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Ever felt that your furry friend is much more than a pet? Well, you're in good company as today we sit down with Allyson, the devoted dog owner of Kenai, to discuss their extraordinary adventures together. From car camping to future international travels, Allyson has had to make countless adjustments to ensure Kenai's comfort and happiness on their shared journeys. She shares her firsthand experience on how she navigates every twist and turn and offers insights on introducing your pup to travel from an early age.
We dive deeper into Allyson and Kenai's dynamic bond, exploring how it has evolved over the years through their adventurous travels. Allyson opens up about the challenges of learning Kenai's body language and setting boundaries with the help of a professional trainer. But it wasn't always smooth sailing. Allyson recounts a harrowing incident where Kenai was lost in a vast national forest for 15 days. This traumatic experience had a profound impact on how she plans their future travels, emphasizing the importance of safety and trust when it comes to our pups.
Prepare to be captivated by their upcoming adventure as they gear up to hit the Alaskan roads to celebrate Kenai's seventh birthday. Allyson is documenting this exciting journey on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok, opening a window for all dog lovers and travel enthusiasts to be a part of their adventure. If you're contemplating embarking on a journey with your beloved canine, this discussion is one you can't afford to miss. Learn from Allyson's experiences, trials, and triumphs, and even follow their journey on social media.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allysonoverland/ (@allysonoverland)
Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@allysonoverland?lang=en
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/allysonoverland
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/chrisandsara
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chrisandsara_ | @chrisandsara_
Website: https://www.chrisandsara.com
Call or text us a question or comment: +1 (423) 825-9572
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Get inspired by world travelers Chris and Sara with "What No One Tells You," their conversational podcast. Each episode is a fun chat with friends sharing personal experiences, insider tips, and riveting stories. The show is elevated by amazing guests from Youtubers, ultra marathoners, bloggers, and adventurers who bring their unique energy and perspectives to the table. With Chris and Sara, you're sure to feel a part of the group, ready to embark on a new adventure. Explore the world one story at a time and join the conversation today.
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Hey y'all! We're Chris + Sara (or as you know us, Let’s Be Us), a husband and wife digital nomad travel duo currently working and traveling full time with our pup, Kramer. We've always dreamed of traveling full time, and in May of 2018 we took the leap and made it happen! Today we're balancing work and fun everywhere between the Pacific and Atlantic. From hiking and cycling to tacos and coffee, we're trying to see and experience as much of this world as we can! While our home is currently on wheels in our DIY Sprinter van, our travels take us all around the world.Be sure to hit subscribe here on Youtube and follow along on Instagram for more daily fun! Oh, and be sure to say hi while you're here. :)
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NOTE: There were 3 speakers identified in this transcript. Speaker separation errors can arise when multiple speakers speak simultaneously.
0:00:00 - Allyson
While Kenai has been traveling since he was a puppy, it wasn't always like rainbows and butterflies. Kenai actually hated cars. when I got him, literally would dig his heels in and try to slip out of his collar And I'm like, okay, I literally got this dog to travel with and he doesn't want to go anywhere.
0:00:23 - Sara
Allyson, thank you so much for being here with us today. We are so excited to talk to you in sort of in person, but you know video. Finally, because we've been friends, online friends, for years now, as we were both in the van bubble. You still have a van and you travel with your dog, which is what we're going to talk all about today.
So do you want to tell us about your dog? give us his name, his breed and then, yeah, just a basic of what you guys do. you travel on the road, so explain that.
0:00:48 - Allyson
Yeah, for sure. So my dog's name is Kenai. He is a blue moral Australian shepherd and this summer he will be seven years old, And we travel most of the time in my 144 Sprinter van.
0:01:01 - Sara
Yeah. So we wanted to have you on because traveling with a dog is one of our most asked questions And it has been ever since we started YouTube. People know our dog, kramer, and they always have questions like is it good for the dog, is it safe, like would you recommend? So I thought this would be an entire podcast episode because it's super niche down and I know people are curious about the ins and outs of it and the good and the bad.
0:01:23 - Chris
So yeah, I mean when we traveled, like, and we can talk about what, what we did in the van, but we're really curious about how you travel with your dog and just kind of like all the adventures that you get into.
0:01:35 - Allyson
Yeah, for sure, i think traveling with a dog I think it really depends on the dog and your relationship with the dog, as far as if it is safe or comfortable or whatever it may be it doesn't require a lot of sacrifices, depending on how you look at it, you know. And then it requires you to not be selfish. Sometimes you know you got to put the dog first in a lot of ways, but yeah, i think it's totally worth it if you're a dog person or you want companionship. Keena and I have been traveling pretty much his whole life together And, like I said, he's about to be seven, so that's a lot of years of experience together on the road in one way or the other.
0:02:15 - Sara
So have you been in a van seven years? I'm just curious.
0:02:19 - Allyson
No, no, i actually did a lot of car camping the first two, but I've had my van for going on four years now, so that was.
0:02:27 - Sara
That was one of my questions. Actually is we've already covered your van lifer, but how do you travel with Kenai Is it? have you ever flown with him or have you ever had to go through all that?
0:02:36 - Allyson
before. So, unfortunately, kenai is a lot bigger than he looks on camera. He's 55, almost 60 pounds, and so, no, we don't fly together, unfortunately, but we drive everywhere together. He's definitely stayed in hotels, airbnbs, vans, rvs. You know we've done tents, we've done it all. So, yeah, he has plenty of experience And I'd say, like his first birthday, i decided to take him to Colorado in my two door coupe, nissan coupe, and we were just in that And we have just continued to progress from there.
0:03:14 - Sara
Wow, I love it. So he's. He's been on the road since he was a little pup, Yeah, And that's. I think that's one of those questions people ask. A lot is like, does the dog get used to traveling? And we've always said sort of what you just said of you know. We took Kramer on the road from the time he was itty bitty. We would stick him in the car for weekend trips, which I think is the best way to introduce a dog to just being in a car.
0:03:34 - Chris
Did you say before you did van life, you were in a car and you were traveling via car with. So you went, you upgraded from like a smaller car to a van. Is that right?
0:03:44 - Allyson
Yeah, i don't want to give the impression that I was like full time in this car, but like, for example, can I second birthday? I packed up to SUV. I'd never pitched a tent before in my life And we decided to drive to ban together for his birthday. So it was just us in an SUV all the way to Banff And we did the Canadian Rockies And that was really like the the moment when I saw Kimi in his happiest form, just enjoying the campsite, chilling with nature.
I had just like hand washed my clothes in a public bathroom and was hanging them at my campsite in my tent that I just learned to pitch a few days before, and I was looking at him and I was like man, like I could do this for the rest of my life. I think I actually made a like a snapchat or something along that said something along those lines. And it's not like I immediately was like I have to make this my life, but subconsciously over the next year I found that I did make that my life. And then I bought my van. So, yeah, i would say we've done the car thing. And then between vans I had my Subaru and we were in that for for some trips. So yeah, we've done a little bit of everything.
0:04:52 - Sara
Wow, i love it. I love it. I personally I think our dog, kramer, is that is happiest when he's on the road or traveling is the capacity, it's new smells, it's new places. He loves the extra. I feel like we give him more walks and he definitely gets more time at like dedicated parks.
So to me, a lot of people say that it's not fair to a dog to make him travel. We've gotten that comment, or we used to get that comment a lot early on we lived in a van, but they think it's not fair to the dog And I just I mean hearing you talk about it, it's like you know you're so wrong. Like I mean, maybe not for every dog, but for our dog in your dog, traveling is like the third dream life. I mean they get to be with us 24, seven and they're smelling new smells And it's I think it's perfect. Yeah, all right. So you mentioned that you've traveled with Kenai in hotels and vans and cars and everything else. What are considerations you take when you're leaving him alone? Like I mean, do you ever have to leave him alone And what does that look like?
0:05:44 - Allyson
Yeah, i don't normally do it in hotel. I, if I'm staying in a hotel like sometimes you know, you get sick on the road or you just need a break from the van, that's the reality, and so I may get a hotel here and there, or I may do a short trip where I don't take the van. Whatever it might be, i don't normally leave him in the hotel. He's happier and feels more safe in his van because it's like his home. So if I am in the van and I'm at a hotel, i'm going to put him in the van and take him with me to wherever Aaron, i have to run. It's not like I would go run an errand and leave him in the hotel. But in the van, you know, we have temperature control with the fan, the windows, i have a temperature gauge in the van. I actually have cameras on all sides of the van that I can check at any time remotely, and so I have that, and I have one inside the van that I only turn on when he's in there alone. So that's a good, a nice help as well. So that's something that I do for peace of mind. But also, like on the side of the van, on the windows I have a little thicker. That says temperature controlled and remotely monitored, and so people won't like break my window because there's a dog in there. Right In this van I actually have a partition, so I usually shut the door and no one even knows he's in there.
But I've taken a lot of precautions to make sure that he's comfortable and safe and even then I still feel like I don't leave him very, very much. I think the longest time I left him was this Christmas. I won a lottery to do Angel's Landing in Zion and it was like December 23rd or something like that. So it was really not busy and the shuttles were shut down so I was able to park my van at the trailhead and I left him in there for that whole hike and that was probably the longest I've ever left him in the van. I normally don't do that because I personally just have a lot of anxiety about what could happen to my dog. But some people I know leave them all day and that's fine. But he's comfortable and in the van it's like his home, because it is his home most of the year. So yeah, i that's what I do. It sometimes feels like it might be a little overboard, but it makes me feel safe and him safe, i'm sure.
0:07:54 - Chris
When it gets hot, or maybe you know like you're somewhere, whether it's in town or actually let's talk about like in town, and so you've talked about hiking in trailheads a little bit, but like, if you're in town, you're like it's a little hot. Maybe I won't, maybe I shouldn't leave him inside the the van. Are there any places that you would recommend that you're able to take your dog, like while you're traveling, or, yeah, anything like that?
0:08:21 - Allyson
So dog parks or anywhere by water is always going to be like 10 degrees cooler typically. So I'll try and find a parking spot near water, maybe a local pond or lake, and then, yeah, we'll go to dog parks, just so we're both outside together and he's not like stuck in a van where the temperature can rise quite quickly in the summer heat. I tend to travel with the weather, so I had an AC in my last van, but I really didn't use it as much as I thought I would, because if my dog's uncomfortable, i'm probably uncomfortable too, and running the AC 24-7 just isn't fun for me. So it was like, yeah, i'd rather just drive somewhere else. So that's what I do.
But sometimes you get those random hot days and so we'll do what I just said. But also, i don't, i won't leave him in the van if I wouldn't want to be in the van. So sometimes I will order groceries to pick up at Target, like literally just order them on my phone, run in and grab them, get them in the van, because sometimes you have to do those errands. Right, i will do anything. I'll go have lunch on a patio at a brewery instead of going to get something by myself. I mean, that's just the way of life. For me it's like second nature, and to some people it might sound like a hassle at first, but you really, you get used to it.
0:09:34 - Sara
Yeah, no, i remember those days very well like never wanting to leave Cramer alone in the van too long. Thankfully nothing ever happened. I mean, he was always so comfortable in that kind of thing. But yeah, i, you do adjust, you figure it out and you make it work, and a lot of times spent on patios and parks, and man, i'm really missing van life too right now.
0:09:53 - Chris
Like we enjoyed it it was, it's still fun. Like I mean, you're right, you can go to breweries, hang out, i mean a lot. Sometimes breweries will allow you to come inside and you know, and let the dog inside and then Traveling with the seasons is important because we used to do that.
0:10:06 - Sara
How do we never cross paths on the road if we were both following the seasons?
0:10:08 - Allyson
I don't understand. I know.
0:10:11 - Chris
You mentioned dog parks and I want to know what's the best dog park in the country.
0:10:16 - Allyson
Oh, in the country, my favorite by far is Bozeman Montana. Yes outside of the country. The one in Canmore, alberta, was amazing. That was the one that was like oh my gosh, this is amazing, i can't wait to go back, actually, so yeah.
0:10:34 - Sara
We haven't been to that one, okay.
0:10:36 - Allyson
Adding that to the map. Yeah, it's great And, honestly, like they have like a big lake and it's I can't remember what the situation was, but it's a few acres of off-leash space and just like towering mountains. I remember being so impressed by it. I've seen a lot of mountains since then, but when I was there I remember being very impressed.
0:10:54 - Sara
It's beautiful there. Now I'm going to go ahead and just mention this one in case anybody's listening. But the best dog park in the country to us is the one in Seattle, or it's actually in Redmond Washington, outside Seattle. If you haven't been there yet, you need to go to this one. It's how. It's like what? at least 20 acres. There's like a river that goes through it. There's like multiple entry points for the dogs. It's, just it's chaos, but it's amazing, it's amazing.
0:11:17 - Chris
Marymore Park at Redmond.
0:11:18 - Sara
We always joke that we're going to write a book about like dog parks in America because we've been to so many of them.
0:11:23 - Chris
It's just no. Only other one that comes to my mind is the one in Houston, and it had. It had like a swimming pool for dogs, but it was in the shape of a bone. That's the only other one. It wasn't a great park, but it was. I just liked the swimming pool. It's been way too much time in dog parks.
0:11:37 - Allyson
That's awesome. I actually am going to Washington in a few weeks, so I will have to check that one out for sure.
0:11:44 - Sara
You have to.
0:11:46 - Allyson
I was also going to say I should clarify about the Bozeman Montana one, because there are two. There's the one in town, which is great, but then there's also an off-leash like recreation area, and I want to say it was over 20 acres of land and it's really nice too. So they're both great.
0:12:04 - Sara
Oh, I don't think we've been to that one. I think the one we went to was the one in town that has like the little pond in it.
0:12:09 - Allyson
Yeah, that one's cute The one, and I do love that one, but the one is called Snowfield Recreation Area And that's the one the locals told me to go to, and they were right. Everyone's there. There's like 50 Golden Retrievers running around at any time.
0:12:22 - Sara
Wow.
0:12:23 - Chris
So Bozeman.
0:12:23 - Sara
Wow. I love Bozeman, remind me what kind is? what kind of dog is he? He's a Blue Marl Australian Shepherd. Okay, let's talk about his name for a second, because I know what you're up to this summer And I think it'd be really cool if you could tell people, like where the name came from and what you guys are doing this summer. So it's a huge expedition of the two of you. So tell us about what you guys are up to.
0:12:45 - Allyson
I'm going to get emotional just like talking about this. Just fair warning, but, keeneye, so I guess I should backtrack a little bit In 2016,. I had just come back from a summer in Europe And when I came home, my mom was, like I could have sworn you were going to come home and tell me you've fallen up with some Spanish man and we're never going to move back to the US. And what I came home and said was I want a dog. I want a dog to travel with me. And so when I came home, Forget the guy Right And honestly, it's been that way ever since, right.
So I got him. Well, actually, i flew home and I flew from Spain, where I had been staying on the Canary Islands working. I flew from Spain to Anchorage Alaska of all places because my grandparents were there on a trip And I was just. I'd been there once before but I was just in love with Alaska and the mountains and the Keeneye Peninsula, and so I was like I'm going to name my dog Keeneye because I love this place, it's beautiful and his eyes are blue and everything here is just blue, right? So I named him Keeneye.
And the last time I was in Alaska was that trip, right before I came home and found Keeneye and adopted him. And so that trip was with my grandparents and my grandpa and Keeneye were actually born two in a day, 70 years apart, wow. So they were born on July 27th And we have thrown birthday parties for them together And they did for the first couple of years. But my grandpa got sick and he passed away about four years ago, and so I still celebrate Keeneye's birthday and my grandpa, and this year, for Keeneye's seventh birthday, we are driving to Alaska to show him what he's named after, and it's going to be a pretty epic trip, because it's my favorite place in the States, and then also, last time I was there, i was with my grandpa and we're celebrating their birthdays Wow That's going to be so fun.
0:14:43 - Sara
I mean that's a huge trip, but the meaning behind it's awesome too. Is your grandmother going with you?
0:14:48 - Allyson
She is actually just going to fly in for a little bit. I think She has two cats, so she doesn't really leave them for very long And I'm planning to be there pretty much all summer, OK, Oh that's going to be amazing.
0:14:59 - Sara
So it's just you and Keeneye driving to Alaska. That's incredible. So this is a question I think I get this question a lot when we travel with Kramer internationally is what does it take to travel internationally with a dog Like I know? Alaska is technically America but you have to drive through Canada. So what does that look like for you getting everything together? What vaccines, what paperwork are you taking with you to Alaska for Kramer when you drive through Canada?
0:15:23 - Allyson
Yeah, So last time we went through Canada I did the checklist of what they tell you to do, which is have their vaccine records, make sure they're up to date and then make sure the vet clears their hell, whatever. It's pretty basic. It's usually just like one sheet of paper for Canada, and they didn't even look last time I was there. So he has an appointment in a couple of weeks because we're leaving at the end of this month And so he has an appointment to get up to date on all his vaccines for the year and we'll get that exam done and he'll be good to go and I'll have that paper just in case. But Canada is typically pretty lack. Last time I was there they were anyways.
0:15:59 - Sara
That's what we've noticed too, just driving. I don't think I've ever one time had somebody ask me for his rabies certificate. But other countries are very strict. It just depends.
0:16:07 - Chris
I mean Canada and Mexico. I mean being near the states. I feel like they're pretty lenient. Yeah, they're pretty lenient. I think once you start venturing outside of those countries it's a little more strict.
0:16:18 - Sara
It's a little difficult. So, ok, this is another question we get asked a lot, and it's what kind of training did you do with CanEye? Did you do anything special to get him ready to be a good travel vlog, besides just acclimating him to the car or the van or whatever that is? did you put him through good training so that you know that, without a shout out, he's going to come back when he's called or that he's going to respond well in any situation? What kind of training does he have?
0:16:42 - Allyson
He has a lot of training. I want to say first of all that while CanEye has been traveling since he was a puppy, it wasn't always rainbows and butterflies. Caneye actually hated cars. When I got him, literally would dig his heels in and try to slip out of his collar And I'm like, ok, i literally got this dog to travel with and he doesn't want to go anywhere. But it just took basically just consistently positive reinforcement. So I would only put him in the car if we were going to go get ice cream, get a snack, go see some of his favorite people like Mimi, my grandma or my mom, whatever. So I would only do positive things And it didn't take very long for him to realize the car is a good thing And he actually go or load up is just his favorite word in the whole world now. So for anyone who has a dog who doesn't like the car I'm not saying it works for everyone, but it's possible to train them positively to love the car, because mine does. It's funny to think about now, though, because he's obsessed with the van and he would have never gotten in the van as a puppy. But other than that I will say that I'm kind of a nerd in the sense that I want to know everything about whatever I'm getting into, like with the van.
I watched a million YouTube videos before I tried to build my first one right With the dog. I took tests on what dog would be best for my personality. I researched how to train that type of dog. I researched how to train your dog. I did so much before I got him because I felt like I was going to have a dog. I wanted to do it the right way And so he was potty trained.
Within the first week He was sitting, shaking and stuff as a nine-week-old puppy And from there we just kind of went on to train more. We struggled with socialization because at the time I was living at our family lake house because I'd just come back from Europe. I didn't have a primary residence at the time And so he didn't see a lot of other dogs. And then I saw that develop later, as he got older, he would bark and lunge at dogs when we would go on walks. So I had to call in a professional for that when he was two and we did some reactivity training and now dog parks and doggies are another one of his favorite words. So you just have to know your dog and train him. That's all I can really say is you know, identify the areas that need improvement and then figure out, either you or with a professional, how to fix those things.
0:19:14 - Sara
And patients too.
We do get that question a lot of like people asking like they. You know they have an eight-year-old dog and my dog has never liked riding in the car And you know, maybe the dog is so old that it's not going to learn, but it is possible. I mean, you said that you talk, can I to get comfortable with the car? So it's not impossible. But on the flip side of that, we also have people ask us a lot. You know they want to live in a van or they want to travel internationally and they see everybody else doing it and they want to get a dog. And so they ask well, what kind of dog should I get? And my first reaction is always like if you don't have a dog yet, wait, because it does change. Like we already talked about, it changes everything.
0:19:49 - Chris
I mean, it's not a kid but in some ways, the way you travel.
0:19:52 - Sara
Like I mean it does.
0:19:54 - Chris
Yeah, i mean for I mean like we wouldn't trade Kramer for anything, but I mean I mean he's actually behind me, like you know, sticking me up right now. It's like say careful what you say, but I, yeah, it just changes the way that you like operate when you travel and then even interacting with other people on the road, like in dog parks or like they have dog, like it just changes the way how you structure everything that comes into your life. And so I think that's why you say why hold off unless you're really, really committed? you know, maybe get a goldfish instead, but even then that's.
0:20:31 - Sara
Try checking that in TSA TSA.
0:20:33 - Allyson
Security No liquids. I wonder if you could. I guess not No liquids.
0:20:39 - Sara
Dogs are like they are the best travel companions, like. I mean dogs, like you know, australian Shepherd that's what he is Australian Shepherd and Doodle. I mean they're both just so loyal that I mean they're great. But any dog could be great at traveling. It just takes a lot of patience. I mean Kramer, i don't think he's ever minded the car, but I know now that our van was his favorite place ever. I mean we would open up our back door at our house and he'd run out to the van and hop in immediately, without us even telling, like we're not even going anywhere, and he just hops in the van. So it was his home, he felt safe, it was small, it was cozy And I don't know. I think. I think dogs are, i don't know, they're resilient animals, but they just want to be wherever you are.
0:21:18 - Chris
Traveling, you're interacting with so many different people and you know you're at dog parks, you're breweries, and sometimes there are situations that come up and you can't. you can only react to them Like you have. that's the only time like the response that you have is to react, and I mean actually in I think it was both of them, wasn't?
0:21:38 - Sara
it. Oh actually, yeah, that was the one time we ever had a fad.
0:21:41 - Chris
We had a bad experience with another dog in Kramer and Kramer ran into the lake. We were playing fetch and the dog saw Kramer run into the lake and then held Kramer under the ground, bricks under the water and ripped his throat open. We had to take him to the ER and and just it was an awful, awful experience. And the lady you know she was so kind and kind and she had just adopted that dog literally either that day or the day before. I mean, it was really really yeah.
But ever since then, when Kramer sees it's more of a like a darker, husky dog. When Kramer sees a dog like that, he's really hesitant. Anybody else, he's great, any like anything else. So we've we've had to adapt and learn to kind of structure Kramer, and not that he acts awful, it's just like we know he's skittish, yeah, he's skittish. So has there been any situations that you've encountered on the road, whether it be other dogs or people or anything like that, that you've had to slowly like unteach your dog, that it's going to be okay, or all that good stuff?
0:22:47 - Allyson
Yeah, well, actually, first of all, i'm pretty sure that same husky in Montana may have attacked my dog. The only dog that's ever went after him is actually like a darker husky and it was in Bosman, montana. So that's very interesting that you say that. But he doesn't really like huskies now either. Neither does Kramer. Yeah, man, there was another one and it was after the Bosman situation.
There was another one out of van gathering whose dog, just like went straight, for it was a husky again went straight for a key and eyes, neck And that was really scary, but he hasn't, like suffered from that. I honestly, i think we spend so much time together I work remotely and we travel all of that that I can see, based on just like the way his tail is moving, if I need to step in before it ever even happens. Like you just build this like relationship with your dog on the road That's unparalleled to one that you would have in the house, i think, and so It's hard for people who haven't done it to understand probably, but I'm sure you do that. You just you can register and you can read your dog just like you would a kid their expressions and what's going on, how they're feeling So thankfully, yeah, that I would say that's the. The biggest thing is just paying attention to him and watching his body language, and I can usually see it before it starts.
0:24:13 - Sara
So yeah, no, that's I mean same for Kramer. Like I mean I'm surprised Kramer recovered from the husky. Even his trainer was like that doesn't like when a dog gets attacked like that usually they don't bounce back. Like that just means like I guess he trusts us and probably can I trust you too. But um yeah, oh gosh, that makes me really wonder. Like please, please, everybody know we don't dislike huskies.
0:24:34 - Allyson
I love all dogs, but it's just coincidental, that is well, the other thing I was gonna say is because Kenai was reactive as a puppy and it was strictly fear based because he hadn't been, like, properly socialized, because we were living kind of isolated when he was a puppy, because he was trained with his reactivity with the professional trainer.
We worked on him laying down in like a submissive pose before the dog any dog, like he approaches any dog. So when we're at the dog park he will lay down and wait for the dog to come to him, or he will look at me and wait for me to say go, say hi, typically, and so he knows boundaries a little bit more than most dogs, i think, and that has helped significantly. And it wasn't anything I did, i mean the trainer, it was the trainer's idea. But I've loved that because, um, we have a cue with safe people and safe dogs, because I can ask the human is your dog friendly before I let him go up to it, um, and that the go say hi is his way of knowing that mom says this is safe, so we're good. So, um, that's kind of how we navigate that, i guess that's good.
0:25:39 - Sara
Yeah, i mean that's. You have a really smart and very well trained dog. I want to give Kramer credit like he's. He's well trained and he's smart. But he's not a, he's not Australian shepherd smart, he's well, you know. He's just very loving.
0:25:52 - Allyson
He, uh he he has his moments too. I mean, he can be a handful sometimes too. I think any dog can. But yeah, i've been very blessed with with a smart and very driven to please type of dog there's.
0:26:05 - Sara
I didn't want to, i don't want to change so much too much on this, but there is something that we followed you on social media earlier this year that was pretty traumatizing. Um, and we can skirt around it as much or as little as you want, um, but it kind of comes down to the question of, like, people ask us, why do you not just leave your dog at home and we do sometimes, if it's we can't take him with us or if it's going to be too taxing on him versus leaving. If it's too taxing on him to go with us versus leaving him at home, we will leave him home. Um, but something happened to you that sort of like reminded us like I don't wanted to leave my dog with anyone. Can you talk about that a little bit?
0:26:43 - Allyson
I know it's sensitive, so sure you guide it yeah, so, um, i have to be really careful about how I word this, uh, for for legal reasons. But um, basically, how can I say this? I trusted someone with keen eye. Uh, i trust a man. I'm gonna cry it's okay.
0:27:05 - Sara
If you can't, we can cut this out for real. No, i know there's like so many sensitive words here, so feel free to just like man, we don't have to talk about it oh, no, no, it's good.
0:27:15 - Allyson
Um, and honestly, i'm not really even gonna talk about it, i can't, but, um, i will just say, yeah, oh, okay, anyways, yeah, i trusted someone with keen eye and, um, i was on my way to South Africa. I didn't make it to South Africa before he was lost. I think it's like the, i think it's the thing that, like, i'm not allowed to talk about it, so I haven't had to say this out loud, like you know what I mean. Like, and I'm not even talking about it now, but even thinking about it now because I've had to just put it away for a while. Um, yeah, so recently you were following me for that. Um, um, yeah, i actually trusted someone with keen eye and then I was on my way to South Africa and I didn't actually make it to South Africa because they lost him and it took me 15 days to get him back.
It was quite the ordeal. I know you followed me on social media for that and we're cheering me on, which was so nice, but that was a very traumatizing time in my life. Um, if you can imagine this, like highly trained, human-like dog that's like my child and he just disappears. Someone lost him, you know, and I didn't know where he was. He was in this national forest. That was huge, it was insane. There was a drone team and search dogs and hundreds of people from all over were coming to help hang posters or share on social media. It was. It was amazing that we found him safe 15 days later.
But that really reaffirmed that I don't, i'm not going to leave my dog with just anyone. It's put international travel actually on the back burner for me. I went ahead and went to Europe recently and that was really hard because leaving him after what had happened a few months prior was was really hard, um, and so, yeah, i, you're absolutely right, you can't just trust anyone. In the past, i've hired, um, you know, roversitters and stuff like that, sometimes to save the house with him and going forward.
I don't even know if I can do that. Um, i actually have driven from Oklahoma to Montana to make sure my dog is with a safe, in a safe space with family that I trust, just to make sure of that. After everything that happened, i don't think I'll ever be able to trust someone who doesn't know him extremely, extremely, extremely well um, to stay with him, and it's not because he's a flight risk. It's just like anything can happen to anyone and you have to be totally sure. So I'd rather have him with me if I can, and I would rather not travel internationally right now because of it and you're so lucky that Kramer fits in a backpack, i wish he's good.
0:30:06 - Sara
He barely does. I mean he's opposite of can I? people see him in person and they say he's a lot smaller than I expected.
He is he's, and most of its hair it really is big in the heart, though he's got a lot of heart a lot of heart, you know he's, he's strong, he's a king I don't want to skip over that story though, because that's, i mean, that's a hard one for you to say, and I'm so. I remember, like the moment you posted like you had found Kenai, and I, like freaked out, i was like Christy found it, i was like so excited.
0:30:35 - Chris
For those of you who don't know and I don't know if these stories are live and we're not going to go into full detail, but it was 15 days of I. You can fill the tension through social media and and just your story and like the amount of effort and the amount of pain that you had to go through and like I mean because eventually, like you know, you've had Kenai for seven years like he's your family, like he's part of your family, kramer's a part of our family. Most people that are probably listening to this that they haven't pet, they're part of their family and now some people may treat them differently than than how we treat our pets, but like the amount of effort that you had to go through and the just unknowing, like just it was such a crazy story and the effort that you put in to find him too, is really incredible.
0:31:28 - Sara
But yeah, i just, i mean, every day that passed it was like, oh my gosh, it's been another day, and then you found them and it just like whoa, like all that work and everybody that came together for you. It was just it was worth it, amazing.
0:31:40 - Chris
So I don't know if people are able to go watch um or go to your. I don't know if that's available or not.
0:31:48 - Allyson
Yeah, there's there's a highlight on my no, not all of it. There's a highlight on my Instagram um, that kind of shows, um, that shows, like my updates from every day. You can still see that um, and you can see, um, the video of when I got him back. You know he and this just goes to attest to what we've said that the dogs actually love our vans, they're safe space, they're home. Because when I got him back, i actually um, a man had called me and said I think your dog's out by my pond basically is what he said, and I didn't.
At this point it's 15 days. I've had so many false sightings because I'm in an area where there's tons of Australian shepherds and people think all of them look the same, and so I'm kind of down in my My hopes. At this point, when someone says they see him, i'm like, oh yeah, i bet, like it's probably not him, but I went anyways, because it was the end of the day and All you have is hope at that point. Right, so I went, i took my van because I had been sleeping in the forest where he was last seen. I took my van down to the sky's house and I pulled up and, honestly, every Dog specialists that I talked to and I contacted quite a few and they all said That if you see your dog, he's not gonna run to you, he's gonna be in fight or flight mode, he's gonna run away Whatever. And when I got out of the van the guy was like hey, he was found around behind the bar and just call for him, i'm sure he'll come to you. And so in my head I'm like you know, they said they won't, but I'll give it a try because why not? So I just called his name and This dog comes, came, i comes running from behind a barn and he stops and you just kind of stares at me And I I didn't realize it's him. He's in the headlights of my van and he just jumps into my arms and is crying and I'm crying.
It was like the super emotional scene that no one got a video because no one thought that it was gonna be him, right, and I put him in the van immediately.
He hops right in and From that second you can just see he just melts into like a puddle, like I'm holding his chin up because he's so exhausted from 15 days of surviving in this ice storm in the national forest and Anyways, you could see that he finally felt safe, that he was home in his van and he was comfortable again And that just goes to show like that is his home. It's not cruel to put him in there, leave him in there for a few hours, and Also that people don't understand the relationship of you and a dog when you're together 24-7. Because I think if he had been a normal house dog that I left all day and came home after work too, he probably would have been in fight or flight mode and ran the other way if I'd called for him, but he did him, because we are literally like attached at the hip. So I'm very lucky, very lucky.
0:34:41 - Sara
Oh, i'm so happy He's back. He's such a cutie like, yeah, i remember we were actually and I still reference your story to Chris and we're like we were trying to find a dog Sitter. Recently we actually found one that we really like and we're really thankful that she came around. But I was so nervous. I was like I can't like I already that was always like my greatest fear anyway. It's like I wouldn't leave him with anybody. And then that happened to you and Kenai and it made me like super edgy. But yeah, i was. We finally found someone, but it was hard. We don't want to leave our dog with just anyone. We've already touched on the fact that you're going to Alaska this summer summer 2023 and then I think you said you guys were heading off somewhere else next summer, so can you tell us about that.
0:35:21 - Allyson
Oh Well, we'll see if that, if that comes to fruition. But so last month, or this past month actually, i had to go to Europe for a work trip and decided to Invite my grandmother with me because she had taken me to Paris when I was younger and so I was like I have to take you now, obviously, and that was just a logical thing to do. So she went with me and then we rented an RV and from Indy campers in Paris and We drove from Paris to Rome in this RV. So I tried van life Europe and I was just like this is not enough time and I want my dog to be here. So I'm really looking into the possibility of shipping my Sprinter van or something over to Europe for van life Europe for a little bit, maybe six months, because of Travel reasons. We'll see, but I have seen it done.
There's a, there's a YouTube channel called Famigogo. I don't know if you've seen them, but they have a Winnebago Rebel and they shipped their Rebel, i think, from Maine to Norway and then they did like Switzerland and a bunch of other countries before COVID hit. So I Have hope that they're, that I can do it too. I know the numbers, i know it's possible. The the biggest thing for me because my dog doesn't fit in a backpack will be getting him from The states to Europe, because I refuse to put him in cargo. So I'm gonna have to get creative with that. But yeah, it's definitely on my radar. We'll see how everything unfolds.
0:36:50 - Sara
I want to say this. We don't have to put this in the podcast because I don't know how much this costs, but I did see on Instagram this girl, she there's like this private Airline and it's not like they're not 737, like massive jets or anything like that, but they're like private jets that are big enough to get across the Atlantic Ocean and they pay to have. She had like three dogs and the ones that were small enough to go in the plane with her husband And then she took I think it was like a golden retriever with her on this private plane And the whole idea is this plane is just for dogs traveling to Europe that don't want to go into cargo. And I think she said maybe I'm wrong, but I want to say it's like $5,000 or something like that.
So, it was like I think she said it was like the same price as like a first-class ticket to Europe. So it was her and her dog and they didn't have to worry like seatbelts or anything It goes. If I can ever find it again, i'll send it to you, but there is an airline out there that flies from like I think it's New York, new York somewhere straight to. Straight to Europe.
0:37:42 - Allyson
So I know it's pricey, but I mean no actually it's a possibility You never know. I'm in like a lot of Facebook groups for Chartered planes for pets, because it's been on my radar for a while, but this trip to Europe just kind of confirmed it And 5,000 sounds really reasonable. A lot of what I've seen is about 10,000, but the other option I've seen what you have to really plan ahead is have you heard of cunard cruise lines? Yes, do they allow dogs.
Yes, yeah, there's a, i think it's cunard cruise lines. They allow dogs. They have one boat, i think it's called, like the Queen, something, and so many spots, the Queen Mary, yeah, queen Mary, i think, and you can. You can board your dog and do a transatlantic to Europe. So, but you have to plan ahead because those fill up quickly.
0:38:29 - Sara
That's so funny because we did actually look at that recently. We saw them as like on vacations to go. We've like I contact to you about Ban life in Europe and see what your thoughts were on it, and then we started looking into it And we thought about flying over one way and then taking the Queen Mary back. I don't know if the dog spots are open or not, but I've looked into it. It looks awesome.
0:38:47 - Allyson
Yeah, so fun You have to fact check me on that because it's been a while since I looked into it. But yes, there is one cruise line that lets you board your dog and unfortunately They are in a kennel, but you do get a let them out like three or four times a day and walk them in certain areas and stuff, and I think that's much better, in my opinion, than putting them in cargo. So it's an option I'm still exploring, but yeah, last question is to close this out.
0:39:10 - Sara
What is one piece of advice that you have for anyone who wants to travel with their dog, whether they have a dog or they want a dog? What would you say about travel in general with a dog?
0:39:20 - Allyson
You know, there's a few things that I could say, and I know you said yours is like weight And I think that that's good advice. But also, if you're really certain that you want a dog, i say do it, just understand the Research and commitment that it entails. It is for their whole life. You don't have to be as like crazy obsessed with your dog as I am, but you do need to know that you're gonna have it for like a minimum of 10 years, right? And it does sometimes mean, like I said, missing out on maybe a national park or driving 10 hours instead of flying, depending on the dog you get, and Sometimes it means having to go to the patio for dog friendly restaurant over the top rated.
What five-star restaurant that you want to try, you know, it just depends. But If you, if you want it and you truly, truly want it and you know that that's what you want, then do it. I mean sharing, especially if you're solo. I will say this Sharing travel with someone, whether it be a dog or another person, elevates the experience Tenfold, and that's that's my experience. There have been trips where I've done alone internationally or something like that, and it's just Having someone to share it with is so much better.
0:40:29 - Sara
It's really well said. I agree with that. I know I said wait, but now I've changed my mind. Like you, said it better. You just need to understand the commitment. Yeah, it's not easy, because I don't think people realize it is difficult And it changes the way you do it, but that's very well said. So thank you, Ali. Yeah.
0:40:42 - Chris
Yeah. So, ali, where can we follow you? like what, what it? how can we send people to you to follow your journey?
0:40:49 - Allyson
So I am on tiktok and Instagram as Allyson overland. That's a-l-l-y a throw in and then overland like overlanding. And then also I will hopefully be documenting this entire Kenai trip to Alaska on YouTube. I have never made a YouTube video myself in my life, so I'm excited to give it a shot. I worked in social media marketing for Years and manage YouTube channels, but to have my own is something I'm gonna test out. So if you would like to see Kenai experience his seventh birthday in the place that he was named after, you can follow us on YouTube as Allyson overland as well.
0:41:29 - Sara
Awesome. I'm so excited to follow along. Get that YouTube channel going.
0:41:32 - Allyson
We'll be watching.
0:41:34 - Sara
Thank you so much, Allyson, it was so fun chatting with you and good luck in Alaska.
0:41:38 - Allyson
Thank you so much, you guys.
0:41:41 - Sara
Thanks for listening to what no one tells you with Chris and Sarah. You have a comment or question that you want answered on the air? Be sure to send us a message to hello at christen sarahcom, or you can call or text our phone number at 423 825-9572. Thanks for listening.
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