Many of us travel to see family and friends or just to get away from it all during the Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s holidays. However, no one with a dog is comfortable making out-of-town plans until we know our favorite four-legged friend will also be well taken care of during the holiday season.

Our yellow lab, now 11-years-old, is the reason our family first looked into staying in a vacation rental home more than 10 years ago. I couldn’t bear the thought of leaving her at home while we traveled to Lake Tahoe for a fun holiday getaway, knowing that she would love to hike the snow-covered trails and dive in the cold blue water there.

We searched online and found a number of pet-friendly properties, and from then on, we were hooked! No more hotels for our family when we could literally take the whole family with us.

For families with smaller dogs, it’s easy to travel with them by plane (provided your pet has a valid health certificate) to most destinations. For our family, our dog only goes when we are traveling by car.

In either case, it’s now easier to find a pet-friendly vacation rental than you realize because many professional property managers have at least a few pet-friendly homes available—if you just ask and intend to take care of the place. Our extended, dog-friendly family has enjoyed pet-friendly Orlando vacation homes, Lake Tahoe vacation homes and Destin vacation homes, keeping in mind our responsibilities around dog-friendly vacation rentals.

So instead of trying to figure out what kennel to book or which friend will house sit with Fido this holiday season, consider a vacation rental. It may change your family’s holiday travel. I know it has ours!