When we launched GoPetFriendly sixteen years ago, our goal was to make it easy for people to travel with their pets. Perhaps you remember what it was like back then … when finding places to stay and things to do with your pets was HARD.

It wasn’t that the idea of taking your pets with you on vacation was a new concept. Some people had been doing it for years. But they were the exception. Most people believed that traveling with a pet was extravagant, or weird, or just too difficult.

 

Pet Travel Gained Acceptance

Things certainly have changed! Perhaps creating GoPetFriendly helped sparked a shift in thinking. But, over the years, millions of pet lovers have visited the site to plan trips with their furry family members, and that absolutely delights me!

Eventually, as more people began traveling with their pets, businesses recognized the opportunity. Soon hotels, restaurants, and even entire cities began touting the fact that they were pet friendly. They added pet policies and pet friendly directories to their websites. They splashed it on billboards. And hung signs in their windows.

 

Walk around most cities these days and you’re likely to find as many businesses that are pet friendly as those that aren’t. Maybe even more! It’s exactly what we hoped for when we started the site.

And it means there’s not as much need for GoPetFriendly’s directory of pet friendly businesses.

Things Change … And So Do We

As the world began embracing pet travel, we changed, too. After twelve fantastic years in the motorhome, we’re happily settled in Bisbee, Arizona. (It’s very pet friendly, if anyone is looking for a fun vacation destination!)

 

With all the time I’d spent driving the RV suddenly freed up, I went back to school. Two months ago, I completed a certificate program in AutoCAD (the software designers, drafters, and architects use to draw building plans). I also picked up several courses in residential construction while I was there. It was a blast!

It wasn’t clear where all of these courses would take me at the time. It was just fun to learn more about things that had always fascinated me. And while I was focusing on homework and exams, the online world where GoPetFriendly exists was changing dramatically.

 

Technology Makes A Leap

You’d have to be living under a rock to have missed the recent advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI). Admittedly, I have concerns about how it will impact humanity. On the other hand, I also remember seeing a self-checkout at the grocery store for the first time. When I turned and swore to Rod that I’d never use one, he replied, “We might be a little young to stop adopting new technology.” Of course, he was right. Though I still use the self-checkout sparingly.

But the fact that AI is already changing how people plan trips is undeniable. The number of human beings landing on GoPetFriendly has dropped significantly during the past year. Why spend your time hunting for options when typing a simple request will get the answer?

Seriously, how convenient is that?! Of course, you still have to verify that the information provided is correct. But you’d have to confirm the pet policies found on GoPetFriendly, too!

So — as they say — all good things come to an end.

It’s clear that there’s now an even easier way to plan trips with pets. So we’re shutting down the directory of pet friendly places on GoPetFriendly at the end of the month. It served its purpose, and it will free up time for something new!

What about the blog?

We’re keeping the blog in place for now. Partially because it’s home to the millions of memories we made with Ty and Buster. But also because it’s not something AI can do better. Our paws-on-the-ground research, though a bit dated, still has value. Hopefully it will continue to inspire more people to travel with their pets. And, who knows? Maybe I’ll post occasionally, if I find something especially interesting.

 

What’s Next?

Several years ago, Rod and I bought a 3-acre lot on a mountaintop in southern Colorado. When we found a fantastic house for sale in Bisbee and decided not to build a home here, the dream of building on that lot started taking shape.

Suddenly, everything I was learning in my classes became useful! And months of research went into finding the best way to build on a slope, in a remote location, where summer only lasts for a few months … and winter can be brutal.

 

We’re planning to break ground in May — depending on the weather, of course. The panelized house will be delivered in June, and a crew will complete the exterior of the home. Then we’ll take over, doing the parts we can, and hiring sub-contractors to do what we can’t.

Join Us!

I know many of you reading this post have been with us for years. The fact that you’re still here amazes me. I’m truly touched by the friendships we’ve made. And I hope you’ll join us on this next adventure!

I’ve launched a YouTube channel to share our progress. The first video went up yesterday, explaining why we chose a prefab home. And I’ll be posting a new video every week. And at the very end of each one, I’m including a little “treat” especially for my GoPetFriendly peeps.

Warning: The video is not good! But you long-timers will remember that the first blog posts I wrote weren’t good either. Everything improves with practice.