Zoey-by author

Our pit bull, Zoey, is adorable. She’s also eerily smart.

(Shameless plug alert: For more information about her and pit bull bigotry, check out my recent article on matadorchange.com.)

My husband and I drove to Greensboro, NC last spring so I could give my final graduate recital at UNCG.

We checked in at the dog-friendly La Quinta and took her for a walk around the hotel grounds.

We decided to go out for a nice dinner to relax before the next day’s stress, leaving Zoey with toys, food, and water.

Mid-way into my second beer and hummus plate, I get a call from a Greensboro number.

“Hello, Mrs. Harder?”

“Er…yes.”

“Do you have a brown dog with teal collar?”

“UMM-yes”

“You dog is sitting with us at the front desk. She was running around the lobby greeting incoming guests.”

“Oh my god. I’m so so so sorry!!!”

“It’s ok. She’s sweet. We just wanted to make sure it was your dog before we put her back in the room. We figured she was yours since your door was open.”

James and I hurry through our meal, feeling incredibly guilty for leaving our hotel room door somehow ajar. On the way back to the hotel we get another call:

“Hello, Mrs. Harder?”

“Yes…”

“Your dog is sitting at the front desk again.”

WTF?

The hotel staff agree to keep her behind the desk. We walk into the lobby and Zoey greets us like she does at home, tale wagging and licking profusely.

Thankfully, the hotel staff is very friendly about the whole thing and keep assuaging our profuse apologies.

The verdict?

Our dog knows how to open doors.

We even tested her by leaving her in the room and standing outside the door. Sure enough, Zoey started jumping on the horizontal lever, building momentum until she could get a paw in the door to prop it open.

That’s our baby…She’ll be hard-pressed to top that pet travel memory for us. Seeing her sprint towards us in the hotel lobby, pleased grin on her face: priceless.

Now it’s your turn. What’s your favorite pet travel memory?