Hints from Heloise

Dear Heloise: In June, my husband and I rented a cottage in South Dennis, Mass. (Cape Cod), along with our two wire-haired dachshunds. We found out that Provincetown was only 45 minutes away and felt safe leaving our Susie and Sophie in the cottage for four hours (their usual time between potty breaks). Just as we were about to leave, I thought, “No one knows that we’re leaving them here.” I immediately wrote in large letters the names, addresses and phone numbers of two couples that we knew in the area, and our cell-phone numbers, and put the list in our car in the event we were in an accident. I also left the same information at the cottage “just in case.”

We live in Port Charlotte, Fla., and thought that if there were an emergency, by the time any information was tracked down on us, it would be too late for our furbabies. – Janice and Walter Hamilton, via e-mail