By Victoria Frank (and Lily)
K-9 Jets (www.k9jets.com) has made it possible to take your dog with you on a European vacation. They fly to Birmingham (UK), Dubai, Dublin, Frankfurt, Geneva, London, Lisbon, Milan, Melbourne, and Paris. More than fifty years ago I went to school in Normandy – and it continues to lure me back, so Paris was my choice. And I knew how dog friendly France is from a one-month jaunt with two standard poodles to celebrate my 60th birthday some years ago. (When you sit in a restaurant it is not uncommon for the establishment to bring your dog a bowl of water before they bring you the menu).
At compelling Utah Beach
Flight booked, now to find an ideal spot to stay. After an extensive search I found a spot in a little town, tucked on the coast, between Deauville and Honfleur. There were plenty of beautiful, country estates available but I did not want to be isolated. The allure to the lodging I chose was that I would be living in a little town where I could walk and actually be in a community, a good option for a woman alone.
The planning was extensive and included a drive to New Jersey, the departure point for the flight to Paris. In the months in advance of the trip, it is necessary to:
- Find a rental that will take your dog
- Make sure that the rental dates coincide with the infrequent airline itinerary (which, for me, changed between the time I bought my ticket and the actual flight)
- Rent a car
- Secure transport between arrival airport and the rental car agency at your destination (optional but helpful)
- Hire a company to coordinate your dog’s international health certification (pawsitivepethealthcertificates.com)
- File for papers required to bring her back to USA (https://www.cdc.gov/importation/dogs/index.html)
Tower I rented in Villerville- It’s a magical spot; tiny rooms connected by a spiral staircase. It was built by a painter at the end of the 19th century and well renovated.
This is a common start to the day – beautiful sunrises that provide amazing light right outside my bedroom window with Lily anxious for yet another adventure.
Laura and me and Lil in a German Bunker on Omaha. Can you imagine the brave souls?
There have been wrinkles:
I booked a vacation rental based on a flight itinerary that was changed which meant that I had to go back to the rental agency to make sure that I could get the extra week. Fortunately the rental was available but Oliver’s Travels (the agency) was not willing to adapt the rental dates so I had to pay for an extra week.
The flight is more of a challenge than a luxury. Imagine a very confined space with 9 or 10 dogs of varying sizes (most large) that don’t know one another. The airline does allow time for socialization before you leave and they do consider size and personality of the dogs when assigning seats.
A particularly charming corner in my little village of Villerville
Beautiful Pont l’Eveque
How about this produce? Pont L’Eveque is just wonderful!
The flight from Teterboro to Paris was a night flight. Lily and I were assigned a seat in the front of the plane where there were 4 seats in a “pod” (2 seats looking back, 2 seats looking forward) and three dogs. Lily is 50lbs, the golden retriever was probably 70 and the Australian shepherd was probably 35 lbs. Lily sat in my lap for most of the trip, the golden sat on the floor in the aisle between the seats of her two owners, and the small shepherd sat on the floor at her owner’s feet, between her owner and the mother of the golden.
The chairs did not have foot rests that elevated and if they did, there would not have been room to elevate them. The bathroom was in the back. Sadly the owners of the dogs between the front of the aircraft and the bathroom draped themselves across the aisle which meant that you had to waken them to make the trek. (The flight attendant was really helpful with this handicap.) None of the dogs liked the descent and landing – no howling but they were nervous.
When we arrived at LeBourget airport, there is a little spot of dirt about a block away where dogs can relieve themselves. I’m the one who found it and shared the info with my fellow travelers. Surprisingly the airline did not understand that the dogs were not interested in going to the bathroom on the concrete that surrounds the building. I realize that this isn’t the most gracious review of a $10,000 investment ($20,000 round trip) but I want to be honest to avoid an expensive disappointment.
Miss Lil, comfortable at my side at an outside café in Honfleur
We often drive through this town in our comings and goings. There is this lovely country church with beautiful lawns. I often stop there for a Lily “comfort break”
I anticipated being tired when I arrived–although I had little idea of how tired I would actually be– so I thought it wise to find a driver to take us out of Paris and into Normandy. Finding this service was not easy. Neither airline nor vacation rental agency were helpful so I did my research online. I ended up using DayTrip (DayTrip.com). They were great! They sent me a number of emails to be sure they knew where to pick us up, the driver was waiting for us when we landed and he was really helpful at the rental car pickup location in Normandy. I rented a car from Sixt and made all of the arrangements online. Like DayTrip, this company contacted me personally to be sure arrangements were accurate. And they gave me an extra day and upgraded the car quality with no additional fees – great service!
When we finally arrived at my vacation rental on Saturday afternoon I found it in fairly poor condition. It was not overly clean, there was paint peeling from the walls and someone’s old food in the fridge (which is, I learn a European thing -the fridge was clean but they leave jams and dressings for the next guest). The owner was notified and sent over the cleaner for a deep clean a few days later. The walls have never been repaired but I have come to love the place so do my best to ignore the rough spots. And my little town turns out to be so small that there are none of the amenities I had hoped for – nowhere for coffee in the morning, no boulangerie, not even a restaurant open on most days! Some of this is a result of being here off season but Villerville is REALLY small!
Additional advice:
- I found a vet on the internet before we left town and made an appointment early in our stay. A simple wellness visit introduced me to the English-speaking veterinarian and introduced him to Lily, while in good health. Should her health decline or we encounter an injury, I now have somewhere to go. I was also able to buy top-quality food from the practice. (FYI: it is illegal to bring meat from USA into EU so don’t count on bringing your American food with you).
- Bring poop bags! I haven’t actually looked for them but I have not seen any for sale. There are street trash cans and dog poop stations located all over the place. The French are getting better at this task although you will still find piles of poop.
- I always travel with a collapsible crate sold by Orvis. This allows Lily to have a familiar hide-out, wherever we are. It doesn’t weigh a ton, has a handle on the side for easy transport and doesn’t pinch your fingers when you set it up and tear it down.
Florist in Pont L’Eveque. That French style…………..
I’m a traveler and an old gal, a widow who traveled to France twice with poodles when Clint was alive. We brought Maddy with us to Normandy for 10 days in the 90’s and Iz and Gennie came with us to the Dordogne for a month in 2010. Both trips we traveled in May on American Airlines (when they had a non-stop flight between O’Hare and Charles de Gaulle). Yes, they were in crates but not with the luggage; there is a special little spot below the galley. The flight attendants would check on them and report on their well-being. Travel with your large pets is very difficult these days because of the time before the flight. Animals are placed in luggage trucks that can sit on the tarmac for hours. These trucks are not climate controlled. So, airlines won’t take crated dogs if the temperature is not between 45 and 85 degrees (This information was collected today, 10/7/24, from American Airlines website – it is considerably broader than it has been in the past. I know as I had to get Lily home from Phoenix when my husband was dying. It was going to be 48 in Chicago when she arrived and they wouldn’t take her). Because I have been denied service at a particularly critical time in my life, I have found the capriciousness of the airline agents too unreliable in this time of non-refundable, non-exchangeable airline tickets.
Our trip has been expensive and required a great deal of planning – but, if you adore your dog and are looking for a travel companion that thinks every activity is fascinating – do it!
Vic and Lil in Honfleur
