We are headed out for a week to visit friends in Kansas City. The night before our departure our dog developed diarrhea. As my husband and I travel over the next year, this is the kind of challenge that we will need to manage through. Should one of us stay home? Should we foist more obligation onto our dog sitter?

In the end we decided to inform the sitter and instruct him to cut back on the dog's diet until the symptoms calm down. We also collected our stash of diarrhea medications (does every dog owner have a stash of diarrhea medications?) and put it someplace conspicuous. We shall see if this is enough to prepare the sitter.