Traveling with pets can make life a little more difficult for sure. But they also add a ton of joy! In my opinion, it’s a whole heck of a lot easier in an RV than it would be in motels… Regardless of where you sleep, there are some aspects that can be difficult when your traveling, like vet visits.

We’ve had Charlie for about 2.5 years now. She came to live with us in Georgia. I found Breeze Animal Hospital in Panama City Beach, Florida a few weeks later and that’s where she got her first vaccines and was spayed. Then it gets a litle fuzzy as to the timeline… We are vigilant about getting her to the vet every six months no matter where we are though.  She has been to (in no particular order): Southern Hills Veterinary Hospital in Edmond, Oklahoma (twice); Slidell, Louisiana where I first got her on an Optimum Wellness Plan with Banfield Pet Hospital inside Petsmart (2 different locations there because she needed a booster); a Banfield in Daly City, California; a Banfield in Edmond, Oklahoma; and most recently to a Pet Vet Clinic at Tractor Supply here in Haines City, Florida.

I was happy with almost all of those.

I thought getting Eustace on an Optimum Wellness Plan with Banfield would be a good idea. We move a lot and never know where we will be. When we got to Haines City a few days after getting Eustace, we thought we would only be here about 2-3 weeks. I wanted to go ahead and get his vaccines started and I knew some would be boosters. There are Banfields all over, and his records will transfer easily from location to location, so I felt like this was the best option. We put him on the Early Care Plus plan (which includes all of his vaccines for a year, neutering, fecal tests and deworming).

We wound up getting an appointment right away at the Banfield location in Lakeland, Florida with Dr. Merkle. She got great reviews online from other puppy parents so I felt good about it. We paid for the plan in full instead of getting billed monthly, which kind of threw everyone off. They recommended Trifexis for flea, tick and heartworm protection (that’s extra) and he needed some medicine for his ears because they were pretty dirty (extra also). He got all of his vaccines and boosters and deworming finished in 4.5 weeks and had his neuter surgery last Tuesday! (The pain meds and cone were extra).

Being totally honest, I’m really glad we won’t be here for his 6 month vaccines. This was the worst Banfield I’ve been to out of all 5 I’ve taken pets to. I felt rushed at every visit. The vet techs I had, Aryn in particular, was not pleasant to talk to and blew me off when I had questions. Stovall added snarky remarks at the end of her answers to my questions. They made a huge point saying I had to have him there AT 7am for his surgery but didn’t get around to checking us in until 7:20am, even though I filled out my paperwork at home and brought it with me to save time.  I had to call and check on Eustace because nobody had called me. Dr. Merkle didn’t come out and speak with us when we picked him up.

So finally, almost a week after his surgery, Eustace is normal! No more vaccines messing him up. He’s out of his cone. (Thank goodness! He was using it like a sand shovel and I had to wipe it off every time we came back inside!) Eustace is back to driving Charlie nuts and keeping us all entertained with his shenanigans! He’s almost as big as Charlie now, and I want him to stop growing!

We should be leaving here at the end of this week, maybe early next week at the latest, and it’ll be his first long trip with us. I’m just glad Charlie knows the routine and she’s a pretty good teacher and role model!