Moose takes his ease in a handsome carrying case. Photo provided by JetBlue.

Chris Reidy, Globe Staff

He's the most peripatetic of pets, a Maltese poodle with a Hub connection who is now being lionized --- if it's possible for a poodle named Moose to be lionized --- as the poster dog of a new JetBlue Twitter promotion that aims to help an animal welfare foundation.

According to JetBlue, Moose was the airline's most traveled pet in 2010, logging many flights between Buffalo and Boston. Moose's owner Jamie Griebner is originally from Buffalo and is now a law student at Suffolk University, JetBlue said.

To highlight the joys of having a pet like Moose, JetBlue said it has pledged to donate $2 to the Millan Foundation for every pet photo uploaded to Twitter between May 4 and May 18 using the hashtag #JetPaws. (JetBlue has a long-standing program called JetPaws, which seeks to help customers who want to travel with their pets.)

As for the photo contest, the airline's 13,000 crew members will vote on their favorite photo, and the winner get will a two-night, three-day vacation package to the Hotel Palomar Los Angeles, a hospitality venue that has been cited for its pet friendliness, JetBlue said.

By Kari Bodnarchuk, Globe Correspondent

One Paw at a Time, which offers ground-based pet transport service throughout the Northeast and mid-Atlantic, now provides chauffeur service for dogs, cats, and other small animals to and from the Pet Airways terminal in Farmingdale, N.Y. (Long Island), about a six-hour drive from Boston. Pet Airways, a pet-only airline, puts animals in the main cabin on flights between nine cities, including Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Denver,
Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Los Angeles, Omaha, and Phoenix. Pets must be at least 8 weeks old to travel with Marshfield-based One Paw at a Time; rates depend on the passenger and its destination.

781-974-3889, www.onepawatatime.com; 888-738-2479, www.petairways.com

By Kari Bodnarchuk, Globe Correspondent

Pack up your pooch and head to Showboat Atlantic City, which has become the only dog-friendly casino in Atlantic City. As part of the property’s new Pet Stay Atlantic City program, guests and their dogs can stay in the New Orleans Tower, where four-legged visitors will receive special treats, food and water bowls, a doggie mat, and a keepsake duffle bag. Guests are allowed to bring a maximum of two dogs weighing up to 50 pounds per room. Pooches cannot venture into the casino, restaurant areas, spa, or retail shops. Rates begin at $69 per night, based on double occupancy and not including the $40 cleaning fee.

800-621-0200, www.showboatac.com.

Photo: Showboat Atlantic City

By Kari Bodnarchuk, Globe Correspondent

Grab Fido and escape to one of Loews Hotels’ 18 US and Canadian properties. Their latest Woofie Weekends package runs through April 30 and includes a one-night stay for you and your BFF (best furry friend), an in-room doggie delight meal, and use of a luxurious Microdry memory foam mat that will provide your pooch with contoured support. What you won’t get: the $25 pet cleaning fee. Rates start at $134, based on availability and double (human) occupancy. You must bring a dog to take advantage of the special.

800-235-6397, www.loewshotels.com

Photo: Loews Hotels

By Paul E. Kandarian, Globe Correspondent

It seems a pricey way to keep an eye on the kids, but SecuraTrac is offering a GPS tracking device called SecurePAL for parents worrying about theirs going missing on spring break, particularly in more dangerous spring-break spots. For $157.78, with monthly service plans starting at $18.88 a month (or rented for 10 bucks a day), parents get a small automated locator their kids can wear or carry should they go missing. When the SOS button is pushed, parents get a text or email alerting them to the device's exact location and gives directions on how to get there, presumably to give that information to local authorities. They can also set up SecuraFences, or virtual boundaries, that alerts them when the device enters or leaves a designated area.

 

And if you trust your kids, or don't have them, the device is also touted to be good for tracking elderly parents who may wander, or even pets. For more information, visit www.securatrac.com.

 

The Pan Pacific Hotel Seattle has launched its new Pet Amenity Program. When you arrive with Fido, you receive a guide that lists dog-friendly restaurants and off-leash parks in the neighborhood. Staff can arrange for dog-sitting and grooming services, and a complimentary walk. They also provide doggy ice cream and bottled water for man's best friend. Bring Fido or Fifi to the Lobby Bar's outdoor dining area all summer and get gourmet treats from Scraps Dog Bakery. Each guest room includes a canine dining table that can be customized to fit and a plush dog bed. There is a nonrefundable $50 pet fee at check-in. 206-264-8111

Photo: Pan Pacific Hotel Seattle

Posted by Kari Bodnarchuk, Globe correspondent

Hotel renovations are often the hostelry industry's equivalent of getting a haircut and a new dress. Read listings on TripAdvisor or Expedia and you'd think every hotel out there had done a complete makeover, when all they did was change the drapes and paint the scuffed walls. So it's a pleasure to discover a real renovation that makes an already excellent property even better. The Hyatt Regency Newport Hotel & Spa already had spacious, well-appointed rooms and great water views of Newport harbor, courtesy of its location on Goat Island. But the $35 million redesign that began in 2007 and wrapped up this month is a true transformation.



In addition to new room appointments and a very classy new lobby, they got rid of the eyesore parking lot (there's a garage) and turned it into a grassy Great Lawn. Of course, the hotel is thinking ahead to wedding season. But there's just one problem with large grassy expanses in the middle of a harbor: Canada geese and the, uh, processed grass they leave behind. Enter Darby, the Hyatt's border collie. Now entering her third year, she patrols the lawn and shoos away the geese. "She's really cost-effective," says general manager John Karchner, "and the guests love her." For the record, this Hyatt is extremely pet-friendly. (And they have their own loyal, well-paid house-keeping staff.)

David Lyon is co-author of the food and travel blog www.hungrytravelers.com.

Photos courtesy Hyatt Regency Newport Hotel & Spa

The ’09 boating season may be off to a slow start but sailors and power boaters hungering to get back on the water will find kindred spirits and perhaps their next vessel at the 7th Annual Maine Boats, Homes & Harbors Show, August 7-9, in Rockland, Maine. The state’s only in-water boat and home show will feature more than 70 boats afloat and 150 exhibitors on shore. Participating will be many of Maine’s finest artists, architects, boat builders, craftsmen, designers, furniture makers, marine gear vendors, and musicians. This year a new area is planned exploring alternative energy sources and building practices, energy audits, and sustainability. Returning faves include a model yacht pond, live music, a marine activities area for kids. Naturally there will be plenty of tasty Maine food.

The 7th Annual World Championship Boatyard Dog Trials on Sunday Aug. 9 at 10:30 a.m. gives contestants and their people a chance to show off skills to the amusement of one and all. The 2008 World Champ, a bloodhound named Truman, aka Special Agent K-9 entered by the Humane Society of Knox Count, was trained by local teens. Truman performed nearly the equal of 007 as he leaped from a tippy dinghy, kissed a femme fatale, disarmed special agents, responded to commands in multiple languages, knocked a villain off the dock and then slipped back under cover as a family dog. Soon after last year’s show, he adopted into a loving home. Registration is now closed but still this is a great event for families and dog lovers (and likers).
You’ll also want to catch the Great Pen Bay Zucchini Boat Regatta on Saturday at 2 p.m.
Tradition Shapes Innovation, the show’s theme, captures the true spirit of today’s Maine. Admission: $10 adults, under 12 free. Gates open at 10 a.m. daily. Harbor and Buoy parks, Rockland, Maine, on Penobscot Bay. No pets allowed. Info and directions: 800-565-4951 or www.maineboats.com.

Posted by Janet Mendelsohn, Globe Correspondent

We got our first family dog ever in September. Not long after, I became a dog freak. At least an Eva Freak [our dog's name]. Now I pay particular attention to anything dog. This Saturday's event in Provincetown has caught my eye, and seems like a terrific event for any expert or novice runner, that happens to stay active with their own Evas. Dog Run Dog is in its 4th year, and provides a 5K or 10K race circuit for dogs and their people. Dog Running, the generic term for Canicross, is quickly becoming both a popular recreational and competitive sport. Requiring very little training, Canicross is easy for anyone to start.

Dog Run Dog is Saturday, June 20, from 9 a.m. to noon. In its 4th year, the race is held in conjuntion with the Carrie A. Seaman Animal Shelter and Pilgrim Bark Park. This event is professionally timed and the top three teams are awarded the coveted Dog Bowl. Call 1-802-356-4444 for info or check online.

Photo courtesy Dog Run Dog

At a time when the Commonwealth is planning to close several state parks and swimming areas and raise parking fees at beaches and other recreational sites, Uncle Sam, who is getting quite a bit a practice at this bailout stuff, is reaching out to you.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has announced that the feds will waive entrance fees at
147 national parks and monuments for three summer weekends: June
20-21 (Think cheap Dad's Day outing), July 18-19 and Aug. 15-16.

According to the Associated Press, 147 US parks and monuments charge fees of $3-$25 and nation's 244 other parks already are free. There about about 20 parks and sites in Massachusetts; of that number the ones that normally charge include: Adams National Historical Park, Cape Cod National Seashore, John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site, and Longfellow National Historic Site. Here's a link to a national map and list.

Feeling guilty about leaving your dog alone when you go on vacation? Make it up to him by taking him out to dinner. Every Tuesday night from 5:30 to
9 p.m. the Wildcat Tavern in Jackson, N.H., hosts Dinner With Your Dog Night. They'll seat you and your leashed best friend in the tavern area (sorry, the dining room is for humans only). In warmer months you'll sit out back in the Wildcat's comfortable garden. Order what you like from the menu, and the good-natured staff will make a general fuss over you and your dog, treating him with water, dog snacks, and a souvenir bandana to take home. Need a place to stay? The Village House just down the road in Jackson is a pet-friendly place to bunk down for the night.

Dog lovers will go to great lengths to accommodate their pets on vacation. The Paw House Inn in West Rutland, Vt., knows this and has a formula down pat: pamper the pets and their owners will come.

The inn has been so successful that it is expanding: the Paw House Inn and Resort at Mount Snow in West Dover, Vt., opens Labor Day weekend. Everything about the Paw House is dog-centric: "tail-proofed" rooms, a fenced dog park, an agility course, a doggie daycare facility, an indoor playground for colder months, trainers, groomers, dog massage therapists, and a custom-built dog bed in every room. There's even a restaurant (for humans) called Fetch.

Nightly rates for two dogs and two humans are $185-$295, including breakfast. Due to the inn's insurance restrictions, children under 10 are generally not allowed, and dogs must be current on vaccinations.

I have a friend who gives her dog medication because he gets nervous and anxious when left alone for several hours. Doggie downers?! I had to roll my eyes at this, but apparently there’s a market out there for freaked-out pets. Take the Chatterbowl. Record a message of up to 10 seconds into a battery-powered device, which fits under the bowl. When your pet comes to eat or drink, your soothing message will play, thereby warming the cockles of your lonely pet’s heart. Personally this would piss me off if I were a dog, but then again, maybe that’s why I’m a cat person.
Speaking of cats, there’s a way to drive them crazy too — in a good way. Fling-ama-String, which hangs over a doorknob, is a battery-operated device that, well, flings a string around. Watch the video and go here to find more ways to spoil your pet whether you leave home or not.