Pet Friendly Rallies

SNU rallies have not only included Airstreams and people, they have also included a variety of pets. We’ve had birds, tortoises, cats and dogs participate in rallies. One of the advantages of the SNU’s preferred rally sites is that we don’t have to worry about pet restrictions. Our primary focus is just to make sure we clean up after our pets and that they (and their owners) respect the other rally participants. Although some SNU members aren’t pet owners, most have at least one pet and some have two or more. As you might expect, the majority of SNU pets are dogs. Most of us wouldn’t think of traveling without our pets. They enjoy the outings just as much as we do. Most of the places the SNU holds rallies provide great walking opportunities for both pets and their humans. In part, due to great pet ownership, we have never had any incidents with pets at rallies. One close call was at Sweetwater when Diane was walking her dog and came upon a rattlesnake. Another, less dangerous adventure was a rally at Scout Camp when it rained. Scout Camp is close to the Carson river and the ground is clay. When it got wet it acted like cement. When we took our dogs out for walks the clay would build up on their paws (and our shoes) to the point it was hard to walk. Needless to say, dog feet needed a pretty thorough cleaning before they were allowed back in the Airstreams. Other animal visitors to SNU rallies include; cows at Pyramid Lake, deer at Twin Lakes, peacocks, sheep & harmless snakes at Unionville, a bear at Obsidian, baby owls at Lahontan, Alex a Belgian draft horse at Sweetwater, and an abandon dog at Scout Camp. That story has a happy ending as that dog went home with Wes and RoyLaine and is now a much loved family member. Back in the 1990’s there were some SNU members whose dogs did cause problems. One of their dogs barked incessantly and almost caused some rally participants to leave. That dog even bit one of the rally participants. These same people were not welcomed at some RV parks because of their dogs. I’m very glad to say, since then we’ve had no similar incidents and on the rare occasions where we’ve held a rally at an RV park or other place with pet restrictions, we’ve always been welcomed. The hardest part of pet ownership is that many pets, dogs and cats in particular, have a relatively short lifespan. Over the years in the SNU we have all shared in the loss of beloved pets. We have also been able to share the joy of bringing a new pet into the family and watching it grow up. Our pets are part of our family and they are part of the SNU family. Pets and people and Airstreams enjoying special places in Northern Nevada – doesn’t get much better than that.

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