Announcer: [music] You are listening to PetLifeRadio.com

Announcer: [with music in the background] You are planning a vacation: An escape from the day-to-day routine of everyday life. You are looking forward to getting pampered in some Sunday tropical island getaway surrounded by cool balmy breezes with the soothing relaxing sounds of Calypso music ringing 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 advise on how to travel safely and happily with your very best friends. So get ready to pack your bags and the bones with your Travel Tails hosts Susan Sims and Nicholas Sveslosky:

Susan Sims: Hi everybody, I’m Susan Sims

Nicholas Sveslosky: And I am Nicholas Sveslosky. We’re your hosts for Travel Tails on Pet Life Radio. You know, as editor and publisher of  “Fido Friendly” magazine, we know travel.

Susan Sims: Yeah right, and you know we can never wait to share our years of dog travel experience with you during our Pod cast each week.

Nicholas Sveslosky: And I’m excited on today’s show we will be talking about going green with Fido.

Susan Sims: Yeah, I really love this topic. Going green is the buzzword for 2008 and for those of us who were children in the ‘60s. And that’s not you Nicholas…

Nicholas Sveslosky: [laughs] Oh, thank you.

Susan Sims: But for me, we grew up recycling. But this growing green to live an eco-friendly lifestyle is good for us, good for the planet, and good for Fido.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Yeah, you know its funny, and this might date me a little bit but when I first heard the term “going green” I thought somebody was getting sick.

[Susan laughs]

I had no idea it had to do with conservation efforts. I mean I really like it and I agree I think that just making that conscious decision to investigate how we can do our part doesn’t take a lot of work. You can go online, you can search on Google or something like that “going green” and get a ton of information. In fact, our upcoming issue of “Fido Friendly Magazine” that’s due in March has this very same focus. 

Susan Sims: And if your New Year’s resolution was to travel more with Fido we will not only talk about making your trips fun and eco-friendly but on today’s show we will also name our Fido friendly Hotel. So sit and stay. We will be right back with more Travel Tails on Pet Life Radio.

Voice 1: Attention passengers! Please fasten your seatbelts and put your seat pals and sleeping pets in their full upright position and prepare for takeoff.

Woman 1: Travel Tails will be zooming back with more travel tips right after this.

[commercial]

Man 1: Let’s talk pets on PetLifeRadio.com

Voice 1: Attention passengers! We are now approaching our final destination. The weather is sunny and warm. Ocean temperature is a balmy 80 degrees for those of you wishing to doggy paddle. Please exit to the front and see our activities directors Susan and Nicholas on your way out. Have a pleasant stay.

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

You know, before the break we were talking about going green with Fido when you travel.

Susan Sims: I know and as we had said its kind of the buzzword for 2008 but there are emerging on the scene eco-friendly products that are allowing your pets to go green right along side the family.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Exactly. You know, before we hit the road with Fido we should begin our green adventure at home starting with your pet’s waste. 

Susan Sims: Ew! Ew! [laughs]

Nicholas Sveslosky: This might not be a topic first on your list, but when you are picking up with your dog there are a couple of things you might want to keep in your mind. How you dispose of waste makes a big difference in our environment so be sure to keep in mind that using bags to pick up the poop-don’t use plastic but use biodegradable bags. And if you want to keep going one step further, there is a great product called “Poo Converter”. There is something about the word “poo” that I just don’t like.

[laughter]

I think just saying it makes me feel uncomfortable like I should be finding another word for it so we are going to do something very unique on the show. We are going to make a contest. So if you can count the number of times that we say this magic word “poo” or a version of “poo” like “poop” then we will give you a free subscription to Fido Friendly Magazine for one year. So if you can count the total number and email us at PetLifeRadio.com we will be able to send you a one free year subscription to Fido Friendly Magazine.

Susan Sims: Gosh, that’s awfully generous of you!

Nicholas Sveslosky: Hey, you know, I’m in the mood.

[laughter]

Susan Sims: Well, you know the “Poo Converter” what I like about this contraption (I like it for a lot of reasons) but not only do you recycle your pet’s waste by turning it into fertilizer for your garden but you give thousands of worms a job and we all know that the unemployment rate for worms is high. But seriously according to their website [laughs]. I mean, I know we are just silly today but poop and poo and worms, you know are…is not what you are expecting to hear from us about our travel show …

Nicholas Sveslosky: It’s a good course. It’s a good course for a radio show. I like it.

Susan Sims: Yeah, I kind of like it too. What I like about this if you look at their website they have this (you know its all eco-friendly) but it says there is no need for chemicals. And what this is, it’s actually a worm bin, which harnesses the power of nature to recycle pet-droppings into worm castings and liquid manure. And they refer to this as compost tea. So the tea is often referred to by gardeners as “liquid gold”. It’s highly concentrated and can be mixed one part tea to four parts water. What happens is the worms are used to convert the poo into castings. It’s an incredibly nutrient rich soil amendment and because the worms eat the bacteria there is no odor. So, and the unit is really cool. It’s easy to set up, it takes very little space and it comes completely with instructions provided and they also give you a thousand red worms and that’s pretty cool.

Nicholas Sveslosky: I like that. So, ok, let me get this straight. You place the poo converter in the backyard and you just toss the dog’s waste inside and let the worms go to work?

Susan Sims: Well, yeah, that’s pretty much it. I mean, it’s so simple; you have to imagine “there must be a catch”. But you know, it’s interesting because the size of the bin it can on average can handle two medium dogs. So, you know you have to take into account what you think of is medium, like you think Chihuahua versus Great Dane but the greater amount of droppings recycled through the bin, the faster the castings will build up. And the worm castings can then be easily harvested as per their instructions and you can use that around the flower garden or in potting mixes.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Well, you know, I can’t imagine if you had a Great Dane, I think you would need like “super size me” on the worm bin or something like that?

[laughter]

Susan Sims: Yeah, he’d have to have his own Poo Converter.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Yeah, [laughs] I think so. Does it just for him. But, ok. Well, that’s a really good product and it makes a lot of sense and especially since sometimes when I got to take the poo can out I got to bring it around the side of the house. You know, plug my nose and hope to hold my breath for a couple of minutes just so I don’t inhale anything. So if the worms take care of all that, I’m all behind the product. You can find the Pet Poo Converter. Its at PlanetNatural.com and you can also surf their website to find, you know, organic fertilizers, natural pests control, the compost bins and natural cleaning products.

Susan Sims: Yeah, I like that. And everybody, we’re going to list these at the end of the show and also on the website so you don’t have to be taking notes right now. We’re going to take another break and when we come back we will talk more about going green with Fido. And introduce you to a popular Hotel chain that has taken the green movement with Fido to heart. So sit and stay. We’ll be right back with more Travel Tails on Pet Life Radio.

[music]

Voice 1: Attention passengers! Please fasten your seatbelts and put your seat pals and sleeping pets in their full upright position and prepare for takeoff.

Woman 1: Travel Tails will be zooming back with more travel tips right after this.

[commercial]

Voice 1: Attention passengers! We are now approaching our final destination. The weather is sunny and warm. Ocean temperature is a balmy 80 degrees for those of you wishing to doggy paddle. Please exit to the front and see our activities directors Susan and Nicholas on your way out. Have a pleasant stay.

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

Today’s show is about “Going Green with Fido” and we touched upon the importance of using biodegradable pet wastes bags and also the use of the Pet Poo Converter (which I hope everybody is keeping count of the times we say that magic word). But the Pet Poo Converter is where you put a thousand worms to work turning your pet’s waste into a garden fertilizer.

Susan Sims: Yeah, and actually we are kind of working at our garden. We just had our landscaping put in last year and we put a designated garden area out there so I’m really excited about that Poo Converter. I think that is perfect for us and the two dogs Labs, Zoe and Mattie.  They have quite a bit of land that they can run around so it takes
a lot of time going after them but this makes it all worthwhile. So…

Nicholas Sveslosky: I think if you are in your backyard you just got to make sure you mind the land mines.

[laughter]

Because you’ve got Zoe and Mattie and you got quite a big backyard so if it’s dark or anything like that I’d make sure I like Tasha go in front of me because somehow, I don’t know how dogs do it but they usually can avoid the waste. It’s amazing.

Susan Sims: Yeah, I’ve seen that happen too and I have had some kind of like bat radar or something like that.

Nicholas Sveslosky: [laughs] Yeah, they send out their signal.

Susan Sims: Yeah. Well, anyway this is a good start on “Going Green with Fido” and now that you are ready to hit the road with your furry companion, you’ll be sure to bring along some biodegradable pick up bags like those you can find at PoopBags.com. Another item on your list if you don’t want to worry about shampoo for your dog is a great product from EarthBath.com. EarthBath has come up with a travel friendly, (it’s totally natural) grooming wipes and you can use these as a bath alternative when you are on the road with your dog.  

Nicholas Sveslosky: Yes, I absolutely love this idea when traveling with my black Lab Tasha since she is probably one of the most active dogs (and I’m not just being partial she is one of the most active dogs I’ve ever seen). I mean, that’s kind of specific with the black Lab breed but as long as you hone in what time they are supposed to be active it’s very manageable. So, with using these wipes, I can simply clean her paws or really give her good once over if she happens to jump in a nearby pond, which is pretty, much bound to happen.

[laughter]

So what’s really great about this product too is that they contain only natural cleansers and conditioners. It comes in a green tea leaf fragrance or a hypo-allergenic fragrance-free. So Tasha has a little bit of sensitive skin, this is perfect for her.

Susan Sims: Yeah it is and you know, I love this website. This is one of the websites we found when we were researching for the show. And you can check out EarthBath.com for more products for your green quest. As they state on their website all EarthBath products are 100 percent biodegradable and they are free of phosphates and enzymes and are animal cruelty free. So this is a fantastic site. When you are really raising your consciousness about Going Green with Fido. So you’ll want to check out EarthBath.com.
Nicholas Sveslosky: We had a lot of fun researching for this show about Going Green with Fido and we found also a great pet bed manufacturer in Seattle called Big Shrimpy (which there’s an oxymoron for you) which their goal is to use at least 50 percent recyclable materials in their products.  And its giving you, pretty much, a nice looking bed for your pet and will also leave you feeling good about doing your part for the planet.

Susan Sims: I think people really think about that. It’s funny too because were just looking at our pet blanket thinking it was getting worn out and probably we should just throw it out. But this site is great. They also have pet blankets too so you be sure to check out their website. It’s BigShrimpy.com.

So far we’ve addressed: What to do with the backyard poop; Wipes and products to keep Fido clean; and a great travel bed. But don’t forget the toys. SimplyFido.com uses organically grown cotton, which is safe, non-toxic with natural extracts from plants and minerals with the organic dye process. And the end result is an all-natural pet toy for your loving companion.

You know, there is just so much to talk about and we are kind of moving through this really quickly so we can get to everything but we are going to take another quick break and when we come back we will have your Fido Friendly Travel Tip along with the pet friendly Hotel so sit and stay we’ll be right back with more Travel Tails on Pet Life Radio.

[music]

Voice 1: Attention passengers! Please fasten your seatbelts and put your seat pals and sleeping pets in their full upright position and prepare for takeoff.

Woman 1: Travel Tails will be zooming back with more travel tips right after this.

[commercials]

Man 1: Let’s talk Pets on PetLifeRadio.com

Voice 1: Attention passengers! We are now approaching our final destination. The weather is sunny and warm. Ocean temperature is a balmy 80 degrees for those of you wishing to doggy paddle. Please exit to the front and see our activities directors Susan and Nicholas on your way out. Have a pleasant stay.

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

We’ve been talking about Going Green with Fido and have only just touched the surface with product picks that will help you get the ball rolling with Fido on your green quest.

Susan Sims: Yeah, the green quest-the quest for the green.

[laughter]

Nicholas Sveslosky: Sounds like a movie.

Susan Sims: It does, doesn’t it? That reminds me of something, what is that?

[chatter]

Nicholas Sveslosky: Oh the “Quest of the Holy Grail”.

Susan Sims: Yeah, Monty Python.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Yeah, just as long as there are no talking bushes on this show we’re fine.

Susan Sims: Yeah, “its only a flesh wound. It’s a strawberry”.

[laughter]

You know, there’s a lot of great websites available with more information about green products will be placing the products we mention on today show on the Pet Life Radio website.

Nicholas Sveslosky: And we will also have edit in the upcoming March-April of Fido Friendly Magazine, so be sure to pick up your copy at the local newsstands. You know one of our favorite topics to discuss are the fabulous Fido Friendly Hotels available to you and your dog for your next adventure. And one of our most favorite brands (it’s a boutique Hotel chain we just keep coming back to time and time again) is the Kimpton Group.

Susan Sims: I know. And they have such great properties and for those of us who travel a lot, it’s almost a guarantee you are familiar with Kimpton but for those listeners new on the scene suffice it to say this is a property you will want to find out more about. 

Nicholas Sveslosky: That’s right. Not only are you and Fido welcome, but the Kimpton Group also provides a goldfish if you happen to be traveling. Sam’s your favorite guppy.

Susan Sims: That’s good to know since traveling with Gil, our little fish Gil, appears to be a tad inconvenient. We tried bringing him along one time and the dogs nearly drank all the water from his fish bowl.

[laughter]

Nicholas Sveslosky: This was Gil number five, right?

Susan Sims: Yeah, well you know, goldfish don’t have longevity you know so they go to goldfish heaven but we always name him Gil, short for Gilbert actually. Its Gil number 5 I think we are working on now. So anyway we had a lesson so from now on we don’t…we just leave Gil with a neighbor.

Nicholas Sveslosky: That’s probably a good thing. I think that name Actually comes from the movie “What about Bob?” doesn’t it?

Susan Sims: It does in our case because that’s one of our favorite movies “What about Bob?” and I hear everybody say that. That’s hysterical. But he’s a little bit crazy and he took his goldfish with him. He put it around his neck. He made like a necklace with a small goldfish bowl and put Gil in there and took a bus trip and it was pretty crazy.

Nicholas Sveslosky: I would like all our listeners to know that I have babysat Gil and one time when I was very young, (I think this was Gil number two) I almost killed him by feeding him lettuce because there was no more fish food. But that was an experience in itself and I have since graduated to know that all pets cannot eat all types of food and they should be specific. And there was one time when we were moving when I was helping you move and Gil was my passenger in the next seat. And I kid you not, I think I ended up talking to Gil. Like during…

[laugher]

So fish are good company so I think the Kimpton Group is on to something there but…

Susan Sims: Well Gil, you know that particular Gil, he was a good listener.

[laughter]

 Nicholas Sveslosky: He’d interject every now and then with a “bloop, bloop” . But getting back on topic, all of the Kimpton property, they like to pamper your pet with their special pet packages and they include in their services like pet food, dog walking services, and chew toys. And keeping with our green theme we have chosen the Kimpton Portland property to talk about.

First of all, there’s Art. Now Art is a Golden Lab-Retriever mix who serves as the director of pet relations for this Hotel. And Art is a handsome guy who came from the Oregon Humane Society.

Susan Sims: Isn’t that wonderful? So that’s like a recycling right there.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Yeah, exactly.

[laughter]

Susan Sims: And I love the fact that more and more properties include a canine concierge (if you well) especially when your furry companion doesn’t make the trip with you.

Nicholas Sveslosky: I agree. You know, most often my lab Tasha is most often with me wherever I go. In fact, I just love having her. If she’s not around I feel like something is missing. But the times she can’t come along, it’s nice to get my puppy fix with a canine concierge.

Susan Sims: I know. And more and more properties like I said are doing that. Last year we stayed at the Ritz-Carlton at Bachelor Gulch in Colorado and they have their canine concierge (which is actually named Bachelor). And he was available for walks and people would leave tips and what not and any proceeds that would come from people taking Bachelor for a walk, or even having him sleep in their room with them-all these tips would go to the local non-profit animal society. That was really something that I wasn’t aware of until we went to that one property. And he was so busy the weekend we were there. He was a big hit with all the kids.

Nicholas Sveslosky: That’s perfect. I love seeing hotels just going that extra mile. I mean, its so easy not to do it. But to do it gives not only the guests the satisfaction of being able to be with a dog, but the fact that they know it’s even going further by helping the non-profits in their local area, I think that’s just great.

Susan Sims: I agree and you know, one other thing is it’s funny because when you think of Ritz-Carlton you really think of luxury and it’s high-end property but just having the dog there makes it feel like home and it kind of takes the edge off that little austere that you might have a feeling that you know, it’s a little snobby or sophisticated or what not. [laughs]

Nicholas Sveslosky: They keep the nice look of the Hotel and that nice ambience and that feeling and then just having the dog is just the icing on the cake for us. It’s like “whoa”, we’re going to be in this nice environment but we’re still going to have our same personality which is just fun, outgoing and if we got a dog to go with us then it just makes it that much better.

Susan Sims: I agree.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Well, I think that’s a great program and going back to our Kimpton property which was formerly the 5th Avenue Suites Hotel, and it’s now the Hotel Monaco Portland. They offer a great amenity package and their services include: They have a personal welcome on the Hotel Monaco Pet Welcome Board which is great because you automatically get your name in lights right there. They have a bowl with a mat for your dog. They have a dog bed so you don’t have to worry about taking that with you. They got some good treats for your dog. They give your dog bottled spring water. And then there is the dispose-a-scoop. Now that’s just another fancy way of saying “poop bag”. So if anybody’s keeping track that counts as one right there. People got to get clever with their wording, like I said, you want to try and find words that fit. They also have walking services which they’ll probably have fees that apply. You can get a pet masseuse if the traveling is just too much stress so those are upon request and there will probably be fees as well with that. And if you would like to know what your pet is thinking, they have a pet psychic upon request and there will be fees applied to that as well. But there is no deposit or weight limit. And the big one (and this is the one that makes us fall in love with any Hotel that does this) there is no additional charge for Fido.

Susan Sims: I love that. Count me in.

[laughter]

Nicholas Sveslosky: Me too. I mean when a Hotel does that it’s like a stamp for us. I understand that there are certain corporations, (there are policies that if somebody comes into the room and they are allergic) you got to get those rooms clean so you get those allergies out so it doesn’t affect the next person. But if there is a way that they get around it and we see a Hotel that doesn’t offer a pet fee, that makes us really light up inside. So to sum it up, organic food, and natural cleaning products and energy conserving methods are just the basics for the Kimpton chain. They also have soy-based inks in their pens and practices sustainable recycling program. It’s not just among what they use but they also offer in-room recycling for their guests. So they use nothing but organic food and treats in their pampered pooch amenity basket. I mean, it’s the top to the bottom, all organic. It’s just great.

Susan Sims: Yes, except I wanted to hear you say pampered pooch amenity basket three times fast.

 Nicholas Sveslosky: Ah…pampered pooch…nah, I can’t do it.

[laughter]

I stopped short on the way through because we’re on the break

Susan Sims: Ok, so that makes Kimpton one of the most environmentally friendly of the Hotel chains and they also allow dogs. WE are going to take a quick break and when we come back we will have our Fido Friendly Travel Tip so sit  and stay we’ll be right back with more Travel Tails on Pet Life Radio.

[music]

Voice 1: Attention passengers! Please fasten your seatbelts and put your seat pals and sleeping pets in their full upright position and prepare for takeoff.

Woman 1: Travel Tails will be zooming back with more travel tips right after this.

[commercial]

Man 1: Let’s talk pets on PetLifeRadio.com

Voice 1: Attention passengers! We are now approaching our final destination. The weather is sunny and warm. Ocean temperature is a balmy 80 degrees for those of you wishing to doggy paddle. Please exit to the front and see our activities directors Susan and Nicholas on your way out. Have a pleasant stay.

Nicholas Sveslosky: Welcome back to PetLifeRadio. This is Nicholas Sveslosky along with Susan Sims, your hosts for Travel Tails. We’ve been talking about Going Green with Fido and before the break we talked about staying at the Kimpton Boutique Hotel chains and specifically the Hotel Monaco Portland, which brings us to our Fido Friendly Travel Tip.

When making your travel plans and in keeping with your green quests with Fido, ask your next hotel that you’re going to be staying at what type of pet amenities they provide for Fido and see if they are thinking about, you know, green. When it comes to your dog, what do they have that is specifically green and environmentally friendly? You may just plant that seed and help make your next hotel stay with Fido as a green experience could be.

Susan Sims: I like it. And if you would like to find out more about today’s topic, or just about traveling with Fido, you can go online to FidoFriendly.com to subscribe or just stop in your local boarders, or a Barnes and Nobles or a Pets Smart and pick up a copy of Fido Friendly today.

We would love to hear from you with questions or comments so feel free to email us at Pet Life Radio and until next time, safe travels and leave no dog behind.

This is Susan Sims, along with Nicholas Sveslosky for Travel Tails on Pet Life Radio.

Woman 1: Pet Life Radio presents Travel Tails, the show where you will 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 advise on how to travel safely and happily with your very best friends. So get ready to pack your bags and the bones with your Travel Tails hosts Susan Sims and Nicholas Sveslosky every week on demand live on PetLifeRadio.com.

[music]

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