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The
Dog Lover's Companion to California,
by Maria Goodavage
The
pithy commentaries are right on target in "The
Dog Lover's Companion" series. These eight
doggy guide books covering Boston, the San Francisco
Bay Area, California, Florida, New England, New
York City, Seattle, and Washington D.C., were
written with the tail-wagging participation of
expert dog trippers including Joe Dog, George,
Inu, Maggie Dog, Emma, Quinn, Bill, Nisha, and
Chappy. What sets these excellent insider guide
books apart is that the rating system for the
parks, restaurants, and attractions included is
based upon criteria important to dogs-as interpreted,
of course, by their human co-authors. (Click
here for the Four-Paw Bio page.)
In
The
Dog Lover's Companion to California, Maria
Goodavage uses a single fire hydrant to identify
those parks only worth a quick pit stop. Four
paw prints is the highest rating-a quality place
for dogs and their human companions. Joe Dog also
bestows accolades on certain restaurants and inns
that provide extra levels of dog-friendliness
with the "Golden Bone Awards." All of
the Golden Bone recipients provide dogs with some
form of a treat, ranging from dog biscuits to
custom-ordered cooked burgers. The guide is organized
by county and provides overview information as
well as specific recommendations for the best
places to take a walk, stay overnight, and eat
delicious meals.
There
are plenty of maps, good directions, and tips
for keeping canine friends healthy and well while
on the road. The
Dog Lover's Companion to California is
nearly 900 pages long, and one can only be amazed
at the stamina and high standards of Joe Dog,
the canine consultant who visited and reviewed
all the venues described. Marvin
the Road Dog has visited a number of the establishments
included in "The Dog Lover's Companion"
series, and he gives a definite "tail up"
to the descriptions and reviews.
Mark
1/03
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Fodor's
Road Guide USA : Where to Stay With Your Pet,
by Andrea Arden (Introduction) and Emmanuelle Morgan
(Editor)
This
comprehensive guide book lists 5200 hotels and
motels in 48 states that advertise themselves
as being " pet-friendly." Concise listings
provide contact information, (phone, URL, address,
etc.) together with a brief description of the
motel's amenities. It passes the RTA test in that
it includes one of our favorite dog-friendly lodges,the
Stanford
Inn on California's north coast.
What
sets Fodor's Road Guide USA apart from
similar motel/hotel handbooks is the seventeen
articles featuring some really wonderful discoveries
for travelers with four-legged companions, like
San Francisco's "Beastro by the Bay"
that sells breed-specific merchandise for just
about every type of dog known. Other highlights
include Lilly the concierge dog who greets all
pets checking into the Monaco Hotel in Denver
and a Boston day spa for dogs that features charter
bus service for canine critters wishing to stop
in for a treat or massage.
This
is a useful and well-organized guidebook--one
that RoadTrip America highly recommends.
Mark
5/02
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