Pets

Pet relief areas at airports: doggone good in more places

Pets

A new regulation that took effect May 13th requires airlines to ensure that passengers traveling with service animals have access to relief areas for their working animals.  The new rule is not only good news for people who travel with service animals; it means that soon just about every airport in the country will have a pit stop for pets.

tucson-prickly_paws_pet_stop

(Tucson International Airport’s Prickly Paws pet relief area)

Most airports locate their pet relief areas landside, in the non-secure area of the airport.  But a few, including Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Salt Lake City International Airport, and Fresno Yosemite International Airport have set up relief areas post-security, in the secure part of the airport.

sea-pet-relief

New pit stop for pets at Tucson International Airport

Pets,

Tucson International Airport now has a lovely landscaped pet relief area. It’s curbside, to the east of the terminal building.   Just follow the signs to the Prickly Paws Pet Stop.

tucson-prickly_paws_pet_stop

More and more airports are creating these much-needed “pee-patches,” so go ahead, let Spot have something to drink. Maybe even from one of these cool, collapsible (to less an half an inch!) silicone travel bowls made by the folks at Bamboo.

bamboo-pet-dog-bowls

More rooms with a zoo

Pets, , , , , ,

Last summer I flew cross-country to escort retired guide-dog Joplin (below) from Montreal to her new family in Seattle.  The airline misplaced the dog carrier and the dog only understood French, but with the help of about a dozen United Airlines employees at Montreal Airport, Joplin made her flight and arrived “home” safely.

joplinNow, after holding the bone just out of reach for months now, the folks at Pet Airways announced they’re accepting reservations from folks who want to book “seats” for their pets on the animals-only airline.  I’m not sure if Joplin is up for another trip, but if you  send your pet on an adventure on this new pet airline let me know.

In the meantime, if you must fly somewhere without your pet, you may want to choose a hotel that will loan you a pet during your stay or let you hang out with an on-site pet.  More than two-dozen properties that offer that option are included in my Room with a Zoo story that officially posted on MSN.com this week.

Here are just two of the more than two dozen places included.

kimpton-fishAll Kimpton Monaco hotels offer the “Guppy Love” program.  Guests can request a loaner goldfish (more entertaining than a guppy?) during their stay.  I still have fond memories of perky Panchita, the fish assigned to my room during a stay at the Monaco hotel in Portland, Oregon.

billy-the-sealAt the Bahai Resort Hotel in San Diego, rehabilitated seals like Billy (above) spend their days in their own on-site pool.  They’re entertaining, but quieter than 600-pound male seal lion who lived at the hotel in the 1970’s and enjoyed “singing” along with the band in the bar.

For more hotels with resident animals, please see my Room with a Zoo story on MSN.com. If you know of other hotels with cool, cute on-site animals, please let me know!

Travel tidbits: DVD’s, flying pets and siestas

Art, Pets, ,

Starting June 1st, you’ll be able to rent DVDs for $1 a day at Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) from one of those Redbox self-service kiosks that have been popping up at supermarkets and, increasingly, airports.

joplinWoof! Pet Airways,which I wasn’t so sure would make it to market, has announced that it’s been cleared for take-off and is now taking reservations – for pets only – between a bunch of cities beginning in June.  Fares for Fido: $149 each way. Let me know if your pet has a seat reservation so I can write about it.

mia-siesta-oneAnd beginning April 30, Miami International Airport (MIA) kicks off a new series of exhibitions in its top-notch art program.  The first exhibition in the Hand Made series will be Siesta, featuring forty ceremonial hammocks and bags by the Wayuu people from the region of La Guajira in northern Colombia. There will also be photographs documenting the Wayuu way of life. Siesta will be on display through October 31, 2009 in the South Terminal Gallery at MIA’s Terminal J.

mia-siesta-two

Room with a zoo: hotels that invite or loan pets

Hotels, Pets

Sneak preview:

If you can’t take Spot or Puff along with you on your next trip out of town, don’t fret.  In my “Room with a Zoo” story on MSN.com, you’ll find plenty of hotels that have on-site pets that can entertain, keep you company, or join you on a walk.

Some examples:

parrot

Koko has been living at the Southern Palms Beach Club in Barbados for at least 45 years.

burros

Iris and Thistle, two unusual white burros, visit with guests at the Hidden Meadow Ranch in Arizona’s White Mountains.

giraffe

And giraffe are regular visitors at Giraffe Manor in Nairobi.

For lots more “Room with a Zoo” ideas, see the full slide-show at MSN.com.

Feel free to send along photos and tips on other hotels with cool animals on-site.

Good day for dogs at Sea-Tac Airport

Pets

Here’s a good news story for dogs in Seattle, courtesy of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA).

The folks at SEA-TAC Airport needed to test out a luggage x-ray system and followed the manufacturer’s advice to use big bags of dog food and jars of peanut butter to see how the system performed.

The dog food was used to simulate weight inside baggage.  The peanut butter was a fluid stand-in to help set off the explosives alarm.

The test was a success.  And all that dog food? It’s going to local animal shelters.

Woof!

joplin

Traveling with pets: JetBlue’s JetPaws program

Etiquette, Pets,

While some airlines are making it harder to travel with your pet, JetBlue Airways is promoting its pet-friendliness.

The airline’s JetPaws pet program offers pets and their people a free, downloadable e-booklet highlighting pet-friendly hotels, restaurants, parks and animal hospitals in some of JetBlue’s destination cities and a list of Travel Petiquette guidelines, which outline the social graces of jetting with small dogs and cats.

You can read more about the JetPaws program here, but in the meantime check out this photo.

JETBLUE AIRWAYS JETPAWS PAUL & BUDDY

It’s Buddy and his owner, Paul, the winners of JetBlue’s recent “Pet Look-Alike” contest.

Here’s a link to the photos of the runners up in the pet look-alike contest.

How does your pet travel?

Greetings from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Int’l Airport (ATL)

Art, Chapels, Pets

Worried about getting stuck at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport this holiday season? An ATL elf sent along a long list of helpful “insider tips.” Some highlights:

You can get exercise and see some great artwork if you stroll along the transportation mall. The carpeted, mile and a half long corridor has a stunning collection of sculpture from Zimbabwe.

(Conversation– by Agnes Nyanhongo, courtesy ATL)

If you’re looking fro some peace and quiet, the airport’s two interfaith chapels (on Concourse E and in the terminal Atrium) are open 24-hours-a-day.

And if you’re traveling with a pet, the airport has a pet rest area with pick-up bags, a trash can, and trees (for sniffing) just outside of terminal north at the LN2 door. (Use the AA baggage area escalator on the north side of the Terminal. At the bottom of the escalator turn left toward the LN2 door. Once outside turn right and the dog walk area is just a few steps down the sidewalk.)