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Southwest Airlines changes pet policy

Southwest Airlines announced today that customers can begin purchasing tickets on June 1 for their dogs or cats, for in-cabin travel on flights starting June 17, 2009. This makes Dog Jaunt happy, since Southwest had been our favorite airline until we began traveling with Chloe.

Here are the highlights of Southwest’s new pet policy: The airline will only accept dogs and cats for in-cabin travel. Call Southwest to make a reservation for your pet, after you have booked your own travel. Up to five carriers are allowed on a flight; a passenger may board with one carrier, containing up to two pets of the same species. The carrier may be soft- or hard-sided and “must be small enough to fit under the seat in front of the Customer and be stowed in accordance with Federal Aviation Administration regulations.” Only cats or dogs are allowed, and they must be over eight weeks old. The cost is $75 each way. Here’s a YouTube video posted by Southwest about the P.A.W.S. (“Pets Are Welcome on Southwest”) program, featuring, yes, an adorable puppy and kitten.

It’s an okay policy, but a couple of things don’t make sense to me. Your pet must be “vaccinated,” the policy states (in the first sentence under the heading “General information on traveling with pets”), but no health certificate is required (FAQ “Do pets require any kind of vaccinations or documentation?”). And you may not move your pet out from under the seat in front of you at any time during the flight. I have no objection to a requirement that my pet remain entirely within her carrier, but I am extremely disappointed to learn that I will not be allowed to sit with her carrier on my lap.

(See Dog Jaunt’s list of U.S. airline pet policies.)

JFK T5 pet relief area

T5 pet relief area

T5 pet relief area

We flew on JetBlue from Seattle to JFK this morning, and had the pleasure of seeing Terminal 5 (or “T5”) for the first time. Very sleek, good stores and restaurants, and, at the baggage claim level, easy-to-follow signs to the easily-located pet relief area. Glorioski! The pet relief area is right next to baggage carousel 6 — in fact, where carousel 7 would be, if carousel 7 existed. It’s pretty large and completely fenced, with a single gate. The ground is covered in soft wood chips. There are poop bags, trash cans and two blue fire hydrants. There are a couple of benches for humans. I’m still reeling at how easy it was to find. Go JetBlue!

*  *  *

We’ve returned to the T5 pet relief area since May 2009, and it remains well-maintained and pleasant. On a recent trip (in May 2011), I took Chloe for a walk near the pet relief area, and sighted a grassy patch. Here’s how to find it, in case your dog insists on grass. Walk down the parking lot, away from the terminal. The surface will change from black asphalt to gray concrete. At the end of the concrete parking area, you’ll see a pair of gates. If they’re open, you can make your way across the airport roadway to a couple of grassy areas you’ll see outside a parking structure. Bring poop bags with you (pick them up at the pet relief area or use your own).

This post is part of an ongoing series of reviews of airport pet relief areas we’ve visited. To see others, visit Dog Jaunt’s handy guide to airport pet relief areas.

Taking a small dog on a plane: How it works

Chloe came from a breeder just outside San Diego, so the very first thing we needed to do with our new dog was fly with her from San Diego to Seattle. I went online for instructions, and found a lot of general advice but nothing detailed. Here are the details I wished for then. [Please check out my 4/30/10 guest post on Fido Friendly’s blog about flying with an in-cabin dog for a newer, and slightly more organized, version of this post.]

Before you go

Buy a good airplane carrier. I know they’re expensive, but a good one is worth the extra expense. If you travel a lot, you will be annoyed a lot by cheap materials, bad zippers and bad design in general.

Spend time getting your dog comfortable with her carrier. Leave it open on the floor of the room she ordinarily occupies, and encourage her to go into it to get extra-tasty treats. Lavish praise (and more treats) on her when she does. Toss a favorite toy inside, and praise her warmly when she retrieves it. In small steps, work towards getting her not to fret when you close her inside the carrier; when you pick her up in the carrier; and when you walk around the house with her in the carrier. Use the top hatch of your carrier, if it has one, to rain treats on your dog while she’s inside it. Take her in her carrier to fun places (to the dog park, for example, or to Petco) as well as to the vet and on airplanes, so she has no fixed associations with the carrier.

Some dogs don’t need a huge amount of acclimating — maybe you’ll be lucky enough to find that your dog is one of them. Four month-old Chloe, because of circumstances beyond everyone’s control, saw her carrier for the first time about 30 seconds before she got tucked into it for an all-day set of flights up the West Coast. She never made a peep in her carrier then, and hasn’t since.

Read Dog Jaunt’s travel check list and packing list! It will help you plan, pack and depart in an organized way.

The day of travel

If we have an early-morning flight, I don’t feed Chloe after her evening meal the night before. I usually pack late into the night, so before we go to bed I pick up her water as well. In the morning, we spend a long time in the side yard, making sure she pees and poops before we leave. If you can get a walk in, all the better, but it shouldn’t be so vigorous that she wants to gulp down water when she returns.

If we have a flight later in the day, I feed Chloe breakfast, and pick up her water about four hours before we leave for the airport. She gets a long walk in the morning; just before we leave, we spend a long time in the side yard.

I do not give Chloe a sedative. She’s a good traveler, and doesn’t need it. Although you can find vets and on-line resources on both sides of the argument, I am more convinced by the school of thought that regards sedatives as dangerous for small traveling pets. (Short-nosed dogs like pugs, French bulldogs, English toy spaniels, and Boston terriers absolutely should not have a sedative if they’re traveling as cargo.) Discuss the issue with your vet. Do not even consider dosing your dog yourself with a human sedative!!

Chloe has a SturdiProducts carrier, but the following steps should work for any good-quality carrier. I line the very bottom with an (unscented) weewee pad, then put in the carrier’s sheepskin floor pad. (Either the wee wee pad will catch leaks, or it will serve as a back-up if the DryFur pad on top gets soiled and has to be discarded.) On top of the sheepskin pad, I put a Dry Fur pad, and that’s the surface she’ll rest on during her travels. In with her goes a small comfort blanket or towel, a favorite soft toy and a bully stick. And then in goes Chloe, wearing her collar with ID and rabies tags.

In the end pocket of her carrier I put her harness and leash, a large Ziploc bag (to contain a soiled pad, if the worst happens), a collapsible travel bowl, a packet of treats, a roll of poop bags (for use during layovers), her health certificate and a copy of her shot record. Consider including a photo of your dog.

Remember to bring an empty water bottle with you, to be filled after you clear security.

Chloe rides to the airport in her carrier, because our timing is usually close by this point, and when we arrive at the airport parking lot I don’t want to be cramming her into her carrier while we’re getting bags onto the airport shuttle and stowing keys and car claim ticket. I’d rather get her in at home, in a familiar environment.

At the airport

At the airport, Chloe’s carrier rests by my feet while we pay for her and for extra bags (there’s always at least one, because she has a bag of her own to check). Only one ticket agent has ever asked to see her carrier; to date, no one has ever asked to see her health certificate (though she always has one — I don’t cut that particular corner). Consider asking for a middle seat, since they usually have the most under-seat room. [Update: Dozens of flights later, I know that the middle seat sometimes isn’t the best choice. Check out Dog Jaunt’s series of posts about which seats work best for an in-cabin dog.]

Recall that your dog in her carrier takes the place of your carry-on bag, so a solo traveler can only carry a dog and a “small personal item” — for me, a substantial but not heinous purse.

So now we’re down to my husband’s carry-on bag and small personal item, and my purse and Chloe in her carrier. It’s time to go through security. I recommend getting your computer into a bin, and your shoes and 3-1-1 bag and jacket into another, before you deal with your dog. Place your carrier on the belt behind your bins, unzip the opening, reach in and clip a leash on your dog’s collar and scoop her out into your arms. By now she may be reluctant to leave the carrier, so someone may have to hold it in place while you scoop. The leash is important, because you just don’t know how wigged out your dog might be at the airport, or if a sudden event in the security line might send her scrambling for “safety” and out of your arms.

The carrier will go on through the x-ray machine. You’ll walk through the metal detector holding your dog in your arms. In all likelihood, the alarm will go off (collar and leash, after all). Consider asking to be wanded, rather than taking off her collar and leash — the latter is faster, but you’ll have a whole new set of problems if your completely naked, wigged-out dog leaps out of your arms and takes off down the concourse. (TSA has no problem with the wanding option, so don’t be shy about asking. In fact, the TSA folks generally melt into a pile of goo when they see Chloe.)

After you get the all clear, put your dog back into her carrier right away, unclipping her leash only after she’s fully inside. At this point, the carrier will be her safe place, so she’ll shoot right back in. Then collect computer, shoes, jacket, etc.

Fill your water bottle at a water fountain.

There’s nothing special about waiting at the gate and boarding the plane with a dog, except that if the gate area is crowded, be thoughtful and put your dog’s carrier on the floor under your feet, not on the seat next to you.

On the plane

The next time your usual routine will change is when you take your seat on the plane. Keep in mind that your dog’s carrier will completely occupy the under-seat area, and take your book, bottle of water, neck pillow, etc. out of your small personal item and toss them onto your seat. Put your gutted SPI into the overhead compartment and push your dog’s carrier fully under the seat in front of you.

During the flight, and especially if you have understanding seat mates (deploy your adorable dog photo while you’re taxiing and climbing out), you can move your dog’s carrier out a bit and under your feet, or even onto your lap, but you cannot take your dog out of her carrier. At most, I will unzip the carrier just enough to stick my arm in to rest against Chloe. She’s snoozing, but I think she appreciates the gesture.

During the course of the flight, I will drop several of her favorite treats into her carrier, and I will give her ice cubes in her collapsible bowl or in the palm of my hand. I want her to have enough water not to be dehydrated, but not so much that she has to pee. (The bottle of water is in case she seems thirsty between beverage services. Also, I’ve used a bottle of water to wash salt off Chloe’s paws during one winter layover in Denver.)

If you have a layover

If at all possible, take a direct flight. If you just can’t, schedule a substantial layover — at least an hour, and preferably an hour and a half or more — so that you and your dog can exit the airport, find a pet relief area, and re-enter through security to find your departure gate.

Remember to empty your water bottle before re-entering! I can’t tell you how vexing it is to be on a tight schedule with a dog, and see your SPI being taken off the belt for a hand check. You know right away what they’re checking for, and it means going back out to the terminal, dumping out your water bottle, getting back in the security line….

Re-fill your water bottle once you’ve cleared security.

When you arrive at your destination

If you are traveling with a companion, one of you can collect your bags and the other can take your dog out for a well-deserved comfort stop and a good drink of water. If I’m traveling by myself, I consider the distance to that airport’s pet relief area (or the closest patch of grass) and assess how pressing Chloe’s need is. It is more convenient to give her a quick walk before collecting my luggage, but sometimes that’s just not practical.

Dog jaunt: Day trip to Fire Island via the Long Island Rail Road

It’s good to know that the LIRR allows small dogs in carriers on board, but it’s even better to learn about a fun day trip from NYC to the beaches on Fire Island using the LIRR. Gotham Unleashed, a blog I just found about having a pet in NYC, suggests taking the LIRR to Bay Shore (on the Babylon Branch) and walking to the ferry to Fire Island (three ferries leave for Fire Island; the one you want from Bay Shore is Fire Island Ferries — leashed dogs are allowed on board, for a round-trip fee of $7.50). Check out the Gotham Unleashed post for more information.

[6/12/11 Tragically, you can’t any more — the post is gone, and so is the site. All that’s left are the few clues I mention here. I can point you to a post on AnimalTourism.com, with some helpful tips about getting to/from Fire Island with a dog (in their case, two lively Beagles).]

Gulpy dog water bottle

Chloe and her Gulpy

Chloe and her Gulpy

The Gulpy is a simple product that does its job really well. It’s a water bottle with a screw-on cap attached to a scoop-shaped piece of plastic. Closed, the scoop hugs the bottle and allows it to be carried in a normal water-bottle holster. Flipped open, the scoop holds water (squeezed out of the bottle) in a convenient “dish” for your dog to drink from.

The Gulpy has a clip on the side, so you can hook it over your waistband. I don’t like stuff dragging on my waistband, so I don’t use that feature. I carry my Gulpy in the water bottle holster on my OllyDog Walker. It also fits in the cup holders of my car.

Pros: Provides clean water easily, is easy to carry, and even the fussiest dogs seem to take to it right away. You squeeze out a bit of water at a time, so there’s not a lot of waste — I only end up tossing a tablespoon of water or so into a nearby patch of greenery.

Cons: Some Amazon users complain that their Gulpy has broken after they’ve dropped it on its top. I’ve never dropped my Gulpy, so I can’t comment. They’re pretty cheap, so even if I dropped one and broke it, I’d just buy a replacement.

There are some alternatives on the market right now, including the Handi-Drink dog water bottle, which comes in a number of sizes, the Water Rover bottle/bowl and Lixit’s Thirsty Dog portable water bottle/bowl. The Handi-Drink is pretty close in appearance to the Gulpy, and may stand on its end better than the Gulpy does, but it requires an extra step to use: You first have to attach the water pan to the bottle and then squeeze out the water. The Water Rover is extremely clunky. The Thirsty Dog is similar to the Gulpy, but with a shoulder strap attached to the cap, which I absolutely don’t want but you might. Some users complain, though, that when the bottle is full, it can be so heavy that the bottle pulls out of the cap.

Amazon links:
New Angle Pet Products Gulpy Water Dispenser
Dog Water Bottle – Handi Drink 17 oz.
Water Rover – 26 oz.
Lixit Thirsty Dog Portable Water Bottle/Bowl

Traveling by car-share (Zipcar etc.) with a dog

Zipcar operates a membership-based car-sharing service in over fifty cities in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. Though the company makes mistakes (hello? pulled out of L.A.??), the car-sharing concept is terrific. Zipcar originally banned pets from its cars, but its current pet policy is sensible:

We understand that Fido and Tigger need to go to the vet on occasion. Pets are only allowed into Zipcars in locked pet carriers and members are responsible for the removal of any residual pet hair. Please don’t let your furry friend out of their carrier. It’s unfair to the other members.

Zipcar competitors

Since I first wrote this post, the scene has changed. Zipcar has returned to Los Angeles, and it now has a mighty competitor in Car2Go, which is not pet-friendly (“Sadly, no. Your beloved pet cannot join you on your trip. This is for your safety as well as your pet’s.”)

Zipcar has local competitors in several cities, including Chicago, Minneapolis-St.Paul, New York, San Francisco/Bay Area, Philadelphia and Toronto.

Chicago’s non-profit I-Go Cars offers a fleet of eco-friendly cars. Its pet policy states:

Not without a carrier. You must clean up after them. Many people are highly allergic to pet hair, and nobody wants to get in a car with dog or cat hair all over the seats—an avoidable nuisance that can also disrupt our cleaning crew’s tight schedule by requiring immediate treatment. For these reasons, we require that pets must travel in pet carriers. The fee for having a pet in an I-GO car without a pet carrier is $100.

HourCar, a non-profit car-share in the Twin Cities, has the following pet policy: “Don’t transport a pet in an HOURCAR, unless it is in a carrier. Put the carrier on the cargo blanket in the back and shake out the blanket when you are done. Some members are allergic to pet hair. Keep the car clean for the next member.” New York’s Mint has a similar pet policy: “If your pet is coming along for the ride, please keep them in animal carriers. Clean the vehicle interior after your reservation is over if hair or dirt is left behind. Be mindful of the fact that the next driver might have allergies to pet hair.”

Connect by Hertz (which also has offices in Washington, D.C., Paris and London) has the following pet policy: “With the exception of service animals accompanying a member or passenger with a disability, animals are not allowed in the vehicle at any time unless they are contained within an appropriate animal carrier. Animals too large for carriers are not allowed in the vehicle.”

The Bay Area’s non-profit City CarShare used to handle two issues at once in its FAQs by asking, “Can my pets smoke in the car?” Alas, these days the member handbook simply states that “Due to allergies and sanitary concerns, pets are only allowed in locked pet carriers while in City CarShare vehicles.”

PhillyCarShare, a non-profit car-sharing service in Philadelphia, has reciprocity with the Bay Area’s City CarShare. Not surprisingly, they also have a similar pet policy: “If you allow a pet in the vehicle, it must be in a carrier that keeps all hair inside!”

AutoShare, in Toronto, has the following pet policy:

80% of our cars are ‘Pet Accessible’ but you must use a pet carrier… and vacuum as necessary. All cars must be treated with respect and there should never be any sign of your pet when your trip is finished. Please note that about 20% are Pet Free, and no pets may be brought with you.

Boulder, CO’s non-profit car-sharing service is called eGo CarShare, and its pet policy also requires that dogs be in carriers: “At this time all pets must be transported in a pet carrier. As our fleet grows we may be able to designate some vehicles as “pet friendly.” If you notice any pet hairs, etc. in any of our cars please notify us. Also, if you have any severe pet allergies please notify us of this when you apply so that we can ensure the cars you use will be completely pet-free.”

These companies caught my attention, but there are, in fact, many car-sharing companies in the U.S. and abroad. Here’s a helpful list from Carsharing.net to get you started.

Traveling by SeaPort Airlines with a small dog

I don’t know about you, but I find the drive to Portland from Seattle endless, even though it really takes only about three hours. I much prefer the train, but Amtrak doesn’t allow dogs on board (see Dog Jaunt’s earlier post about Amtrak). A happy alternative is SeaPort Airlines, which operates Pilatus PC-12 turbine aircraft between Seattle (Boeing Field), Portland, Astoria, Pendleton and Newport, OR.

SeaPort’s pet policy conveys the impression that dogs are not allowed in the cabin:

SeaPort Airlines accepts domestic pets so long as they are in an approved carrier. The maximum weight of any animal must not exceed 40 lbs. The fee for the transportation of any animal is $35 and is in addition to any other applicable excess baggage fee. Animals not accompanied by a passenger will be treated as cargo, and cargo rates will apply. At no time will animals be treated as carry-on baggage.

In a phone conversation, however, I learned that dogs under 40 lbs., in a carrier, are welcome in the cabin. There is no underseat space to stow a dog, so she will be strapped in to a seat next to you. There is a $35 fee.

A quick flight, having to arrive only 15 minutes before your scheduled departure, easy parking — it all sounds good to me. SeaPort’s website currently provides basic information about the airline; for schedules or reservations call 1-888-573-2767.

San Juan Island, WA off-leash dog park

The Eddie & Friends Dog Park on San Juan Island occupies two acres next to Browne’s Home Center on Mullis Avenue (and is named after the Brownes’ dog Eddie). The turn is easy to miss (if you get to the fire station, you’ve gone too far), but leads to generous off-street parking.

The park is completely fenced, with two sets of double doors leading into a big dog area and a separate small ‘n’ shy area. The big dog area has some shade trees; the small ‘n’ shy area has an attractive gazebo. Both areas have seating for humans.

There are poop bags and trash cans. There are baskets of tennis balls and a couple of racquets to whack them with. The noble volunteers who maintain the park also bring in water in coolers and bottles. There is a water bowl in each area.

The only flaw in the set-up (and it’s really a small one) is that it is just possible for a motivated small dog to wriggle out of the small ‘n’ shy area into the big dog area, through gaps in a gate that connects the two areas but is normally chained shut, so keep your eyes on your small dog.

Eddie & Friends Dog Park
Mullis Avenue (between Browne’s Home Center and the fire station)
Friday Harbor, WA 98250
Open 7 am until dusk

Microchipping your dog for travel

There are two reasons that this topic might be of interest to you. Either you and your dog travel within the United States and you are concerned about the possibility that your dog will be lost, or you plan to travel abroad and need to microchip your dog to meet the import requirements of certain countries (e.g., the E.U., the U.K., Japan).

Either way, the situation should be simple: you go to the vet, they inject a microchip under the skin at the base of your dog’s neck, and later on someone with a scanner (an animal shelter, a vet’s office, a customs agent) can read her chip and access your contact information. Instead, it turns out to be extremely — and unnecessarily — complicated. Here is a useful Wikipedia entry that provides detailed information about the microchip mess.

First, there are multiple types of chips. The various chips differ in the frequencies they operate on (125kHz, 128 kHz, and 134.2 kHz) and whether or not they’re encrypted. The International Standards Organization (ISO) selected 134.2 kHz as the international standard, and it is indeed the standard for everywhere except the U.S., where the leading chip manufacturers chose to stay with 125 kHz (AVID, with nearly all of the market share, was particularly resistant to adopting the 134.2 kHz standard).

Second, scanners are made that read all four types of chip, but for a long time they were not widely distributed (so you could not be sure that the chip you chose for your dog would be read by the scanner of the particular shelter she found herself in). Bayer/ResQ and HomeAgain are making a new effort to make a “universal” scanner universally available in the U.S., and Dog Jaunt certainly hopes they’ll succeed.

In this interim period, what should you do? Dog Jaunt recommends that (1) if your dog already has a 9-digit, 125 kHz chip and you want to travel abroad, consider adding another, ISO-compliant chip; and (2) if your dog hasn’t been chipped at all and you want to travel abroad, consider where you travel in the U.S., and choose either to double-chip your dog or go with the rapidly-spreading ISO-compliant chip. Here’s why:

The chip that is still most common in the U.S. is 125 kHz, and many shelters (especially those away from metropolitan areas) may still have scanners that read or detect only those chips. The standard chip abroad, however, is 134.2 kHz.

Some on-line guides suggest that if you want to go to France with your dog, she must have a 15-digit, 134.2 kHz chip that is fully-compliant with ISO standard 11784, not one of the chips that were grandfathered in under Annex A ISO standard 11785 (the Annex essentially grandfathered in some established chips to the new standard, including the 10-digit “FECAVA” type of chip — the leading examples are the AVID Euro Chip and HomeAgain’s 10-digit chip). This notion is supported by the fact that the transition period for Annex A microchips ended in 1998; since 1998, technically, only 15-digit, 134.2 kHz chips are “true” ISO standard microchips.

However, the French embassy sent me its policy regarding the private importation of dogs, cats and ferrets, and the relevant portion states that “every animal must be identified by a microchip (standard ISO 11784 or annex A ISO standard 11785).” I confirmed that French customs will accept either a 15-digit ISO standard 11784 chip or a 10-digit FECAVA chip. The 15-digit chip, however, is “the recognized and recommended one,” my embassy contact said.

In fact, France, like many other countries, will allow you to import your pet with a 125 kHz, 9-digit chip, but only if you buy your own scanner and bring it with you so that customs can verify that your dog is implanted with the chip that’s referenced in all your import papers. Dog Jaunt can’t love this idea. First, scanners are expensive ($100-$200) and they’re one more object to keep track of (or lose). Second, if your dog is lost in that country, no one but you will have the scanner that’s needed to read her chip. If she has an ISO-compliant chip, on the other hand, the foreign shelter that finds her will detect that she’s chipped and recover your contact information. If your dog already has a 9-digit chip and you want to travel abroad, it seems like a better idea to buy a $50 ISO-compliant chip for your dog instead of buying a scanner.

Indeed, many people have chosen to double-chip their dogs. The procedure is no more painful for your dog than an injection, and while some concerns have been raised about microchips causing cancer, the risk appears to be negligible. Also, the presence of one chip does not prevent the other from being read. [10/25/10 I spoke recently with a very knowledgeable USDA inspector here in the State of Washington, and he strongly suggested that if you double-chip your dog, be sure that your veterinarian mentions that fact on your dog’s international health certificate, and provides a brief explanation of why that was done, so that a customs officer can refer to that explanation when a scan reveals two chips but can only read one.]

If you want your dog to be chipped with a chip that your particular vet doesn’t carry, you can buy it on-line and bring it to the vet for implantation. Fully-compliant, 15-digit ISO chips are marketed in the U.S. under the brand names ResQ and Datamars (Crystal Tag). The ResQ chip is only available through a vet, but you can buy the Datamars (Crystal Tag) chip from PetTravelStore.com. (Please note that do-it-yourself directions were included in the Datamars (Crystal Tag) chip I bought, but positioning the chip is a bit tricky and is best left to a vet.)

Chloe recently got microchipped, by the way. We chose the fully-ISO-compliant ResQ chip for her, because we typically travel to places in the U.S. where the shelters are likely to have received a universal scanner by now; we plan to visit Europe with her as soon as we have two euros to rub together; and our vet had the ResQ chip in hand (our Datamars chip hadn’t yet arrived).

Sarasota, FL dog-friendly restaurant: Simon’s Coffee House

Simon’s Coffee House is easy to miss — it’s in a strip mall along the busy Tamiami Trail, and it has very modest signage — but it’s well worth the hunt. We’ve eaten lunch there on two separate trips to Sarasota, and found it a friendly, comfortable place with excellent sandwiches, salads and soups. Simon’s is open for breakfast, lunch and now dinner too, according to its website, and — best of all — Simon’s welcomes dogs at its outdoor tables. In fact, visiting dogs get a treat! Alternatively, you can get your meal to go (the website allows you to order on-line if you wish) and have a picnic with your dog at a local dog-friendly park or beach.

Simon’s Coffee House
5900 S. Tamiami Trail
Sarasota, FL 34231
T: 941-922-2500
Open Mon. to Sat. 8 am to 8 pm