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Now that we are passing the Memorial Day weekend, summer is at the door, and in many cases people and pets are already experiencing 80 – 90 degree temperatures. Susie wants everyone to be aware of the dangers inherent in warm weather for her and her animal friends. 

The week seemed to fly by and the time had come to leave camp and head north through Vermont to Canada. Susie had a fun and productive week and had made many new friends, both canine and human. She was going to miss her camp buddies especially Brie, Lucy, Rascal, Digby and another Aussie, Phil a blue merle from the Bronx. 

Here's my question – do you think you can stay in a boutique hotel in mid-town Atlanta for under $200? The answer is a resounding YES! Now is it going to be 5 star – no, but how about 3 star in the best possible way? Check yourself into the Artmore Hotel built in 1924, sitting among the high rise buildings across from a MARTA station. Their address is 1302 W. Peachtree St., so you are close to the High Museum of Art, lots of great bars and restaurants and in the center of Atlanta's Cultural Arts District. It has an old Hollywood vibe with lots of black and white framed art of music and movie star icons.

Looking for an incredible place to enjoy luxury accommodations for both you and your pet, the Allison Inn & Spa in Oregon’s Willamette Valley is a great place to stay. The Inn is listed as one of the top pet friendly hotels in the United States.  There is a one-time fee of $50 per pet whether you stay a night, weekend or spend a week enjoying the Spa and Oregon’s wine country.

This coming week join us in celebrating “National Take Your Dog to Work Day” on Friday, June 20. If at all possible, take your dog with you on a short trip to your office or other place of work. Share your best friend with your coworkers and give him/her the opportunity to have another good socialization experience. 

After mulling over the camp offerings on Sunday evening, we decided to enroll in four activities: Herding, Interpreting Your Dog’s Body Language, Loose Leash Walking, and Really Reliable Recall. Later in the week we added the Tricks class and a lecture on the herding whistle. Following the early 5 pm Sunday dinner, everyone had a chance to meet the instructors to ask questions about the classes and activities.

Worth mention for travelers is the BEM Gift Shop at exit (19) of Quebec 20 heading out of Montreal.  The location is very close to the highway and offers easy access and return to the road.

Susie is on point for the New Year to start running out of the gate with her New Year’s resolutions for 2014. The question is – has she bitten off more than she can chew? 

Susie has for the moment declared a truce with all rabbits to focus on the need to have a safe holiday season with pets and their human companions. Whether it is Easter, Passover or Holy Week, there is a plethora of extra activity and extra holiday goodies to keep an eye on. Susie, like most dogs, has a set policy, if it falls on the floor it is legally mine. This means humans who have pets need to be especially watchful over what does fall on the floor or is accessible to their pets – whether they are dogs, cats, ferrets, pigs, iguanas and so on.

Susie wants to let everyone know about an amazing boutique hotel in Glen Ellen, California – the Olea Hotel, which only has twelve rooms, three of which are pet friendly.

Time, 3338 miles, 7 states, 2 provinces, and hundreds of dog treats fly by quickly when you’re having fun! But every great journey has a beginning and begins with the first steps. Susie was born ready, and turned out to be a great traveler. She and her pal, Lambchop, were packed and ready to roll.

We had reached the halfway point of our day trip and would soon need to head back to camp in Vermont. Riding down the Maine coast there was an old fort marked on the map that looked interesting, Fort McClary at Kittery Point, so we decided to have a look. 

Dog Mountain came to our attention when Susie and I were at Camp Gone to the Dogs.  The proceeds from an auction at the end of our week at camp were dedicated to the support of Dog Mountain in northeastern Vermont near St.Johnsbury. Unfortunately our schedule did not allow for a visit on this trip, since we were traveling up the western side of the state into Canada on our way to Montreal.

It's always great fun to tell you about these hidden treasures that I find in various locations. This one happens to be in sunny Florida – Ft. Myers to be exact. I find the gulf side to be more serene and I am partial to white sand.

I am also partial to great hospitality and that's exactly what you'll find at the Mango Street Inn. Here you arrive as a guest, but leave as a friend and let's face it, as Boomers, these types of experiences sometimes mean more than fancy amenities.

If you and your dog want to have an incredible southwest adventure, this is the place. The Sunglow Ranch is rated in one list as one of the ten most pet friendly lodgings in the United States.

After a night of rest in Albany, NY, Susie was ready to roll to dog camp registration at the camp located at Marlboro College in Marlboro, VT. Fortunately the patrol team was only 70 miles away, so could make a leisurely drive to Marlboro taking in the interesting sites and places along the way. Registration was from 12:30 to 2:30 pm so we had time to have a good breakfast, load up and enjoy the drive down NY 7 and VT 9.

Well, here's one for the guys and for the ladies who love their cars. The V8 Hotel in Stuttgart, Germany is located in the old former Stuttgart airport building near Meilenwerk, where classic cars are available for viewing or purchasing – this was the airport hangar from the 1920's. There is not much in the immediate vicinity, but it is right by the Autobahn and 10 minutes from town. The bottom line is to come to this location by car and  there is ample free parking at the hotel.

Of course I am slightly prejudiced, but I have never had a sweeter canine or feline companion as Susie Sweet Dog.  The moment we first met on a large horse farm in northern Georgia she came out to meet me and put her head in my lap and looked at me with those big brown eyes. It was over – she had finally found her permanent home at the age of 4 ½. 

When you pull up to the Moonrise Hotel, you have the feeling that you just arrived in Miami’s South Beach, well, except for the beach part. There’s an art deco/neon sign kind of vibe – very funky and cool and very George Jetson! This is such a find in St. Louis that it’s worth a trip to this city even if you have no reason to be there. Now, there’s plenty to see in St. Louis, so I’m sure you will want to visit anyway.

Susie has been concerned for some time of stories she has heard about pets taken on airline flights. A recent news item has brought this concern to the front again as the DOT (Department of Transportation) has just expanded the rules requiring the reporting of incidents involving live animals during flights.  The rules only apply to dogs and cats. These new regulations will take effect on January 1, 2015.

On Saturday, June 1, the team left Erie to drive to Albany, NY to be close to the camp the night before our arrival in Vermont. Albany was a good stopping point because it put us within 70 miles of Marlboro for an easy drive to registration between 12:30 and 2:30 pm on Sunday.

In our camp orientation package we were told not only of the activities and classes available at the camp, but also information about the attractions in the Marlboro vicinity. One of these attractions, Hogback Mountain, bore checking out, as the papers mentioned that it offered an incredible view.

As boomers we have seen the unfortunate disappearance of many of the smaller local drive-ins, diners, restaurants, and quaint local motels that we grew to love as children. Also many of the small shops and stores have also bitten the dust.  I remember the joy of going up to the neighborhood Rexall soda fountain for a chocolate or cherry coke, looking at the latest comic books and then walking down to the Woolworth’s five and dime where I could buy some new toy figures and soldiers that we used in our creation of new worlds in the family den during bad weather.

In the process of bringing Beau into his new home and as a member of the Pet Patrol, we have come across a neater method of potty training a puppy as well as giving us an idea to share for pet travel. Obviously cat owners are familiar with the ole litter box, and if they travel with their cat the litter box comes with to take care of their cat’s needs in the hotel room or RV.