My main blog-goal for next year is to expand a bit. Sure, the main focus will always be books, but I don’t want every non-book post to be appended to an actual book post. And, really, this blog doesn’t get enough traffic for me to worry about Google getting mixed up. So Zelda gets her own post. I have some things to say about Traveling with Puppies and Dog-Friendly Restaurants in Houston, too.
As I’m sure you know from various social media, Palmer and I took Zelda to Houston a few weeks ago. Okay, I drove Zelda to Houston to see Palmer.
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She’d chosen the day before to puke in my car while we ran some errands, so she took some $60 anti-nausea pills from the vet. We were off to quite a start. She was a little nervous, but she did well. We stopped twice at gas stations with nice grass patches, and she did her business without a problem. By the time we got to Houston, I was exhausted.
Before I left, I did my research. Every meal was planned according to a list of dog-friendly restaurants. It didn’t always work out.
Gratifi did, which was good because all I wanted was a meal and a sleep.
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They had a nice patio and even served dog food with a treat on top. She ate the treat and didn’t touch the kibble, which quickly turned into a trend. When I selected Gratifi, I didn’t realize that it had been on Restaurant Impossible, or I might have chosen elsewhere. They were really nice to Zelda, but the food wasn’t great. I was just happy to eat at that point.
We started Saturday with a trip to Starbucks, where Zelda had her first Puppuccino.
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Of course she enjoyed it. Next, we dropped her off at a PetSmart Doggie Day Camp so we could have some non-puppy time (meaning a trip to IKEA and Trader Joe’s). According to her Pawgress Report, she had a good time.
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They put her (at 30 lbs) with the little dogs because she was afraid. That’s one reason why I wish Shreveport would make the dog park happen sooner. There aren’t enough opportunities for socialization around here. (While Zelda was at Day Camp, Palmer and I went to Goode Company Seafood, which was AMAZING.)
After we picked her up, we headed to Brick House Tavern & Tap, which turned out to be a chain bar that was way too loud. We had to move our chairs to the far end of the patio, away from the rowdy customers. We were all exhausted and miserable.
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The next day, Sunday, we went to one of my Houston favorites, Barnaby’s Cafe. The patio was full of dogs, but it wasn’t too loud or overwhelming for Zelda, and we had an excellent time. Zelda behaved well, and Palmer rewarded her with a whole plate of bacon.
After a tasty breakfast, we headed to Millie Bush Dog Park, which is supposed to be one of the biggest, nicest dog parks in Houston. My only real complaint is that I wish there were more trees. Once Zelda settled down, she had an excellent time.
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She’d never been off a leash outside, so I was interested to see if she did. I thought she might bolt (which wouldn’t have been a problem because the park is double-fenced), but she stuck really close. Palmer made an excellent Youtube video chronicling our trip.
Exhausted again, we made an emergency plan change because my lunch choice was another loud bar. I called another of my favorites, the Hobbit Cafe, and they did, indeed, allow dogs (though only hanging off the back corner of their porch). We had another excellent meal.
After that, we rested until dinner. We’d planned on dinner at Winston’s on Washington, which is supposed to be dog-friendly, but that didn’t exactly work out. It was bad enough to merit a nasty Yelp review.
So we ended up heading over to the nearby reliably mediocre La Madeleine, where I had overcooked rotisserie chicken (and Palmer had an amazing dessert). At least it was food.
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The next morning, Zelda and I got up early, had a quick hotel breakfast (we share a banana every morning), and headed back to Shreveport. She slept most of the way home.
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That was the first of many trips, and it was quite an experience. We definitely learned some things, like that Zelda refuses to sleep in her kennel in hotel rooms but is an excellent bed-sleeper and that she thinks she owns the hotel after a single night. We’ll defintely be adventuring again, but I think we all need a rest after that one.
