It used to be that if you heard growling or purring coming from the hotel room next to yours, you tried to ignore it -- maybe turned the TV volume up a bit.
If you gave it any thought at all, you probably didn't think the noises were from real animals. These days, as hotels and even inns strive to become more family-friendly, many are welcoming pets.
In 1994, a Travel Industry of America survey of 1,500 U.S. adults found that slightly less than 10 percent reported taking a pet (mostly dogs) on vacation.
"It's a nice niche market," says Wendy Ballard, publisher of DogGone, a 3-year-old newsletter that includes tips on traveling with the family dog.
DogGone is one of a growing number of publications and resources for people who want to travel with their pets.
Ballard said she started the bimonthly newsletter not long after her family got their beagle, Sparky -- now their roving reporter -- and realized the difficulties of traveling with a dog.
"We try to focus on destinations and what you can do with your pet when you are there -- hiking, parks, even restaurants with outdoor seating who'll allow your dog," Ballard said. "We try to sniff out all those kinds of things."
For example, DogGone found a Bark Park beach in Huntington Beach, Calif., and an outdoor cafe offering canine cuisine.
The May-June issue focused on pet-friendly dude ranches and dog-friendly destinations, including Gettysburg, Pa., Minnesota's Lake Superior shore and California's Point Isabel (a leash-free zone).
The Vero Beach, Fla., publication has a database of more than 23,000 pets-allowed motels, hotels, inns and resorts to help its 3,000 subscribers.
Most of those same hotels can be found in books devoted to traveling with pets. Among them is "Vacationing With Your Pet: Eileen's Directory of Pet-Friendly Lodging, United States & Canada" by Eileen Barish.
"I notice a lot more people traveling with pets, dogs in particular," said Barish, who published her directory two years ago and is working on state-by-state books on the same subject.
"I think, for one, that a lot of young couples are delaying having families and getting a dog instead. There are baby boomers who have an empty nest and miss having their kids around, and seniors are living much more active lives, and I think they like the safety and companionship of having a dog" while traveling, said Barish, who takes her golden retrievers, Rosie and Maxwell, everywhere.
