalman could run as far as he wanted across the beach, and he delighted in scrambling up the little rocky cliffs and then tumbling his way back down again. Barbecuing chicken and burgers on our cottage’s outside patio, and being included in the family meal at the picnic table, was also a special treat for this Manhattan apartment-dwelling pupper. 

Throughout our trip, we planned our meals at outdoor patios and picnic tables so he could tag along. And we brought him to one of my favourite childhood spots, Green Gables. The heritage site includes several dog-friendly trails, so we could explore the fields and forests so beloved to L.M. Montgomery. As I envisioned reading the Anne stories to my future child, I delighted in being able to share the present moments with my dog, who has contributed so much to our sense of family, and to our sense of adventure. 

Though our babymoon trip might have been a lot more spontaneous if we hadn’t brought our dog along, I’m glad we chose to include him in our travels. Our babymoon travel experience helped cement our bonds as a human-canine family. We made some amazing memories that we continue to treasure, now we plan trips that are both dog and toddler friendly.

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