Giveaway Winner: SturdiBag Pet Carrier

Me and Cosmo, in his SturdiBag,
during a rcent trip to Chicago

If you're planning a trip with your pet, it's so important to have a quality carrier that both you and your pet are comfortable with.  We've been using the SturdiBag the past few years, traveling twice to Italy and all across the United States. So we were so excited when the folks at SturdiProducts, makers of the SturdiBag, provided a large SturdiBag, the size Cosmo travels in, for our To Dog With Love birthday giveaway!

So without further ado, the winner of our SturdiBag Pet Carrier giveaway is >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Maura Warnecke, who says she'd like to win a bag "so both my little mutts can travel all over with me on vacation and to agility/nosework matches around the U.S.!"

Maura, if you're ever traveling to Atlanta for agility, let us know. We just might be competing too!

Thanks to all who entered our giveaway. And safe and happy travels this summer!

A Week of Pawsome Birthday Giveaways!

Last week, To Dog With Love turned one, and we've been celebrating by giving away some of Cosmo's favorite things! In case you missed one, all our giveaways are still open so here's your chance to win some truly fabulous and unique items.

Custom art clock from The Clock Lady

Win a one-of-a-kind clock from The Clock Lady, featuring your own favorite photo. Details on how to enter are here.

$50 coupon for a pet bed from P.L.A.Y.

Get a huge savings on a comfy and stylish pet bed from P.LA.Y. Click here for all the details.

SturdiBag pet carrier

Win Cosmo's travel bag of choice by posting your comment at the blog post link here.

So try your hand or paw at winning some fabulous prizes at the links above and then head on over to the Saturday Pet Blogger Hop!

Giveaway: SturdiBag Pet Carrier

Cosmo waits for the rest of his bags at baggage claim

We're particularly excited about this giveaway since it's Cosmo's favorite way to travel.  Cosmo's traveled across the country and to Italy in his large SturdiBag, so we are thrilled to announce that SturdiProducts has provided us with one large SturdiBag to give away during our Birthday Week celebration.

We love the SturdiBag because it's lightweight and flexible enough to easily slide under an airplane seat. Measuring 12x12x18, it also provides Cosmo with the maximum amount of room allowed by Delta, the airline we travel most often.

If you want to know more about preparing for a long plane flight, we wrote about it here and we've also offered these tips for getting your pet comfortable with your travel bag before you embark on any trip.

Look closely to see Cosmo smiling in his SturdiBag!

Cosmo's bag slides easily under an airplane seat.

How to win your very own SturdiBag

To enter our SturdiBag giveaway, just leave a comment on this blog post stating why you'd like to win a SturdiBag. If you're planning a trip somewhere, let us know... we'd love to hear about your adventures!

If your comment doesn't link to something with your email address, please be sure to leave that too, so we can contact you if you win.

Contest is open to enter until midnight ET on Monday, August 1. The winner will be picked at random and announced on this blog on Thursday, August 4.

If you'd like to travel in the style Cosmo is accustomed to, then hurry up and enter to win your own SturdiBag pet carrier!

Happy travels!

Travel to Italy with your dog: Arriving in Rome, dog-friendly hotel and an outing to Piazza del Popolo

In the United States, dog people often long for a bit of Italy, where you can take your dog most anywhere. So when we embarked on our journey to Italy with Cosmo, we were excited to see all the sights, enjoy the food and shopping, and not have to leave Cosmo behind! 

     

 

We flew non-stop from Atlanta to Rome and arrived  at 7:30 a.m. in the morning after flying all night.  Cosmo traveled in his SturdiBag under the seat in cabin and slept the entire way! Above, he shakes off the sleep, does a few downward dogs and he's ready to go!

Going through customs in Rome was a breeze. We showed passports, got our bags and were outside the airport in less than 30 minutes. We had all the required international paperwork for pet travel, but didn't need to show anything on this end. Outside the airport in Rome, above, Cosmo is ready to chase some Italian squirrels! I'm ready for a nap.

           

We stayed at the pet-friendly InterContinental De La Ville Roma. The hotel is beautiful, the staff super friendly, and it is conveniently located at the top of the Spanish Steps.

Cosmo was treated like a celebrity -- with hearty greetings and pats --  every time he entered the lobby of the InterContinental De La Ville. After checking in, we hit the town to see the sights and search for some much-needed cappuccino!

First stop, just a few steps from the front of the hotel we walked down the Spanish Steps to Piazza Di Spagna.  Above, we stopped for a photo opp in front of the Barcaccia Fountain. At the bottom of the steps to the right, you can see a corner of the Casina Rossa, where the poet John Keats spent the end of his life.  At the top of the stairs is the 16th-century Church of Trinita dei Monti. From here we walked down Via del Corso to the Piazza del Popolo.

So much to see... and eat! Along the way, we stopped for a scoop of warm chestnuts. These vendors are on almost every corner!

At Piazza del Popolo, we stopped at the Canova Cafe for cappuccino and brioche! Ahhh, nothing like Italian cappuccino! 

Cosmo sat at the table and enjoyed the people, and dog, watching in the piazza ... and, the sound of the bells from the twin churches that flank either side of the Via del Corso. Built in the Neo classical style, the churches Santa Maria di Montesanto and Santa Maria dei Marcoli were designed by Carlo Rainaldi in 1658. Listen...

On a  beautiful Sunday morning in December, there were plenty of people out strolling through the Piazza del Popolo, enjoying the sunshine and soaking up the centuries of history. The obelisk at the center of the piazza was originally erected at the Circus Maximus to commemorate the conquest of Egypt by Augustus in 10 BC. It was moved to Piazza del Popolo  by Pope Sixtus V in 1589. Cosmo takes a sunbath and we listen to the cellist playing next to the obelisk in the center of the square. Take a look and enjoy!

Next we headed to the west end of the piazza, below, where the steps lead up to Pincio Hill and the entrance to Parco Della Villa Borghese, a wonderful park for a dog walk!

Next post: A walk through Borghese Park and lunch in the Park at Casina Valadier!

Travel to Italy With Your Dog: International Paperwork Preparation

Cosmo enjoys his visit to an Italian pasticceria
during our last trip

A few years ago Cosmo and I traveled abroad for the first time. It took a lot of research and planning to ensure we had all the correct paperwork done ahead of time so that our trip could be worry free.

Now, we’re about to head off again -- this time to Rome and Milan! The planning has been easier this time, since we already know what to expect. But there are still a number of things that need to be done before traveling internationally.

Traveling to Italy with a Dog

We collected lots of information from our vet, the airlines (we are flying Delta), the Italian Embassy in the United States,  APHIS/USDA and the CDC. Here’s what you need to know if you’re planning a trip from the U.S. to Italy.

• Check with APHIS about international animal export regulations. You can locate your local APHIS veterinary service office here. For Italy travel, we needed to obtain a bilingual certificate filled out and signed by our vet. Then we sent the certificate to our local APHIS office where it received the required stamp from USDA/APHIS. The “Certifico Veterinario” must include your dog’s microchip number and rabies information and be completed within four months of travel. 
• Contact the Italian Embassy in the U.S., which tells you pretty much the same things... that you need a bilingual certificate with rabies and microchip information. You can find the bilingual certificate on the embassy site here or on the APHIS site. 
• Check with the CDC about bringing your dog back to the U.S. Here’s the link, but it basically says that you’ll need proof of rabies vaccination. We got our Certificate of Vaccination from our vet. 
• Visit the vet. Our vet filled out all the paperwork and gave Cosmo the required health examination which resulted in one final piece of paperwork.  The health certificate must be issued by a licensed veterinarian within 10 days of transport. 

International paperwork checklist

That sounds like an awful lot to do, but for us it all boiled down to two trips to the vet, one phone call and paperwork sent to USDA/APHIS, and some time spent looking at these links online to make sure nothing had changed since we last traveled to Italy.

Here’s the paperwork we’ll be bringing:

• Certificato Veterinario -- USDA-certified bilingual certificate completed by our vet within four months of travel (includes microchip and rabies vaccine information)
• Health Certificate -- completed by our vet within 10 days of travel
• Rabies Certificate of Vaccination -- provided by our vet

Other things to note

When traveling by air, you also need the check with the airline for its specific requirements. Before we booked our trip on Delta, we called the airline to ensure there was pet space available in cabin and then we reserved that space. Dog Jaunt, one of our favorite blogs for small-dog travel info, includes this handy list of airline policies for international in-cabin pet travel. You should still check with your airline to make sure you know the most current policies. 

When traveling with a pet, you also need to allow a little extra time at the airport for check-in. Delta is recommending we get to the airport three hours ahead of time for international travel with a pet. 

You can read more about preparing your dog for in-cabin travel here. Cosmo enjoys traveling in his large, soft-sided SturdiBag. Its 12x12 x18 measurement is the largest allowed by Delta for in-cabin travel.

Buon viaggio e arrivederci!

Pet travel tips this holiday: Travel bag comfort for you and your pet!

Cosmo and I will be leaving on a jet plane this week, heading out to spend Thanksgiving dinner with family and friends, just like thousands of others this holiday!    According to a survey by PetRelocation.com, 63 percent of pet owner says they travel at least 50 miles with their pets during the holidays.  Cosmo's a travel pro at this point, but we put some time into making sure he'd be a well-behaved traveler right from the very start. One of the first things you can do is to make sure you and your pet are comfortable with your travel bag. Here's a few tips to get started! 

1. Play bag games!  When we got our bag, we put it out in the living room and let Cosmo sniff it and get familiar with it. We gave him treats when he touched the bag, and then gave him treats when he got in the bag. Now he knows the command "Go Bag" means that when he gets in and gets comfortable, treats and good things will be coming his way.
2. Carry the bag around the house before your trip! Play the bag game with treats, zip up the bag -- with your pet in it -- and make a few laps around the room. Unzip it with a "Good Dog!" ... and more treats.
3. Keep a small bag of treats handy at the airport. When you go through security, you'll take your pet out of the bag and carry him through with you. The bag will go through the x-ray screening with your other carry-on items. I typically take Cosmo and our bags to a table on the other end of security and play a little game to put him back in the bag. He gets more treats which of course makes him very, very happy! It takes less than a minute to do all this -- you don't want to draw TOO much attention, but folks typically do stop to talk to us. So be sure to schedule a little extra time when traveling with a pet! 
4. Stay calm, yourself! There's something to be said about the saying that dogs can feel your nerves at the other end of the leash. If you're a nervous Nelly, your pet may sense your emotions and have a hard time relaxing too. The more you play bag games and "practice traveling," the more comfortable you BOTH will feel! You might even take a few trial runs by taking your pet and travel bag around the block a few times in the car.
5. And finally, make sure YOU are comfortable with your travel bag. We use the large SturdiBag because it measures the maximum size (12x12x18) allowed by the airline we fly, it's light and flexible enough to place under the seat with ease. Be sure to check pet carrier requirements with the airline you fly. 

For more travel tips, we like Fido Friendly's "Holiday Road Warrior Survivor Guide."

Thanksgiving turkey, here we come! Happy travels!