Announcer 1: You’re listening to PetLifeRadio.com.

Announcer 2: You’re planning a vacation and a escape from the day-to-day routine of everyday life. You're looking forward to getting pampered in some sun bathed tropical island getaway surrounded by cool balmy breezes with the soothing relaxing sounds of Calypso music playing distantly in the warm island air. Doesn’t it sound wonderful? Well, don’t leave your pets at home. They want to go, too!

Welcome to Travel Tails, the show where you'll get great travel ideas on perfect places for you and your pet, from Paris to Paradise, south of the border to the South Seas. Travel Tails will give you cool tips on fun vacation destinations to travel with your pet, pet-friendly hotels and advice on how to travel safely and happily with your furry best friends. So, get ready to pack the bags and the bones with your Travel Tails host, Susan Sims and Nicholas Sveslosky.

Susan Sims: Hi, everybody, I'm Susan Sims.

Nicholas Sveslosky: And I'm Nicholas Sveslosky. We’re your hosts for Travel Tails on Pet Life Radio. As editor and publisher of Fido Friendly Magazine, we know travel.

Susan Sims: Yes, we do, and we can't wait to share our years of dog travel experience with you during our podcast each week.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Yes, that’s right. How many years of experience would you say that is?

Susan Sims: Well, I'm older than you so let's see. Won't it be nice and say 24?

Nicholas Sveslosky: OK. We’ll move on to the next point then. Well, on today’s show, we’ll be talking about a new company that has just arrived on the scene is making it possible to fly Fido in cabin right next to you.

Susan Sims: Yes, this is so amazing. It’s a dream come true for all of our listeners who have dogs that don’t quite fit in a carrier under the seat in front of you when you fly or maybe you don’t want to put them in cargo. I know for me, I have to Labs and, well, suffice it to say they are just a tad on the huge side.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Yes, they are a little ginormous. You got one, what? I think, that’s 75 and them Maddie is over a hundred?

Susan Sims: Yes. Well, Maddie is the big brown chocolate Lab. She’s a Lab mix. We're not sure what’s she’s mix with but we kindly say she’s a donkey pig, but that’s for another show. She is big and she’s a sweet girl but I've never be able to put her on cargo because she's really frighten of the noises.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Yes. Well, I think part of her size also is due to the treats that she gets on a regular basis.

Susan Sims: OK. Guilty, I'm guilty. You've got the perfect dog.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Yes, she’s very slick but that’s, I mean, she keeps me more active than a number of these. I think that as due to both our weight sizes but, you know, the last playpen I did take with Tasha, my black Lab, was where she put in cargo. As great as the airline was making me feel confident that Tasha was well taken cared of, the only time I breathe a sigh of relief was once I saw her in her crate in the terminal. During the whole flight, you're a little bit nervous because it’s out of sight, it’s definitely not out of mind. You're worrying like, “What’s going on? Is there somebody else in the cargo area taking care of them? How are they doing if we go through any turbulence?” So, you always constantly worry about that.

Susan Sims: Yes, I know. That’s why this new company is offering their services. It’s just a God-send. I can’t wait to talk with our guests to find out all about how we can fly our dogs sitting right next to us in cabin and along with a myriad of other things that their company has to offer.

This will be an exciting show. So, sit and stay. We will be right back with more Travel Tails on Pet Life Radio.

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Nicholas Sveslosky: Welcome back to Pet Life Radio. This is Nicholas Sveslosky along with Susan Sims, your hosts for Travel Tails.

Before the break, we're talking about how great it would be if you could travel with your best friend flying in cabin next to you, not under the sit but right next to you.

Susan Sims: This is a wonderful idea and it’s about to become reality as we will find out from our guest today. Chris Shoulet and Kelly Waffle from Dog Travel Company. Chris and Kelly, hey, how are you doing?

Kelly Waffle: Hey, Susan, how are you?

Chris Shoulet: Hey, Susan, how are you?

Nicholas Sveslosky: Good!

Susan Sims: Hey, Chris and Kelly, it’s so nice to (++) to you.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Yes, welcome to the show.

Kelly Waffle: Thank you.

Chris Shoulet: Thanks, Chris.

Susan Sims: You, guys, I should probably start it up by warning our listeners that this is going to be a fund show. It might be a little chaotic as we've got four people gabbing at the same time.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Yes, I think we’ll probably need a buzz or something for us to take turns like “Me, next”.

Susan Sims: I like that. So, me next. OK. So, what we should do is we probably just start things up by telling our listeners all about the Dog Travel Company and that it is the first members only dog-friendly travel service. So, Chris, won't you take us through the concept for the Dog Travel Company and give us a little background.

Chris Shoulet: Well, the company pretty much started out of a need just like most dog owners that, you know, you don’t want to go away without taking your dog with you and you're worried about your dog while you're gone. I've gone personally through a number of different situations with bad dog sitters, bad kennel situations, you know, you name it, it happened, and I've got four dogs of my own. So, we spent a little time, did a little research, waited for some other companies to see if they would start up and do something about it and nobody seems to be moving forward. So, we took matters into our own hands.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Poor dog, that’s a pack.

Chris Shoulet: Yes, it is a pack. If they start barking, I apologize.

Susan Sims: That’s OK. We work with our Directors of Barketing everyday, so we know what that’s like. We're kind of immune to it by now, I think.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Yes. Are they the reason for starting the company as far as the inspiration to go within the cabin or as far as in the airplanes and on the trains? Or, did that developed as you, guys, went along?

Chris Shoulet: They were a big inspiration for it. I've a friend who is a pilot and I had talked to him about doing it and he had warned me about not flying them in the cargo hold. He told me some stuff about how if they need to adjust the pressure of the plane, they actually do it in the cargo hold before they’ll do it in the passenger cabin.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Oh, wow!

Chris Shoulet: Yes, which scared me. He said even though the pilot will tell you that they're not going to do it down there if you say you have a pet, but you know, if push comes to shove, that’s what they're going to do because it’s one dog versus a cabin full of people.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Right.

Chris Shoulet: That got me thinking a little bit.

Susan Sims: Well, I know that you had mentioned before you know that it looks like some companies were going to be able to get this thing off the ground, no pun intended. But, maybe, Kelly, you can try them in and give us a little more information, too, because not only are you able to get the FAA approval on this and be able to work with different airlines to make this happen. What kind of hurdles did you actually have to go through? This must have taken a long time to get from the concept to really making this happen.

Kelly Waffle: Well, we actually working with a number of private charter organizations and not the major airlines right now. But we are in discussions with the FAA because for us, one of the things that we want to make sure in going in into this is that the dogs were safe and were comfortable on the flight. As Chris mentioned before, there's just too much stress in dog can bear to when it’s packed in the cargo bay. So, even when a dog is in the cabin sitting next to its human companion or its human parents, that dog is wearing a safety harness especially designed for an airplane. So, the dog is protected and won't just jump out or anything like that. We also go through a number of steps beforehand to make sure that the other dogs that are on the plane don’t have any kind of malicious behavior that they can respond to certain basic commands. We try to socialize the dogs a little bit before they get on the plane so that it’s just not bad chaos, (++) just rushing on to the plane.

We offer two kinds of things. We have the 737s which are for our longer flights from let's say, New York and New Jersey to California. Then, we also have a series of smaller jets that can accommodate somewhere between 6-12 people and those fly between, you know, like Chicago and New York or New York and Boston or Washington DC and Atlanta, those kinds of route.

Nicholas Sveslosky: OK. Are these going to be any special type of airports that people are going to have to go to or are they some of the main once like JFK or La Guardia?

Chris Shoulet: I can jump in that. We will be flying in to those in some occasions but we’ll also be flying into some of the smaller ones, too, like Atlantic City, Tahoe, Long Beach will probably be fine. Actually, we’ll be flying into Long Beach, La Guardia. We can fly into the big ones. Down in the holiday season, it can be a little bit tough with the TSA and security protocols and everything because the dogs have to go through security as well as the humans.

Susan Sims: Oh, wow!

Chris Shoulet: Yes. If you've got a large line of people there, the dogs might get a little anxious. So, they’ve been trying to accommodate us as far as taking us in a different way or working with us go into security.

Susan Sims: There was a moment when Nicholas was in California and I was in Idaho when his dog was here and we were shipping her on cargo and we actually didn’t go to the main terminal. We went to, I don’t know what they call it, it was right next to the main terminal, but it was more like a cargo holding area, something like that. So, would it be something like that where people would go where they maybe checking in and then getting their dogs and going to a different spot then?

Chris Shoulet: No. The dogs will be with their owners the entire time right through the ship. You’ll never have your dog leave your side. They maybe pulled aside for maybe 10 feet away from you when they go through security by one of the TSA agents, as they pat them down, but the dog’s going to be with you the entire time.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Oh, great! Yes, that’s pretty good especially when – I'm just kind of envisioning how this sort of work – if you, guys, had any layovers or stopovers, the dog’s always with you and you never have to worry about, “What’s going on? Are they being transferred?” Or, worried about a lost pet.

Chris Shoulet: Absolutely.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Yes, are these flights direct or do they actually break it up if it’s going cross-country?

Kelly Waffle: The majority of the flights will be direct and depending on the routing and we try to extend the pulse of market demands depending on how our routing goes to maybe times when we have to have an indirect flight. The way that we're setting up the company is that the majority of them are direct flights so that you are sitting right next to your dog or your dogs during the whole flight.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Chris, when they come on board, do you give them some sort of – I mean, even before, I would imagine that you even want to sign up for the flight – do you give the pet guardians some sort of advice of how to arrive at the airport, how they go through security, you know, almost like pet etiquette on giving them the rules and guidelines of traveling with their dogs on the plane?

Chris Shoulet: Absolutely. They’ll get a handout that will arrive on the mail prior when they get their tickets and it will go through the step by step the entire process of where they’d go, where we’re going to meet, any ticketing information, any boarding, about safety harnesses that they have to wear, the protocol, what happens when they get there. We're going to take the dogs and socialize them for a brief period of time; give them a chance to relieve themselves before they get on the plane as well and kind of (++) them to the entire flight; the boarding process so that we don’t have a big back up. You know, how when you're boarding and there's a big clamp of people standing there, hovering…

Nicholas Sveslosky: Right.

Chris Shoulet: …get on the plane, and they do the preboarding for small children. We're going to actually preboard the whole plane like they do with small children although they’ll start in the back and go aisle to aisle so we don’t have any traffic jams on the plane and everybody can get their dogs situated and strapped in and ready to fly.

Susan Sims: That’s quite a visual. I know a lot of the airports now, they're getting more and more to where they're offering doggies stations and places where they can take your dogs to relieve themselves. So, I've got to ask – I think it’s Kelly’s turn – so Kelly, I've got to ask, what if they have to go to the bathroom? Let's just say they relieve themselves before they got on the plane the dogs but they're up in the air and maybe they're nervous. What do you have in place for the dogs to go to the bathroom?

Kelly Waffle: Yes. We we've got a great portable potty system that’s actually developed that uses sud (?) and normally spray that with fair amount and so forth so that the dog adapts to that. Then, there’s a filtering system underneath that. So, we try to have the owners take care of their dogs before the flight. You know, we have a situation so that we can accommodate them as well.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Is there actually a section in the back of the plane that has this? Visually, what is it look like?

Kelly Waffle: It’ll be like a container. It’s probably 2-3 feet by 2-3 feet and we will probably take out a row of the seats in the plane and put it in there or a lot of times in the plane, there’s like a second gulley area and we may have it back there.

Nicholas Sveslosky: OK. These places are specifically designed for this type of flight, is that correct?

Chris Shoulet: The same configuration of a regular 737 will be or a regular plane will be. We have an, other than taking out a row of seats on certain planes, where we can put the potties in the back. The planes can be in the same exact configuration.

Susan Sims: For people like you, Chris, that have four dogs, is a dog, is it going to be ratio dog to person?

Chris Shoulet: Yes. I have to buy babies. We do have a dog service, too, for people like me because when you need to (++). Well, if there’s ever an emergency on the plane, we need to make sure that each dog can be taken off and its owner can get out safely.

Susan Sims: I know, when people go to your website, DogTravelCompany.net, that they’ll be able to look at all the things that you have to offer. But, what’s your first trip? What is that plan? Where that’s get worse I'm going to fly out of?

Kelly Waffle: Again, we have two flavors of flights. So, we've got these smaller Lear jets flights and those are running all the time. Once we get a commitment of certain amount of people going to a destination such as Boston from New York, that plane is ready to go. Then, on the 737s, we've got flights that are scheduled, one of the persons we had was from Atlantic City up to Toronto, Canada. Then, like you were saying earlier, beyond just the flights, if you go to our website, because it is a member-based dog travel club, we offer a number of different benefits to our members including vacation packages, products and services, discounts on things. So, that flight to Toronto also includes the ability to package with a canoe trip that you can take in Canada with your dogs with an organization that dealt with dogs all the time. You would go out and you're petting with your dog or stay out in a hotel or whatever. They have a number of different day trips that they do with the dogs in an around lakes and things like that.

Susan Sims: That’s really fun. That’s fun. I think, over the last 7 years in Fido Friendly Magazine, we've done a couple of different reviews on those types of destinations. Adventure destinations really with your dogs because if you think about it, a lot of people just think, “I'm going to go and I'm going to go to this little town and I'm going to experience this town. I'm going to stay at this Fido-friendly hotel and I'm going to walk around and I'm going to go and see some shops, maybe Fido al fresco, find a restaurant. But, when you really think about it, there are so much more that you can do with your dog. How many people really realize that they can actually go on a canoe trip with their dog and learn how to have your dog in a canoe.

I tried that once with my husband and I, we had our two dogs and we were going to get in the canoe and we didn’t think anything of it. The guy kind of watched us as soon as we got at the middle of the lake, it was chaos. I mean, we had no clue. Our big dog, she stood up and she decided she’d look to the side. Well, every time she’d stood up and leaned over the side, the canoe would start to tilt! So, we were trying to get her stationed, and then, meantime, the other dog decided she wanted to jump in the water and it was hysterical! The guy on the shore just was laughing and he says, “Just stay right where you are. I’ll come out and help you.” Anyway, he ended up watching our dogs for an hour while we paddled in the canoe. It was pretty funny.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Yes. I think that whole canoeing trip is definitely a team communicative effort and I stood by helplessly watching in a one-person kayak as these two went in circles in the middle of the lake. It’s a good bonding experience.

Susan Sims: Yes, it was a great bonding experience and we had life jackets on our dogs so we were able to grab the little hooks on them. I don’t know, I just think there's just so much more for people to do and the fact that the Dog Travel Company is here now and is able to really take that next step and help the pet guardians get out and think outside of the boxes, it is. This is so exciting because this is the first ever company that’s actually following through with this fabulous idea.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Yes. I think it’s great. Yes, you, guys, even go beyond airplanes and you involve trains as well. Is that correct?

Chris Shoulet: That is true. We've got a couple of trains that we’ll be working with. We've got one that will go from Chicago down the East Coast, up to New York, down to DC all the way down to Miami. It will also follow the other trains down there for those who’ll go down to Florida, for those winter months and then come back in the spring months. That way, they can take their dogs and their cars.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Wow!

Chris Shoulet: Eventually, have them going cross-country to – we’re working with some of the breed-specific groups. So, we’ve been contacted by a few of them about transporting to dog shows as well. The specific trains that we're working with right now has four cars to sleeper cars, coach car and then a car that will be filled with grass so the dogs can play on it.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Oh, that’s perfect!

Chris Shoulet: Yes.

Nicholas Sveslosky: That’s perfect. So, in the sleeper cars, you know, the only sleeper car that I've been in was in Europe where you’ll have bunk beds all the way up. Imagine that this is as little bit different or is it the same?

Chris Shoulet: It’s the same. I mean, they're not a luxurious sleeper car by any stretch of the imagination, but you've got two bunk beds and you can lie down. There’s enough room for the dog to land on the floor and maybe can maneuver around it. There’s a little rest area, you've got a private toilet, I think, in there and then, there's a shower at the end of the car. It’s kind of shared, but everybody seems to be able to get along.

Nicholas Sveslosky: It will work out OK.

Chris Shoulet: Yes. It’s a (++) out.

Susan Sims: Yes. We're going to take a quick break, guys. When we come back, we're going to find out even more about the Dog Travel Company, the member benefits and in cost involved and all that good stuff. So, you sit and stay. We're going to be right back with more Travel Tails on Pet Life Radio.

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Nicholas Sveslosky: Welcome back to Per Life Radio. This is Nicholas Sveslosky along with Susan Sims, your hosts for Travel Tails. Right before the break, we were getting into the very important question about price. Chris, I’ve a question. As far as signing up for a membership package, do you have to be a member of the Dog Travel Company in order to take a flight? Or, can you do kind of like a one Zs and two Zs(?) type of thing?

Chris Shoulet: No. You actually have to be a member of the Dog Travel Company Club to be able to fly with us. Membership isn’t that expensive. A regular membership is $49.95 and in addition to having the benefits of traveling with your dog, you’ll also get a number of other benefits. We have a program called Pet Promise, which is, and guardian notification program. So, if you're ever in an accident and you're incapacitated and you can't get home to take care of your animals because you've gone to the hospital, the emergency rescue people can actually notify your appointed pet guardians and they’ll go over, take care of your pets, makes sure that that’s (++) and they're being led out and everything.

Nicholas Sveslosky: That’s a great service.

Chris Shoulet: Yes, and that’s free with your membership. So, for somebody who is single and have four animals, that’s kind of priceless.

Susan Sims: Yes, whose idea that was?

Chris Shoulet: I don’t know. I don’t know, some strange person.

Susan Sims: Yes

Chris Shoulet: We also have other benefits. We've got an online store and members have deep discounts on a number of very unique pet items as well as some of the basics like poop bags where you can get them cheaper than from your economy store and that’s one of the big member benefits, too. We also have discounts on pet insurance as well as travel insurance. We've worked with a couple of good companies and we team up with hotels and rental car services, too, that are dog-friendly.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Wow!

Chris Shoulet: There are a lot of benefits, not just the airplanes and the trains.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Yes.

Susan Sims: I think just as – maybe, Kelly, you can speak to this but – I understand you have all different flights and you have all different itineraries and you have groups, maybe just an idea of one of the flights that you, guys, have in the works. Maybe you can give us like a price that people can kind of get their minds about, what they're looking at as far as what that flight will cost them to go and take their dog.

Kelly Waffle: The price is going to vary depending on the flight, but the way I explain to people, it’s similar to flying business class and the way that it was set up is that you have to buy a ticket for yourself and for each dog because the dog does sit in the same seat with the harness on it.

Nicholas Sveslosky: That makes sense.

Kelly Waffle: So, your tickets won't be the same just like flying coach.

Susan Sims: OK.

Kelly Waffle: But, there won't be six persons as flying first class either.

Susan Sims: Yes, go ahead and just go and stack up, we're not going to hold you to it but just so people can get an idea.

Chris Shoulet: I do have some sample pricing ranges. One way from New York to LA will be somewhere between $600 and $730 and that’s one way. New York to Bahamas will be somewhere between like $670 to $730 or so.

Susan Sims: I'm going to shoot that one.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Yes, that’s the one I'm scheduling.

Chris Shoulet: Those are the ones. You know, they're business class rates.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Right. That isn’t bad especially for – you know, just that extra security of knowing your dog is right there and the dog is your companion. I mean, it’s your buddy that’s going to be taking this trip with you. It’s seems well worth just for the peace of mind and the overall less stress fill of having to travel with your dog. I think it’s well worth it.

Kelly Waffle: As we were forming the company, we did a lot of market research and a lot of the services that we were looking at were kind of astounding where it would go out and survey thousands of members of different associations that are related to dogs and pets. We would look at numbers where 61% of the people that responded to a survey would rather spend their time with their dog than with their spouse.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Wow! I think I know some of those people in that survey.

Kelly Waffle: Exactly. You know, they love their dog more than they love their children. 88% of the people make sure that they celebrate their dog’s birthday every year with a party and guests. So, the whole point of this was that there is a dog (++). You immediately understand that and a cliché like that and you're willing to spend a little bit of extra money to make sure that your dog is comfortable and safe and can deal with you on that trip especially if you're flying to a destination where the dog therapy disorder or things like that. You can have a great time and you’re not leaving your dog behind with a sitter or in a kennel or whatever.

Susan Sims: Right, and people have to remember, too, that there is a cost when you do leave your dog behind, not just an emotional cost but financially. The interesting thing to me is that while I was on a flight recently and a gal was with her dog and I found out that there was an emotional therapy dog. We may not have a doctor’s prescription .

There’s your friend helping us out!

Chris Shoulet: I needed it, but if you want to listen. I’ll let you listen.

Susan Sims: Yes, go ahead.

Nicholas Sveslosky: That’s accepting ...

Susan Sims: He probably wants to say, “Don’t forget me” but I think, it hits home for all of us who really miss our dogs when we travel and there were times when I have to leave or when we have to leave our dogs at home. You know, we’ll cut our trip short. We’ll talk about the dogs. Oh, my God, you can't even get out of the driveway when you start missing your dogs. So, the same(?) is out there and we've heard a lot. Pets are part of the family and, you know, they make you feel good. I think that the pet guardians out there who’ve been wanting to have something like this that they can finally get to take their pet on a plane or a train just like that John Candy movie, you know, “Plane, Trains and Automobiles”.

You, guys, are a Godsend. I really mean that and I'm so excited to be able to have you, guys, on this podcast and just kind of get people excited to go to your website and find out more.

Chris Shoulet: Right. We're really excited to get going, too, and get it started.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Yes. When is your inaugural flight?

Chris Shoulet: We've got the smaller flights, the shorter flights are going now. They're available right now.

Nicholas Sveslosky: OK.

Chris Shoulet: Then, our big take off flight, we're probably going to have one from New York to LA and then we’ll have the one going up to Toronto is scheduled for, I think, June. We’ll start flying, I believe, it’s late spring or early summer.

Nicholas Sveslosky: OK. Perfect.

Chris Shoulet: With the big flight, that is.

Nicholas Sveslosky: The 737s?

Chris Shoulet: Yes.

Nicholas Sveslosky: OK. Perfect. Well, you know, right now, as people are getting ready for, well, we’re well into the holiday season and giving all those Christmas gifts. This membership actually sounds like it will make a great Christmas gift. Do you have gift cards available on your website for our listeners to purchase right now?

Kelly Waffle: The great news is that we are offering a special intro price for this till the end of the year. As we mentioned earlier, our typical membership cost for one human and one dog is $49.95. But right now, we are offering kind of a “Welcome Aboard” intro promotions for $35.95.

Susan Sims: Oh, my gosh!

Nicholas Sveslosky: Perfect!

Kelly Waffle: If you look at that and then, if you go to our site and you look at the whole worth of benefits, you'd want to become a member. It’s kind of a no-brainer to say, “Well, I’ll get a lot more value more than what I'm paying for the card.”

Nicholas Sveslosky: That’s perfect.

Susan Sims: Yes. I think I know what I want in my stocking this year.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Yes.

Chris Shoulet: It is the perfect stocking stuffer.

Susan Sims: It really is. So, everybody out there, go to DogTravelCompany.net. Don’t get confuse with dot-com, it’s dot-net. Chris and Kelly, thank you so much for joining us today. You offer a much needed service and I hope to see you in our train or plane or an automobile soon.

Chris Shoulet: Absolutely. Thank you, guys, for having us.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Oh, perfect. Thank you.

Kelly Waffle: Thank you, Susan, and thank you, Nick.

Susan Sims: We're going to take a break and when we come back, we’ll have your Fido Friendly travel tips. So, sit and stay, we’ll be right back with more Travel Tails on Pet Life Radio.

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Nicholas Sveslosky: Welcome back to Pet Life Radio. This is Nicholas Sveslosky, along with Susan Sims, your hosts for Travel Tails. Before the break, we were just finishing our talk with Chris Shoulet and Kelly Waffle from Dog Travel Company about their new members-only dog-friendly travel service and what a great company, what a great concept being able to really get out there and fly with your dog right next to you, not having to worry about them being down below or going on a train trip with them. There’s a lot of good direction that’s coming out of this company. So, I'm really looking forward to seeing this company grow.

Susan Sims: I am, too. I'd like to be on their inaugural flight and their first train excursion as well because just to see these dogs, I mean, you’ll going to be able to see all these joy and expressions that dogs have when they're having a good time and it’s going to be crazy.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Well, could you imagine just the take off? I mean, it’s fun to watch a little kid when you're taking out of an airplane off the ground for the first time and they have that smile. Just to be next to your dog to see what’s going on. Of course, there may be some dogs that have adverse anxiety just because they don’t know what the heck is going on. But that feeling, I could just see Tasha grinning ear to ear this huge canine smile.

Susan Sims: Yes, everybody just don’t know your dog and know if this would be enjoying for them or if it would torture.

Nicholas Sveslosky: What do you think Maddie and Zoe, do you think they will enjoy it?

Susan Sims: Yes. I think Maddie, she’s got anxiety when it comes to loud noises.

Nicholas Sveslosky: She thinks hot air balloons are wild dragons, doesn’t she?

Susan Sims: Yes. It would be kind of interesting. But anyway, I think the Dog Travel Company, the membership card that they have, it’s going to make a great Christmas gift and it’s something everyone will be able to use and enjoy. You know, for the pet guardian that has everything, this is something that they don’t have and it’s something that hey’ll have a lot of fun with.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Yes, and speaking of Christmas time, this brings us to our Fido Friendly travel tip. Around the holidays, we always worry about dinners and extra commotions and a lot of things lain out for decorations and a lot of different types of foods. We always hear what is toxic to dogs and we kind of hear, it’s almost like floating knowledge of “Beware, don’t have your dog eat this.” Chocolate comes to mind right away, raisins is another. But did you also know that one of the other hazards especially on holiday time, are poinsettias. So, you've got to be careful if your dog, if Fidos sniff around the poinsettias too much, make sure they're not chowing down on that or not because you could have some adverse effects later on.

Susan Sims: Yes, that’s actually a good tip. I didn’t really know that and I think everybody knows about chocolate. I think that’s probably the number one that people know that chocolate can be toxic. When planning your holidays and you're getting all your decorations out, obviously, you've got to keep Fido away from the tree because you don’t want them eat the ornaments and so on and so forth. You know, the poinsettia is usually a decorative plant. They should got to be put maybe in your fireplace, maybe by the doorway. If you're going to leave Fido at home, it’s probably a good idea to put that in some place out of their reach when you're not there to monitor them. That’s a good tip.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Yes, you know, I always thought when I look at poinsettias that they look fake. I always thought they were fake plants, even growing up until as older. They seem to last forever. I don’t know what it is about them, but it’s like they don’t go away.

Susan Sims: I know, I know. But hey, that was a good advice as always and if you would like to find out more about today’s topic, so you were just about traveling with Fido, you can go online to FidoFriendly.com. To subscribers, stop in your local Borders, Barnes and Nobles or PetsMart and pick up a copy of Fido Friendly today. I think on that travel tip, Nicholas, didn’t you say that something’s going to be included in the January-February issue of Fido Friendly?

Nicholas Sveslosky: Yes, that’s great. Thank you for reminding me, Susan.

Susan Sims: You're welcome.

Nicholas Sveslosky: But, as publisher, you must keep the editor in line at all times.

Susan Sims: At all times.

Nicholas Sveslosky: What we're going to do is we're going to have a great FAQ pages. It’s going to talk about traveling abroad and within the country, on what you need to know and what websites you can go to for further information. We're also going to have a list of the toxic foods that maybe you're not so much aware of. There’s a lot of houseplants that Fido shouldn’t be around. A lot of other types of foods, onions, garlic in large quantities and things like that that will be really good useful tips. We’re going to put them in the January-February issue and we're also going to put that online in December.

Susan Sims: OK. So everybody, if you're not subscribing to Fido Friendly, go to FidoFriendly.com and make sure you get the January-February issue and we will be glad to hear from you with questions and comments. So, feel free to e-mail us at Pet Life Radio.

Until next time, safe travels, leave no dog behind. This is Susan Sims along with Nicholas Sveslosky for Travel Tails on Pet Life Radio.

Announcer: Pet Life Radio presents Travel Tails, the show where you’ll get great travel ideas on perfect places for you and your pet, from Paris to Paradise, south of the border to the South Seas. Travel Tails will give you cool tips on fun vacation destinations to travel with your pet – pet-friendly hotels and advice on how to travel safely and happily with your furry best friends. So, get ready to pack the bags and the bones with your Travel Tails hosts, Susan Sims and Nicholas Sveslosky every week on demand only on PetLifeRadio.com.