Another small but choice collection of links this week (well, month, but who’s counting?) — starting with a hoot of a link from reader Chelsea, who rightly thought that I’d be enchanted by an article from the Austrian Times about a hotel offering city dogs “training courses in country life,” including “how to use a chairlift and how to avoid trouble with cows.”

Speaking of hazards, The Bark posted a useful article about the risks to dogs of foxtail grasses, and the Center for Pet Safety caught everyone’s attention with a series of videos showing what happens to a crash-test dummy of a Boxer wearing a number of safety harnesses/tethers (makers unidentified) in a 50 mph crash. I was so horrified by the videos that I swapped Chloe’s harness and tether and Snoozer booster seat out in favor of the Pet Tube from PetEgo. It’s not winning points from Chloe, who can no longer see out the window, or from my husband, who can no longer canoodle with Chloe, but I’m feeling better.

After that, we need fun, and you’ll find fun in Charleston, SC — reader Mia directed my attention to Petside.com‘s praise for Fiery Ron’s Home Team BBQ (sixth on their list of the top 10 pet-friendly U.S. restaurants — here’s the entire list, in an irritating slide-show format, but worth clicking through if you plan to be near Charleston, Atlantic City, Philadelphia, Miami, Dallas, San Diego, Minneapolis, NYC, Alexandria, or any of the locations of California’s Lazy Dog Café. You will also find fun, and great beauty, at The Great Jean-Larose Waterfalls, outside Québec (secret location revealed by the Montecristo Travels team); in Taos, NM (suggestions from Carol Bryant at Fidose of Reality); Stowe, VT (the Take Paws team covered the ground — and the air — thoroughly); Nice, in southern France (the Jet Set Pets team traveled, as always, in style); and Port Townsend, WA (the You Did What With Your Weiner team happily spent a day getting to and scouring Glass Beach).