Dog Friendly

Growing up a Girl Scout in Georgia means one thing - numerous trips to the birthplace of the organization's founder, Juliette Gordon Lowe, in Savannah. I cannot tell you how many times my GS troop decided to spend the money that we earned hocking cookies to take a trip to the Georgia coast. While our leaders did their best to make the old house, its architecture and the story of why Sherman didn't burn it down on his march through Georgia, exciting to a seven-year-old girl, all I really wanted was the special pin to wear on our uniform that said I had been to the birthplace. To me, that pin was just another accomplishment to wear on my badge-laden sash.

So when it was suggested we go to Savannah to ring in the new year with old friends, all I could think about was that big old house and even older women that guarded the antiques and gave the tours. But come to find out, Savannah is a very dog-friendly town - which now makes it one of my favorite places. Between the squares, parks, fountains, and outdoor cafes, there were tons of things for four-legged friends to do. Including, a 90-minute trolley tour of the city. 

As you can imagine, there aren't a lot of trolley riding opportunities in the middle of the country. Tractors, yes. Trolleys, no. So this was a first for my girls. Seka could care less. She loves to ride. I think she would ride a skateboard if I could teach her how. She is so happy to be moving and going somewhere, anywhere, that it really doesn't matter the final destination. In fact, I have to be careful when talking about "going on a trip," or getting something out of the "car." Seriously, I'm spelling so my dog doesn't go bananas. I'm sure she knows how to spell now too. It was no shock to us that she slept in the center aisle on a blanket on the trolley like it was the back seat of her car.

Roxy is another story all together. Anything new is scary to her. Walking on cobblestone streets is scary. Walking on the docks is scary. Seeing boats are scary. So you can imagine that getting on a trolley with lots of other strangers is scary too. Surprisingly enough, she did pretty well, if you ignore the shaking, shedding and a small amount of drooling that occurred for about 20 minutes. She even decided that for the last hour of the 90-minute tour that she would sit on the seat next to me and eventually fell asleep. 

So, add trolley rides to the lists of things to do with your dog if you go to Savannah. The trolley drivers were really nice and they loved our big girls. Oh, and we did go by the Birthplace of Girl Scouts on our tour.  I wish I had remembered to wear my sash.