Living on the road with dogs
As a couple who live on the road full time with our two rescue dogs we have put together some of our tips and experiences on a new post.
We also reached out to other members of the vanlife community who are doing the same and included some of their feedback.
We hope you find it helpful,
https://www.theroadtwospoons.co.uk/blog/living-vanlife-with-dogs
Comments
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You don’t have a big YouTube presence, I’ve seen a lot of full timers making a living from YouTube with weekly vlogs & merch/sponsorship/patrons. Your tips & experiences are well thought out they may help others👍🏻.
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Thanks Theroadtwospoons. Good to read about the careful planning and thoughts needed for taking your dogs on your long term travels. Hope to see this moved to the pets section as it might get lost in this general chat area.
One of the reasons we took up vanning was because our dogs could be with us and not go into kennels, however this wasn't a full-time plan just for holidays. It has worked out well with occasional blips!🐶🐕
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I still work full time so we just like to do some informative posts and photography in our spare time currently when time allows.
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i noted this from the information given
"For those situations, we also recommend having good insurance to help cover the vet bills (they get really big, really fast). It is also worth noting that some vets will apply an additional charge if you are not registered with them. "
be warned, we lost our 8 month old pup whilst in Spain early this year, he swallowed a fish hook and died on the operating table in the Alicante animal hospital, total billl £1200, we are insured with Pet Plan, so far they have not paid out because there is a small clause in the policy that says your pet is not covered for accidental death outside of the UK
,I am keeping my powder dry before i lodge a counter claim of "gross negligence on behalf of an unknown fisherman" but i am not holding out much hope of recovering our money.
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That's so sad Rufs, whether insurance pays up or not pet ownership is expensive and money doesn't compensate for losing a pet.
We have never insured any of our pets until the latest one when we decided to join ManyPets but I've never checked whether they cover "abroad" so this is a reminder for all.
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"we are insured with Pet Plan, so far they have not paid out because there is a small clause in the policy that says your pet is not covered for accidental death outside of the UK"
Have you checked your travel insurance to see if they cover pets abroad ? We claimed off our C&CC travel insurance when our dog became ill when at Playa Tropicana. They were first class and paid within 10 days of receiving the claim.
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thanks for the info, the problem is, that the pup died, if he had survived the operation they would have paid out, but they are classifying it as "accidental death" which is not covered outside the UK, so if your pet was involved in a traffic accident, had treatment from a vet but subsequently died whilst on holiday Pet Plan are currently saying the pet died as a result of the accident and you are not entitled to any payment.
They are still studying our claim and we have full documentation of what was carried out from the Spanish vets, all be it in Spanish, who were brilliant, so have not given up entirely. They did cancel the insurance from the day he died and refunded 2 monthly payments .
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"Pet Plan are currently saying the pet died as a result of the accident and you are not entitled to any payment."
That seems a reasonable decision if you were claiming Death Benefit, but (presumably) you are not claiming for that, but just the vets fees.
I'm so sorry for your loss; sadly our 9 year old Cavalier King Charles only survived for a further 12 weeks after we got him back home.
Keep up the pressure on Pet Plan - they are splitting hairs in my opinion and need to be pushed to at least settle the vets fees incurred in trying to save him.
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be warned, we lost our 8 month old pup whilst in Spain early this year, he swallowed a fish hook and died on the operating table in the Alicante animal hospital, total billl £1200, we are insured with Pet Plan, so far they have not paid out because there is a small clause in the policy that says your pet is not covered for accidental death outside of the UK
Rufus I'm deeply saddened to read this.
I can hear our dog trainer saying how important it is to teach a dog to leave when told. Not that we've mastered it! Her reasoning was more pills and tablets i recall. But also shows how little regard others have for wildlife and pets, it could have been another bird or animal who died in agony.
I'm with JimE keep the pressure up. I'm as guilty as the next for ticking agree to T&C's with a coursry glance. I know insurance companies try very hard to wriggle, I did a stint in vehicle claims years ago but I don't think I 'd have spotted that! Leaves a very nasty taste on top of the experience.
Don't forget the consumer programmes on radio and TV such as money box and you and yours . They seem to.do very well on the such things if the company thinks it'll get a bad press.
We insured our puppy for the first year, on the advise of the breeder, as she said she had no idea what the 'insides were doing'. I forgot to cancel after the 1st year but have subsequently. 3 vet visits for an allergy o grass pollen expensive but below the excess so not claimed for. 9 months would have premium covered it, plus vet suggested as insured all sorts of tests. She has an antihistamine a day during the summer. We now put the premium away for use should we need it and are in the fortunate position that we have sufficient behind us to pay if necessary and her savings aren't enough.
Do keep us posted and may he RIP you did all you could.
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"I can hear our dog trainer saying how important it is to teach a dog to leave when told"
I can hear our vet saying some 5 years ago when we had a similar incident with out older dog that is still with us
"always put a muzzle on your dog whilst on the beach"
we have one that gives almost full jaw movement but stops them picking up nasties, I left it at home
our old dog that is still with us, was lucky, hook was wrapped in half a mackrel and slid straight into his stomach, within 4 hours the vet had cut him open and fished it out, excuse the pun.
Bentley would lay down on one whistle and come on two, but i never saw him pick up and eat whatever was laying on the beach, tragic.
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Yes indeed, and I still see him running along the beach when I am out walking, but time to move on and happy to report that Pet Plan paid in full with no quibble or fuss, so a big thank you to Alicanti Animal Hospital for providing comprehensive information as to what had taken place, including a death certificate, even if it was in Spanish.
Planning a trip to Spain this coming October and again next April so not looking for another dog as yet, although if you believe what is in the news, there are plenty about in the rescue homes.
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Rufus
very sorry for your loss. Spanish fishermen are renowned for leaving rubbish on the beach, but this is no consolation to know. If you fail to get any satisfaction from Pet Plan then I suggest taking your problem to the personal finance section of either Saturdays Telegraph or Sundays Times. The publicity highlighting these obscure clauses in the policy will probably embarrass them into making a payment.0
