By Jeff Cummins - You’re on vacation, you let your pet out of your sight for a moment, and suddenly, she’s gone. You frantically search everywhere, wondering who to contact, where to turn. Your mind races, wondering if your pet will be alright and how to get her back before anything goes dramatically wrong.

For a pet owner, it’s difficult to imagine anything more harrowing.

Fortunately, that’s all you’re doing right now, imagining it. But this is the best time to think about how to deal with a situation like that, before it occurs. With more and more people bringing their pets along on all kinds of trips, it’s only natural to be concerned with their safety and security.

Better Safe than Sorry

Let’s review some options that deal with security when traveling with your pet. There’s an old cliché, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Few ideas are more appropriate when thinking of the physical security of your pet.

Pet security when traveling involves your pet’s well being as well as that of the other people and pets you encounter along the way. This is your responsibility and obligation.

Know Your Pet

If you’re traveling with an animal that will come into contact with other people and their pet, as is the case with most dogs, you had better know your animal well. Is she well socialized with people, kids and other dogs? What are her tolerances for crowds, noise, surprises and even aggression? How well trained is she? Does she listen to your commands at all times, especially come, sit, stay and stop?

Don’t pull the wool over your own eyes. Just because you love your pet, it doesn’t mean she’s the perfect angel. For example, some pets are normally very nice around older adults, but become very stressed around little children. Some dogs will obey your commands inside your house or on a leash, but once off will run away as fast as they can.

The responsibility to prevent a problem is yours and yours alone! They are animals and need to be managed by their human handlers (you). This starts with knowing and respecting their tolerance and training levels, and taking care to prevent mishaps.

Keeping an Eye on Your Pet

No pet owner wants to see his or her pet run away. The best way to eliminate that problem is before it occurs. If you have a dog, chances are that you have a leash and a collar. If not, you’ll have to get one, because this is a requirement in most places you’ll want to stay. Other pets may require appropriate cages or other restraints.

Sometimes, pets will get loose. Highly domesticated and trained animals will usually stay close by. More wild pets, likes snakes, lizards and exotic birds may fly the coop for good.

Dogs can be trained to be loose. This takes time and technique, but most can be taught to come when called. The time to do this training is before you take your pet on a trip. If you don’t trust your pet's ability (or desire) to come back, take special care not to let her free.

There are a variety of leashes and collars you can use. The best leash for traveling would be one with an adjustable length. This gives your pet room to roam when she needs it, and allows you to shorten the length when you need to control her more closely.

A lot of people might recommend a choke collar or “choker” as the collar of choice, but in my experience, nothing beats a harness, specifically a shoulder harness. The shoulder harness is easy to use, and allows the dog a reasonable freedom of movement, enabling her to run and jog, while allowing the pet owner significant control over the animal.

Either way, you should make sure your pet has identification tags on the collar, including license and shot information.

Planning Travel with Your Pet

When you’re planning your trip, learn as much as possible about where you’re headed, to get a “lay of the land,” so to speak. What are the rules and regulations of the various places you want to visit? Many places you wouldn’t expect have very strict regulations on pets, while others are unexpectedly pet friendly. For example, you might be able to stay with your dog at the Hilton during the week, but not bring her to the campground on the weekend.

Parks can have very particular and confusing regulations when it comes to pets.

If spending time outdoors, determine the potential threats from local wildlife, bears, mountain lions, etc. Remember, your pet can be just as big a threat to wildlife.

When it comes to pet runs and other exercise area, you need to guard against escapes. Some dogs and cats have a knack for sneaking under fences or out through opening doors. Of particular concern are fences on uneven land, which allow for some gaps at the bottom of the fence. One easy method of dealing with this is to walk the fenced-in area and check for any escape routes. Once you know where they are, you can guard against any breakouts.

What to do when Your Pet Gets Lost

You are on vacation, and your pet has gotten away. This is where your ID tags really come in handy. Some people even opt for ID chips for their pets. Call the local animal shelter and animal control officers immediately to see if your pet has been found and to let them know your pet is out there.

Let the people where you’re staying know that you lost your pet, and ask them who they think you should contact. See if they have any localized advice pertaining to finding lost pets. If you have a picture of your pet, make fliers and post them around the location.

If people can easily identify your pet, or contact you quickly, they’ll be more likely to bring your pet back safe and sound.

Remember, the key to happiness with your pet is taking responsibility for your pet and preparation for anything that may come up. When in doubt, contact your vet or the ASPCA for advice on any pet-related matters. Your pet is counting on you!

Do you have some ideas that we missed? Register as a member or log-in and post your suggestions below! You may help to save someone’s pet.