Occasionally, when my wife and I go out of town our regular people aren't available to watch our dog. In those cases we have to take her to the vet and have her boarded. Usually when we do that, we sleep with a blanket the week before she has to go. Then we give that to the vet to keep in her cage with her. I don't know if it really helps her, but it makes us feel better :) I hope the next leg of your journey goes well. Best of luck and godspeed!