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SITE OF THE WEEK
Every year I get a dozen emails from people who want to bring their dogs or cats
along on vacation. Can I recommend a hotel or bed & breakfast where their
Spot or Kitty will be welcome? One guy, who travels with a large iguana, told
me he just can’t find any good motels in our region anymore. Duh!
SEE SUGGESTED web sites at end of article
I list a couple hundred lodging spots along the coast on my web site, but I’ve
never had the chutzpah to call them all to ask which ones allow pets. Someone
should do that odious task, and probably it will be me. I usually hedge the question
and refer people to the local chambers of commerce. Just to be sure I was doing
the right thing, I called a few local chambers myself and posed as a tourist with
a pet.
Generally I got quick responses from the chamber volunteers who staff the phones.
Of the seven regional chambers that I called, only Exeter and Rochester chambers
had no handy list of pet-friendly accommodations. Dover had only one, because
there is only one motel in town. The Hampton Beach Chamber gets this kind of call
a lot, but had only three recommendations for me. The York region chamber offered
six. The Portsmouth chamber, which has the largest membership, offered seven,
though most were not in Portsmouth.
The Laconia-Weirs Beach chamber won my phone test hands down. The operator had
15 places available and all were accessible on line. The updated lodging spreadsheet
showed every available accommodation – from camping to condos – with every possible
feature conveniently checked off. Unfortunately, the list did not click directly
over to individual establishments.
Taking the pooch on the road, it becomes quickly clear, greatly limits the range
of overnight spots available. Even lodging spots listed as pet-friendly by the
chambers, don’t go out of their way to advertise the fact. . And remember, chambers
only list the members who pay their dues. Of the dozen recommendations I was offered
in the Seacoast, only one, Enchanted Nights Bed & Breakfast in Kittery, openly
announced "pets welcome" on its web site homepage. A little paw print even highlights
the fact. Apparently people who love seeing a cat or dog sprawled out in the motel
owner’s office, prefer not to find animal hair in their own rooms.
Most lodging establishments seem to keep their pet-status under wraps. The hush-hush
nature of the listings is strangely similar to the way gay-oriented accommodations
used to operate in the straight listings. Those who knew the secrets or bought
the guide-book knew what others did not.
THE WEB SITE MAKERS
But the Web thrives on special interest hard-to-find information. One quick search
and the surfer is surrounded by pet travel options. There are even sites for people
who travel with horses, which makes a lot of sense when you think about it. Ah,
for the days when people traveled ON horses.
Of the sites I visited, TravelDog.com (www.traveldog.com) was the most visually impressive. The splash screen loads quickly and the categories
are easy to navigate. While many animal sites are painfully home-made, somebody
who truly knows design and programming put this one together. Even the specialty
banner and tile ads are intriguing and useful.
TravelDog is a members-only web site, which the owner says is designed to provide
paid subscribers with maximum info about "moving around with your dog". That includes
not only accommodations that accept dogs, but resources like doggie daycare, travel
destinations tips about training and good behavior. While there have been "millions"
of visitors, according to the owner, an average of 2,000 members are signed on
currently. The fees are modest -- $4.95 for 30 days and $14.95 for a year.
The owner, who signed her name only as Tess, kindly sent me a free member’s pass
so that I could poke around the exclusive site. It includes a small section on
travel etiquette for dog-owners, pet tips from an expert, a rarely-used threaded
discussion section, a lengthy clickable list of accommodations and recommended
doggie destination. The product section has a goodly array of canine life jackets,
back packs, toys, stain removers, deodorizers, carriers, auto restraints, even
a refrigerated dog bed and nutritious "power" bars for dogs on the go.
According to Tess, "Our company is a small group of dog lovers who pool their
time and talents in order to keep the site going and updated. We are based in
Sacramento, California."
That’s probably why there were no pet-friendly lodging sites listed in our seacoast
region. But for yeoman effort, this site gets four paws.
THE UP SHOT
There’s a great old Seinfeld episode where Jerry talks about people who own dogs
in the city. "Imagine you came to Earth from outer space," he says, and I’m paraphrasing,
"and you see two life forms linked together by a piece of rope. Suddenly the lead
being poops on the ground and the other one scoops the results into a plastic
bag and carries it home. Which would you think is the superior life form?"
That’s pretty much how I feel about the whole pet thing at the moment. In my
book, any animal bigger than a squirrel that isn’t potty trained should be left
at home. And that goes for children too. But I suppose, if I found just the right
dog, that could change. Right now I’ve got a cat that seems content to stray no
further than the back yard. Sometimes I walk the neighbor’s golden retriever Buddy
and he visits my office, but he goes back to his own domicile at night.
There are no end to dog web sites, and we’re talking about an enormously wide-range
of pets and owners. What the little old lady carrying a toy poodle in her purse
has in common with the bruiser toting a pair of rottweillers eludes me. But a
club is a club. For those seeking pet-friendly data, here’s a short list of resources
in paper and digital form. You can order the books on Amazon.com. Bon voyage and
remember to stock up on plastic bags.
PET TRAVEL WEB SITES
Fido Friendly
These people put out a quarterly magazine of the same name dedicated entirely
to traveling with dogs. In one issue, for example, the "Director of Barketing"
takes you on a tour of the "Mardi Paws". I emailed for more info, but didn’t get
a reply.
Companion Air
Deals with airline travel and shows a photo of a dog with the caption "Do I look
like cargo to you?"
Pet Friendly Cyber Rentals
Reportedly over 775 pet friendly vacation rentals listed
Canine Auto
Lots of paraphernalia for sale. Click on "Travel Guide" in the menu for lodging
sites.
Take Your Pet
These people put out a Pet Travel newsletter.
Pets Welcome
This site has a free clickable list and that actually includes a half dozen places
in NH, but none in this region.
Dog Gone Fun
The Colorado publishers of DogGone Newsletter and Heidi, Back Seat Driver
Dog Parks
Dog parks in the USA
I tried selecting a state and searching, but nothing happened.
PET TRAVEL BOOKS
On the Road Again with Man’s Best Friend:
Dog-Friendly New England
by Robert Habgood and Dawn Habgood
Pets on the Go: The Definitive Pet Accommodation and Vacation Guide
by Robert Habgood and Dawn Habgood
Dog-Friendly New Englan: A Traveler’s Companion
By Trisha Blanchet
Vacationing With Your Pet: Eileen's Directory of Pet-Friendly Lodging in the United States & Canada:
Over 25,000 Listings of Hotels, Inns, Ranches and B&Bs That Welcome Guests
with Pets
By Eileen Barish
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