I love having animals.  They are so much a part of our life here that I cannot imagine living without them.  From the chickens that provide our eggs to the dogs that provide wrestling partners for the toddlers, our life is much better because we have animals.  When it comes time to go away for a vacation or even an overnight outing, having animals can make plans much more difficult, but there are options to make sure your animals get proper care while you are away.

The easiest thing to do is ask your neighbors to help out while you are gone.  Hopefully, you will have cultivated a good relationship with the neighbor before you ask for their help, but if your animals need little care, this can be the best way to take care of them.

If you have many animals or more complicated requirements, such as milking or special needs feeding, you may want to consider hiring someone to come over every day to care for them.  If you have a neighbor kid who likes to do odd jobs, chances are they would love to do this for you.  Otherwise, considering hiring a professional pet sitter.  You can usually find ads for those in the Services section of Craigslist, or you can post your own wanted ad there.

If you have pets, they may need more care than a single daily visit.  In that case, hiring a pet sitter to stay in your home or taking your pets to a boarding kennel are your best options.  Those can be costly, but the expense is well worth the peace of mind in knowing your animals will be cared for.

When you have a planned vacation or time away from home, arranging for your animals should be one of the first things you do, so you can enjoy yourself without fretting about how your animals are faring in your absence.