I’ve threatened to write a “Snapshot Saturday” post before, but this is the first time I’ve ever done it. Yep, I missed Photo Friday, and since it’s been a slim week for posts, I figure I’ll slip this one in today. Besides, you really need to see this picture:

Reader Brian and his family brought their dog Tipper with them to Seattle on their recent visit. I was particularly interested to hear how it went because I’d learned from an early e-mail that Brian had scoured the posts on Dog Jaunt. He’d bought the carriers and the travel crate I recommend. He made reservations at one of the Seattle hotels I recommended. Frankly, I was nervous. After all that, what if things didn’t work out for them?! What a relief to read that everything went smoothly — here’s part of Brian’s report:

Your advice made the trip wonderful. Really. Your advice on bags, airport security, airplane seats, hotels… made the trip. Tipper did great. I believe the confidence I gained from your advice helped to put him at ease. That Sturdi-bag is awesomely perfect. Under the airline seat in front of me I was able to zip the top flap open a bit and feed him bits of string cheese to give him something to do and make sure his ears were clear as we descended.

We have a light weight foam dog bed and seat belt harness that we use when he rides in the car. We brought him his own suitcase with his own wire kennel. Before we checked his bag, we threw in the seat belt and bed. They were right there on top when we got our rental car and were good to go.

The Alexis Hotel was fantastic. Super great service. Tipper’s name was on a special dog welcome board in the lobby when we arrived! When we got up to the room, there was a dog bed and bowl with a Milk Bone treat waiting for him. He LOVED it. We’ve never given him a Milk Bone before but he knew it was for him, picked it up and walked around showing it to everyone, even the maid that came in for turn down service. It was only a time or two of going up the elevator to our room before we could let him off the leash in the lobby and he’d lead us directly to the elevator and then right to our room. Pretty fun!

His Midwest wire crate was good to have. We left him in the room in his crate when we went to the ballet one evening with no problems. We even braved taking him out to eat! Citizen Coffee was wonderful. I picked it because they had outdoor seating. It was pretty cold out. When they saw we had Tipper, they invited him in without hesitation. Fantastic!

Phew! I can’t tell you how happy this makes me — these were Tipper’s first and second airplane flights ever, but Brian tells me they won’t be his last: “Now that we have this Seattle trip under our belts, we’re looking at an East Coast trip this summer. Our world has opened up before us!”

I’d love to see how you and your pup spent your time together this week — please post your photos on Dog Jaunt’s Facebook page so we can all see them!