Doggy Hotel Ambassadors

Isn't interesting that you can spend so much time in a city and still learn new things. Just the other day I stopped in to the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver for a coffee at the invitation of of a business colleague, and I was surprised to see two beautiful labradors sitting comfortably beside the check-in desk. I was told that Mavis and Beau had been guide dog trainees, but it turned out that helping guests check-in suited them better.

Now most anyone who has been to Vancouver knows that the city loves dogs, and there are many dog friendly hotels which allow people guests to bring their dogs, but this is the first time I've seen a 5 star hotel with dogs that work there!

What's more, it turns out that Mavis and Beau are just two dogs that "work" in the Fairmont chain of hotels across Canada.

To read more about the Fairmont dogs, click here.

If you have a hotel that you know of that has a dog, cat or other pet helping at the check-in desk, we'd love to hear from you.

More Dog Quotes

"Did you ever walk into a room and forget why you walked in? I think that is how dogs spend their lives." - Sue Murphy

Dog - A Caveman's Best Friend!

We all know that dogs are man’s (and woman’s) best friend. But scientists have recently discovered evidence that this relationship has existed for thousands of years!

Scientists have recently identified 14 000 year old remains in an inhabited cave in Switzerland as belonging to a domesticated dog – clearly distinguishable from wild wolves, and clearly showing that dogs were part of the caveman family.

Imagine the scene – 14,000 years ago, and the cavemen and women are living in the high Swiss alps. The winters are long and cold. Why wouldn’t our loyal best friends be invited into the cave with us, to huddle around the fire, to warm our feet and to share our protection against the harshest elements? In fact, the Australian Aboriginals, who also had domestic dogs in their camps, referred to the harshest winter nights as “three dog nights” – that’s how many dogs you would need to snuggle to keep warm!

The relationship would have given immense benefits to both parties. Our doggie friends would have benefited from their relationship with their caveman owners – this would have been a safe place to shelter, the food was better and more reliable (humans’ upright gait gives them a larger range over which to see potential prey and predators and humans’ colour vision gives us better visual discrimination (at least by day)) and our ability to make fire would have kept our dogs warm and safe at night too! Caveman would have benefited, not only from the companionship of a pet and the warmth of a dog to snuggle, but the dogs would have improved sanitation (by cleaning up waste and scraps), acted as guarddogs, using their acute hearing and (most significantly) would have been used to considerable advantage in hunts.

In fact, the spread of humanity throughout the world may owe a lot to the pet dog as well. Scientists also think that emigrants from Siberia likely crossed the Bering Strait with dogs in their company, and some experts suggest that use of sled dogs may have been critical to the success of the waves that entered North America roughly 12,000 years ago. These discoveries again underscores the close bond between an owner and their dog.

As I lie back on the couch tonight, with my doggy foot warmer, I’ll be remembering that my dogs really are part of my family, and it’s been this way for thousands of years!

Is it Real?

This great photo caught my eye - is it real I thought?














The answer is, unfortunately, "no it's not". This is one of the photos from the book "Translocation" by photographer George Logan. Mr Logan has taken photos of African animals and transposed them in to locations in England and Wales. Certainly interesting way of looking at things.

All profits from the book go to an African animal charity.

For more of these great photos, visit Mr Logan's website.

Would my pets benefit from taking vitamins?

A growing trend has recently been emerging with more and more pet owners now giving their pets vitamins or supplements to improve their health.

The benefits of vitamins for humans have long been known, but it is not until recent years that we have passed these benefits on to our furry friends.

A recent survey found that 41% of owners are now giving their pets vitamins or supplements in some form to assist with a range of different ailments, from aiding in recovery to boosting their general health.

Astonishingly, the survey also found that a small number of owners had been giving their pets human vitamins, which is something that should never be done. Pets should never be given human medicines of any kind as they have been specially formulated for the needs of humans. In some cases, human vitamins or supplements can even be toxic to pets.

Instead, there are many great vitamins and supplements on the market designed specifically for pets. There are vitamins to provide joint support for pets with arthritis, vitamins to maintain healthy skin and coats, vitamins to reduce nervousness and anxiety, and vitamins to maintain gastrointestinal health, and much more.

For this month only, CanadaVet is giving their customers 30% off their entire Vetalogica vitamins and supplements range with the purchase of any flea or tick control product. Just use the coupon code "FLEAPLUS" on the checkout page when making your purchase. Click here for more details.

You can view our full range of vitamins and supplements for pets by clicking here.