Travels with Henri: It’s not all that ruff

What are we, French? Increasingly, Americans want to take their pets with them everywhere. (When we say “pets,” we mean, of course, dogs. What self-respecting cat likes to hang its head out the car window? Besides, their ears don’t flap in the breeze.)
Gaga pet owners/guardians might want to base their selection of a new automobile on the recommendations of a Web site called dogcars.com. The editors named the Grand Caravan the best selection among 2008 models. They also liked the 2007 Lincoln Navigator, except for the price tag and the rate of expensive gasoline consumption. (The site also recommends various accessories such as pet seats.)
Now there’s even word of an airline for our four-legged friends. Pet Airways has announced that service will begin this spring or summer, allowing “pawsengers” to fly in a fully-lit, climate-controlled, pressurized main cabin of a specially outfitted aircraft with a professionally trained pet attendant for the entire duration of the flight.
For those of us who haven’t fully lost our minds, traveling with a pet usually means via an automobile we already own. Inns, hotels, wineries and restaurants are catering to this trend by offering at least some space to pets, whether it is a special room or a patio area.
Wine country is especially accommodating to pets. If you want to take yours along to a winery, call ahead to ask about the policy. In Healdsburg, dogs are welcome to the picnic areas at both Lambert Bridge and Foppiano.
In downtown Sonoma, dogs on leashes are welcome on the patios at the Sunshine Caffé and La Salette. As long as the dogs are well behaved, they don’t have to be on a leash at La Casa or the Schellville Grill, which has a water fountain and treats available for customers’ dogs. In Boyes Hot Springs, dogs are welcome to join their owners on the terrace for breakfast or lunch at the Creekside Café.
It’s harder to find hotels and inns that accept pets, but for a one-time fee of $75, dogs can stay overnight at the Lodge at Sonoma, which also allows them in the Carneros Restaurant and, in fact, everywhere other than the pool. In Kenwood, the Birmingham Bed and Breakfast lets pets stay in a cottage built onto the original water tower. The unit sleeps five (not including Fido); there is a surcharge of $10 per pet per night.
My basset hound, Henrietta, has done her number of one-night stands around northern California. She has twice cut quite a figure at the Little River Inn on the Mendocino coast. After a particularly festive evening there in the legendary Ole’s Whale Watch bar, she became so popular that her picture ran in the inn’s newsletter.
But our most memorable road trip took place a few years ago. When the Napa River Inn inaugurated its VIP (Very Important Pet) Program, the owners invited Henri and me to visit. Henri could qualify for frequent miles so she was game. And so was I, since she had long since stopped throwing up all over the front seat on most road trips (although those last few curves on the way to Stinson Beach remain problematic).
In the hotel lobby stood a huge brass-and-glass stand – the kind you see in places like the Fairmont announcing where the Lions club would be meeting – sporting a full-color drawing of a Basset hound. A red-ribbon sash read: “Welcome, Henrietta!” That was nice. We were obviously expected.
Well, one of us was. Upon attempting to check in, I was informed by the clerk that he had no reservation in my name. Perplexed, I stepped back and pointed to the drawing. “I’m with her,” I said. He handed me a room key with no further ado.
The room, on the second floor of a newer building across the parking lot, was lovely. A balcony overlooked the Napa River; a VIP package contained a bowl and a package of Cab-Bone-Nay doggie biscuits. On the floor was a blanket embroidered with the property logo and a color-coordinated logo place mat for stainless steel food and water bowls – all for Henri (who always sleeps on the bed, but who had to know?). After a glass of chardonnay, paired with doggie biscuits, we headed down to meet friends on the patio. Henrietta was well behaved and well received. I took along some of the hotel’s complimentary, individually wrapped plastic Doggie Walk Bags. (I could have requested the services of a dog walker but preferred to take Henri with me.)
Then we drove up the Silverado Trail for dinner at some friends’ house. It was a short visit – pizza and one glass of cab – so we headed back to the hotel early and sober. So far, so good. When we walked in our hotel, Henri refused to board the elevator, so we again took the stairs, which involved at least three landings. By the time we got to our floor, I was so turned around that I had no idea where our room was. No problem: Henri (like all Bassets, a descendent of bloodhounds) marched confidently off to the right, took a left and then a right, and plopped down right in front of our door.

Note to self: Always take a drinking-eye dog along when you go on the road.

Pet places to go:

LaSalette Restaurant
452 First St. E., Suite H., Sonoma
707.938.1927

Sunflower Caffé
421 First St. W., Sonoma
707.996.6645

La Casa Restaurant
121 E. Spain St., Sonoma
707.996.3406

Schellville Grill
22900 Broadway, Sonoma
707.996.5151

Renaissance – The Lodge at Sonoma
1325 Broadway, Sonoma
707.935.6600

Creekside Café
239 Boyes Blvd., Boyes Hot Springs
707.996.8061

Foppiano Vineyards
12707 Old Redwood Hwy., Healdsburg
707.433.7272

Lambert Bridge Winery
4085 W. Dry Creek Road, Healdsburg
800.975.0555

Birmingham Bed & Breakfast
8790 Hwy. 12, Kenwood
707.833.6996 or 800.819.1388
www.birminghambb.com

Little River Inn
Hwy. 1, Little River
888.466.5683; http://littleriverinn.com/