The article, on Travel Agent Central read:

Photo courtesy www.travellious.com

1. Affinia Dumont (New York City, New York) avg. nightly rate $192 – $614- Pets receive a warm welcome to the East-Midtown hotel, which includes plush dog beds and tasty treats. A $25 pet-surcharge applies per stay, and additional services, such as grooming and pet psychics, are available.

2. Hotel Monaco Portland (Portland, Oregon) avg. nightly rate $126 – $325- Guests will receive a personal greeting on a Pet Welcome Board when visiting this downtown Portland property. Complimentary dog beds and bowls will be at the ready for little friends. Guests can also select the “Portland Unleashed” pet package, which nets owners a map of pet-friendly local breweries and restaurants, a doggie beer for their four-legged companion and more.

3. Ocean Park Resort (Myrtle Beach, South Carolina) avg. nightly rate $57 – $150- Guests can enjoy an ocean-side outing with their furry friend. A $15 per pet, per night surcharge applies, and the owner must provide any accessories.

4. Palomar Washington D.C (Washington D.C.) avg. nightly rate $182 – $557- The property provides an array of complimentary amenities, from pet beds to disposable pick-up bags. While guests enjoy the wine evening hour from 5pm to 6pm, the four-legged guests can enjoy “The Dish,” a pet lounge complete with treats.

5. A Laughing Horse Lodge (Port Aransas, Texas) avg. nightly rate $59 – $239- Located just two blocks from the beach, the property offers a welcome basket featuring treats and a collar-tag reading “Return me to Laughing Horse Lodge” for pets. There is a surcharge for one dog $25, $35 for two dogs, and $50 for three or more.

6. The Paw House Inn (West Rutland, Vermont) avg. nightly rate $135 – $255- The property provides beds to bowls to hiking trails for a dog friendly fun time. A $10 surcharge applies for guests without an accompanying four-legged friend.

7. Carmel Country Inn (Carmel, California) avg. nightly rate $195 – $395- The bed and breakfast offers a nice welcome for any pet, with a surcharge of $20 per animal. There will be an unlimited supply of biscuits and a photograph will be taken for the pet display in the lobby.

8. Hotel Marlowe (Cambridge, Massachusetts) avg. nightly rate $204 – $489- Pets are welcomed free of charge at the 236-room property. Located on Charles River, the property affords miles of waterside pathways. The concierge can assist with dog walking or pet sitting services while owners can enjoy the scenery and some alone time.

9. La Quinta Inn and Suites (Valdosta, Georgia) avg. nightly rate $89 – $129- This south Georgia property offers guests and their pets a large walking area. There is no pet surcharge, but owners must bring all their necessities.

10. Cypress Inn (Carmel, California) avg. nightly rate $150 – $575- Fine food and great company offers pets and guests a good time for “Yappy Hour.” A nightly surcharge applies of $30 for one pet, $50 for two pets, and $70 for three pets.

Have you and your pet ever stayed at one of these hotels?

Christy Howard wrote a fantastic post for The Boston Globe including a comprehensive list of Halloween pet safety tips:

If your dog is staying home to “help” you hand out treats, even the most laid back dog can get anxious when kids dressed in a costume are at the door:

1. Keep your dog in another room during trick-or-treating hours. As I noted above, if I let ours greet every kid for three hours, they would be so tired they probably wouldn’t get up the next morning.
2. Turn on a television or play music to drown out the sounds of trick-or-treaters.
3. Give your dogs a new treat or toy to occupy their time; you don’t want the dog to feel like they are being punished.
4. If you have a lot of trick-or-treaters, you may want to sit on your porch and pass out candy; this way the dogs don’t get excited every time the doorbell rings.

If you are dressing up your dog in a costume, it can be fun for you, but make sure it isn’t torture for them:

1. Just like a collar, make sure you can slip two fingers around the neck and arms if the dog has to step into the costume.
2. Make sure the dog’s vision is not impaired while wearing the costume.
3. When a dog has a costume on, they should be able to walk without any interference to their gait. This also means you need to be able to put a leash on the dog. You have to watch that the costume doesn’t interfere with the collar or leash area.
4. If your dog doesn’t normally wear clothes, try the costume on several times before Halloween; this will allow your dog to get used having something on.
5. Also take into account your dog’s body temperature in a costume. I recall a few years back, it was still in the upper 80s one Halloween. Several hours of walking in a costume could overheat your dog (and your kids, too, for that matter).

If you are taking your dog out trick or treating:

1. If you normally walk your dog and he or she is friendly, Halloween might not be a big deal.
2. If you don’t normally walk your dog, then Halloween might not be the night to start walking them with all the activity.
3. Make sure you watch your dog so they don’t ingest any dropped candy or that people don’t feed your dog candy. Aside from the fact that chocolate is toxic to dogs, the wrappers of even candy without chocolate can be harmful if ingested by your dog.
4. Having current tags is crucial if you are taking your dog out with you. If they get separated from you, the chances of their safe return increase greatly if they have identification on them. Additionally, your dog should be micro-chipped in the event they were to lose their collar.

Halloween treats for your dogs or for dogs that come trick-or-treating:

1. Halloween candy can be tempting for dogs. They are just like kids: it always seems they want things they can’t have, only twice as bad. Make sure your dog doesn’t have access to any candy. That goes for not only the candy you are giving out, but also the candy your two-legged humans bring home from their outing.
2. Keep dog treats on hand for any trick-or-treaters who come to your house with a dog. It is a nice gesture, and I am sure the dogs will appreciate it after they were such good sports to dress up like the kids.

Now you’re ready to have a fun, and spoOoky Halloween!

#2: Veterinarians have found that dogs see in color, however, they can see blue and green shades but not red ones.

#3: In the United States, approximately 1 million dogs have been named the primary beneficiary in their owner’s will.

#4: Dogs sweat through the pads of their feet, not through salivating.

#5: On record, the heaviest dog weighed 319 lbs.

For more interesting and fun facts, check out North Shore Animal League’s Cool Pet Facts.