It’s all about the destinations this week. I’ll start in New England (well, -ish, because the article touches down all over the United States, but it starts in New England) with a PDF from Fido Friendly about ten lovely and dog-friendly B&B inns (when the link comes up, click on the picture to reach the article, in PDF format).

Moving clockwise around the U.S., PetsWelcome.com posted a useful list of fenced dog parks in Raleigh, NC, the Take Paws team visited Amarillo, TX and has heaps of dog-friendly suggestions, and Luxury Travel Magazine profiled a book by Maggie Espinosa (called “The Privileged Pooch: Luxury Travel with Your Pet in Southern California,” and published in 2010), and listed some of the SoCal luxury options you’ll find when you pick up a copy. Here in the Pacific Northwest, the Seattle Weekly, God’s blessings on it, published a list of five dog-friendly Seattle bars.

A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned a pilot program at a handful of Oregon state parks, allowing visitors with dogs to stay in a yurt and some cabins. Just recently, Beth Wilson, from Oregon Parks and Recreation, sent me an e-mail telling me that Oregon has expanded the program considerably: Now, the roster of dog-friendly lodgings includes “13 cabins and 20 yurts in 21 Oregon state parks. Reservations open[ed] April 1, 2011 (no April Fools’ joke) for stays beginning Jan. 1, 2012.” The options I mentioned in my earlier post are still available in the meantime.

I got a press release telling me that TripsWithPets has improved its web site to include, among other things, pet-friendly lodgings in Canada as well as the U.S., and the option of entering your planned route and receiving relevant pet-friendly lodging, eating and activity suggestions. Both bring it in line with its competitors, but while I’ll need to wait until May to check out the “Search by Route” feature, I can report that right now, Go Pet Friendly and Bring Fido are doing a more complete job with dog-friendly Canadian hotel listings. No doubt TripsWithPets and PetsWelcome.com and DogFriendly.com will catch up, inventory-wise. In the meantime, I have to praise TripsWithPets’ presentation, which is clear and well-designed.

Amazon link:
The Privileged Pooch: Luxury Travel With Your Pet In Southern California