The Travel Nurse and the Pet
There are numerous perks to being a travel nurse. You get to see the many different and varied parts of the country, you tend to enjoy a larger salary then your stay at home contemporaries, if you can’t stand your co-workers you at least have the knowledge that you’ll only have to deal with them for a short period of time before you can move onto a whole new set of co-workers. Most travel nurses have great dental and health plans. You are constantly expanding on your working educations.
You get to work with a wide variety of patients. Your traveling expenses are usually paid either by your travel nursing agency or your temporary employer. You seldom have to worry about finding a new home.
You are making new friends all over the country. In some cases if you and your best friend are both travel nurses you can work side by side with a familiar face. The benefits are lucrative. You are probably part of a great reward program.
Your temporary housing is fully furnished.
The down side to travel nursing is if you are a pet lover. The lifestyle of a travel nurse is not well suited for keeping a pet of your own.
One of the big reasons you will probably have to find a new home for your dog and/or cat is all the traveling you will be doing. It is difficult and stressful for a dog or cat to be constantly moving from one part of the country to the next. Some pets are more adaptable then others. if your pet has a difficult time dealing with change, dragging it along on your cross country journeys could potentially shorten its life.
Consider the expense of traveling with your pet. The travel nursing agency typically makes sure that your travel expenses are paid for but that doesn’t mean that they will be willing to pay your pet’s travel expenses. More then likely your dog or cat’s plane ticket will come out of your pocket.
Travel nurses are generally provided with fully furnished housing that is close to the hospital or medical office that they are going to be working in. This housing is normally in the form of a hotel room or a short rent apartment. On the average this type of housing does not allow pets because pets shred curtains, chew on furniture, ruin carpets, and expose other tenets to allergens.
If you insist on taking your pet along, you might find that you are going to have to find your very own housing, housing that will allow you to keep a pet.
Pets, especially dogs, require a lot of your attention. This is especially true after you have transplanted them from the home they know into a home in a different part of the world. You will probably be working long hours.
Do you really want to have to take your dog for a walk and play with it when you finally get home.
If you decide that your new lifestyle is not fair to your pet, talk to your friends and family, find out if someone is willing to take your beloved pet into their own home provided that you pay their expenses. This will give you piece of mind knowing that your pet is in good hands while you are away from home, and will let you see them when you return home between jobs.