Traveling with a service dog in training? At the last minute? Sure, why not! Lady Priscilla had been doing well with public access. She navigated stores and doctor’s offices like a pro, handling each new environment with quiet confidence.
But traveling with a service dog is a whole different challenge, one we hadn’t tackled yet. Then Dad finally got the call he’d been waiting for — Medicare had approved the outpatient procedure he desperately needed on his spine.
The doctor was three hours away, which meant at least one overnight stay. But we never do anything halfway. Within a few minutes, we had upgraded the plan to a full mini vacation: two nights in an Airbnb in Jacksonville and two nights in a hotel in St. Augustine. There was just one catch — the best hotel deal we found happened to be at a no-pets property.
We glanced at the dog. Then at each other.
“Is she ready for all this?”
Not gonna lie — I was nervous. All of our previous public access dog training outings had been successful, but also highly controlled. No more than an hour or so. Two sets of eyes on Lady Priscilla at all times. Sniff walks immediately before and after. Plenty of downtime between. Self training a service dog is a little intimidating, and I always erred on the side of caution.
But this? This would be a four-day pressure cooker of travel, unfamiliar places, restaurants, tourist stops — and a medical procedure right in the middle.
I never should have doubted my dog.
She rose to every challenge like a seasoned professional. Three hours in the car? She listened intently to Cassidy Hutchinson’s memoir with us. Airbnb? Curled up on the rug by the door like she’d lived there forever. Hotel? She gave serious side-eye to the poorly behaved “service dog” who came in barking and jumping all over the place — but never even stood up from her spot at Dad’s feet.
Restaurants? She didn’t quite have curling up under the table nailed, but she did her best to get out of everyone’s way, and stayed calmly settled each time. Potter’s Wax Museum? She laid patiently while the tiny girl beside her asked a million questions during the intro, then tiptoed between the wax figures like a ninja on velvet paws.
And the beach? She’s not a fan of water, but she let the waves wash over her feet before taking a gentle “no thank you” step back.
And this was only the beginning.
Traveling with a service dog is definitely interesting. Want some more road trip with dog details? Just wait until you hear what happened at the doctor’s office… and on the ghost tour.
We didn’t know it then, but this trip was the start of something bigger — a chance to take everything we’d been learning and put it into real-world motion. It’s where The Lady Priscilla Method started to take shape.
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