I know exactly how you feel. I had to stay in the hospitsl early in Dec. and I the only thing I could think of was them and how they were doing, I drove my family crazy with instructions and questions lol......they brought me a pic of them which helped a lot. Im happy to say that they did GREAT! I came home, they were happy, healthy and VERY excited to see me! Good Luck , have a nice trip and TRY not to worry too much!

We just went out of town this past weekend. It was only for 4 days, but I was so sad that I had to leave her. I kept trying to convice my husband to take her with us, but even then I would have been nervous because I would have had to leave her in the hotel room as we attended a wedding. So in the end I'm glad she did stay... I would definitely rather her be with my mom than someone possibly steal her ( I always think of worst case scenarios). I wrote pretty detailed instructions for my mom which I felt neurotic for doing, but it made me feel better. The day we dropped her off, my mom was at work so we had to leave her gated off inside the bathroom. But she's been to her house before several times so I think that made it easier for her. I definitely think it was easier on her than it was on me. I cried when we dropped her off, but once we got on the road I knew everything was going to be okay. I did call to see how she was doing.

When we got back on Sunday, she was soo excited to see us - i was just happy she didn't forget who we were :p She was given lots of attention and spoiled by my mom and sister. She got to sleep on the bed, when normally she sleeps in her crate on the nightstand next to our bed... and she seemed like she'd enjoyed herself. I think she even got a little more confidence because she was less afraid of the stairs, the car console, little differences like that... it was cool to see :) And I do think it gave my mom and her more of a bond, because she normally would only like to be with me, but now she's just happy as a clam at her house

So it did turn out to be a good thing - so maybe next time i won't feel so nervous if i have to leave her. But I'll definitely still try to take her along!!

It IS SO HARD to leave them, isn't it! :( We had booked and paid for a 2 week vacation, before we even thought about getting Rowdy. He was only 4 months old when we had to leave him. I worried so much about him. He stayed with my daughter who has 3 dogs herself and is a total dog NUT - but of course, I worried that she wouldn\'t know how to take care of him like me!

Of course, he did just fine and loves going to her house now - BUT if we leave him there, he does cry for a bit, but then he gets into playing with the other dogs and he has a great time. When we pick him up, he sticks to us like GLUE!!!

Both my husband and I have to travel some, but usually not together so one of us is home with Rowdy. However, he has now figured out the suitcase routine and when we get them out, he gets in them and sits and sits and sits - like "ya\'ll aren\'t getting out of here without me"! :D He will even sit on top of the suitcase, after we close it up!

We planned our vacation this year so that he can go with us. We are going to fly to San Francisco, rent a car and drive to Portland, OR where I have a weekend conference. We decided he could come along and we are all going to have a great time!!!

Good luck and have a good time on your trip - everyone has given you wonderful suggestions!

Kristy, thank you so much for posting this! I am absolutely delirious b/c I have to leave Simon and Hallie for 4 days in Feb. and it\'s the first time I have done that!

I appreciate all the responses too, I am a wreck! Kristy, I\'m glad Stewie will be staying with your mom, that is great. Just think of all those kisses you will get when you return!