Road Dogs

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Summer is getting underway and that means a lot of people are setting off on summer vacations. These days, more and more vacationers are taking their pets with them. As part of the pet humanization trend, Fido gets to take a vacation, too.

To go along with an uptick in the number of people who travel with their pets—for vacation or other outings—pet companies are producing more products to make traveling with pets a better experience for both pet and owner.

Our cover story has the details on these products, as well as some other information on the people and pets that take to the road.

Aside from the travel-related products that your store can stock, how does the traveling pet trend affect your store? I have some ideas, but I’d also like to hear it from your perspective. How do you help your customers who are traveling with their pets? Send us an email or drop us a note via social media if you’ve got some good ideas.

Traveling with pets almost always actually means “traveling with dogs.” Other pets tend to stay home when their families get out and about. There definitely are people who travel with cats and birds (not so much small mammals, reptiles or fish, for obvious reasons), but they are more the exception than the rule. Does your store offer pet sitting or pet boarding to those owners? Or have you partnered with such a service so you can provide a referral to your customers?

What am I doing this summer?

I’m glad you asked. Aside from SuperZoo and P3—you’re going to those right?—I’m going to be starting with a whole new pet project. By the end of the summer or maybe early fall, I’ll be setting up a saltwater tank for the first time. It’s been a long time since I’ve tried keeping pets I know so little about. There’s a lot to learn before acquiring any pet, and marine organisms require more research than most. I’ve been doing a lot of reading on fish and corals and the equipment they need.

I feel lucky that the marine hobby show Reef-a-Palooza is happening relatively close to the Pet Age office at the end of June. I’m looking forward to attending, learning a lot and seeing all the cool animals. I’m excited to meet other marine hobbyists and get ideas for my own tank. Maybe I’ll see you there, too.

Save travels!

Tom Mazorlig