Anybody from Ithaca or Geneva , NY area.. ? Help please..

Anybody from those areas here.. ? I'm reaaally having a huge headache! I have a summer internship in Geneva, New York.. and it's about 8-10 hours flight from Vancouver to there..

I don't want to leave my babies for 3 months, i'll miss them like crazyy.. ! but I'm also afraid to bring them, because i've never been to Geneva, Ny , it's a very small city.. and i have no clue of whether there's a pet shop.. or vets .. etc.. i might be working for 8 hours a day or more.. and it's not cheap to transport them from here to there.. ( about US$500 for both of them ! :S )

There is lots of people who wants to board them here.. but im so not sure of everything.. so is there anybody in Geneva or Ithaca here that could help me give their opinion of some sort of pet's life there.. ? and how easy it is to travel with pets with flights as long as 8-10 hours ?

Thank you very muchh in advancee!

I'm not from Geneva but I was there last summer to take my son to tour Hobart & William Smith Colleges. I was amazed at how Geneva has grown since my brother was in college there back in the 80s. Geneva is quite civilized--there's all the usual big-box stores (WalMart, etc.), fast-food restaurants, etc., and there are plenty of vets and animal hospitals. There has to be at least one pet store. Go here and put in whatever services you are interested in for Geneva NY and see what comes up http://www.superpages.com I did a search for "veterinarian" and it came up with 12 vets, 13 animal hospitals, and 16 "animal health" -- so I'm sure you'll find whatever you need for your dogs.

It's a beautiful spot! Seneca Lake is gorgeous. Your dogs would have a wonderful summer there!

Do you think you'll be able to get home at mid-day to let your dogs out for a bit? Because Geneva is small enough that if you are both living and working there you ought to be able to, depending on the flexibility of your internship.

My biggest concern would, of course, be the business of transporting them there and back. I am assuming that you could not bring two in the cabin with you, and I'm very reluctant to put any dog of mine in the cargo hold (though I realize that there are probably people who do it).

Any chance you could drive instead of fly? (Maybe get someone to accompany you on the trip and then fly back?) You'll probably need a car once you get there anyway. Geneva is that kind of a place.

The flight isn't that long. From San Francisco to NYC is about 5 hours or so -- in 10 hours you could get to London from Vancouver (I do west coast to Europe all the time). Unless you are talking about having to take two flights -- but surely you can do a direct flight from Vancouver to NYC or another airport nearby? You can probably take dogs in the cabin but couldn't take all of them at once. It is probably easier to board them while you are gone -- less stressful on everyone. Plus it can be very hard to find a rental when you have animals, especially more than one.

Geneva is a hike from NYC (five hours drive). Whatever way she gets east, she has to fly to either Syracuse or Rochester to get to Geneva. Rochester is a little closer, but they're both about an hour's drive. I'd probably fly to Toronto, and either drive from there (3-4 hours) or fly to Rochester, if that's possible.

If I trusted the people who would be keeping the dogs, leaving them is definitely the easiest thing to do. The issue of being allowed to have them where you are living is also a good point. All I'm really responding to is the issue of whether adequate pet care is available in Geneva, and the answer to that is "yes," so having them there is fine.

And I also wanted to make the point about the potential difficulty of being without a car in Geneva, especially if you are having to do your own food shopping, etc., unless there will be a kind roommate who has one.

Ithaca

Ithaca is close to where I went to undergrad (Binghamton University). It's a great town full of artsy/excentric people and I'd bet money that it is very dog friendly though I can't say for sure. Enjoy the gorges and congrats on the job!

That's right, Toronto is what I was thinking of as an alternative but couldn't recall the closest Canadian city on the other side. Either way there's no way those are 8-10 hours away in flying time -- more like 4-5 hours. Even a five hour drive is fairly negligible as far as drives go -- 2-3 hours is pretty small. But does mean you'd need a rental car to get from airport to where you are going. And I agree, very hard to get by in any small North American town with dogs if you don't have a car.

Yes, we visited Ithaca too and it's a great little college city--Cornell and Ithaca College both there. We had a gorgeous drive down the west side of Seneca Lake from Geneva to Ithaca, one sparkling summer morning. I wish I could remember how long it took, but I can't. (Easy enough to check on Mapquest though.) We made a couple of stops, to admire the lake and to visit a gorge/waterfall lookout spot.

Lin,
I live 1.5 hours away from Geneva. The Seneca Lake region is beautiful and the entire Finger Lakes region is filled with wineries. It really is a great place. You'll love it and your dogs wouldd love it too.

You'll definitely need a car while you are there. Everything is far apart and you have to be able to drive around.

I am not sure if you already have your airline tickets, but the biggest airport in the region is Buffalo, next is Rochester, then Syracuse. Geneva is mid way between the the cities of Rochester and Syracuse. Buffalo is an hour west of Rochester.

Vets in the area: http://www.switchboard.com/Veterinarians/Geneva/NY/22/Yellowpages_Results.html

Closest PetSmart stores near Geneva (you can go to the Rochester suburbs or Ithaca: http://stores.petsmart.com/petsmart...g=en&design=default&place=geneva,+NY&x=36&y=4

Let me know if you need more specific help. I would be happy to assist you. I also don't mind driving, so if you need :drivecar: driving help, let me know.

Thank you so much everybody for the very useful infos.. !! i really appreciate them..
Yes, i realise that i have to learn how to drive for my babies sake.. i am really traumatic to drive, because i had a near-death experience when i was young, so the fear is the really one thing im trying to overcome..

it's funny though, i'm learning how to drive from a teacher and he asked me what's all the rush and sudden of learning it now, i said " i have to drive my furbabies around in Geneva! " he couldn't believe it.. i think he thinks i'm nuts.. i think I'm going nuts too anyway.. :lol: i wouldn't be learning how to drive now, if it's only me going to Geneva.. crazy things we do for love... :lotsaluv:

so stressed over all of these.. i just can't make up my mind.. obviously all of you know the joy of having them around everyday.. : ) but very glad to know that in Geneva, everything is there.. i have to transfer over 1 flight to reach there, and there's a transit time of 1 hour 30 mins if i'm not wrong.. that's what causing the long journey..

The question of driving from Toronto .. i don't think my partner would even allow me.. i just learnt how to drive and it's a very long journey..

I can't bring both in the cabin.. so I have to put one in the cargo, i guess that would be Cherrise.. because she's taller, squeezing her bellow my seat would be a torture..

I have not gotten my airline ticket.. and thank you so much Charleen for the offer..

rental with pets doesnt seem to have so much issue.. my far cousin is in Ithaca moving to Geneva at the same time.. she is not a very "dog-person" ( i don't know how to call them.. :S ) she's helping me look for an apartment..
she has a car though.. but i don't really know her that well.. but i know she's kind.. hehe... i hope i make the right decision soon.. :xfngr: