On April 4, we sadly lost our beloved feline companion, Knarley, to cancer. This kitty was mostly disagreeable, shirked litter box duty too often, and took great pride in tormenting his dog siblings. So, of course he will be missed. You cat people know what I mean. I'd like to share with you a short essay I wrote in his honor. I call it The Antics of Knarley .

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One of our readers asked if we knew Florida's pets population. While we couldn't find a specific figure, we do know that, according to the American Pet Product Manufacturers Association’s National Pet Owners Survey, Florida is in the top 5 states for total dog population, with 3.3 million reported. Florida is also in the top 5 states for total cat population at 3.7 million. Of course, that doesn't include pets with feathers or scales. One thing's for sure: there are a bunch of animal lovers in the sunshine state.

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Spring is here, the time when a dog's fancy may turn to fun down at the neighborhood dog park. We have 88 cities listed on FloridaPets.net that have dog parks, dog-friendly beaches, or both, and we add more every week. If you haven't stopped by lately, you may wish to browse around at Pet-Friendly Places to Play.

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In this month's NewsPetter, we feature a festival for all kinds of pets, a trendy get-away, a photo of a "what", a few pet-related tips and of course, FloridaPets.net's contest! This month you could win delicious doggie cookies in sand, sea and sun-inspired shapes from the now-famous 7 Dogs Tropical Bakery, owned by none other than the canines at FloridaPets.net. Just check the end of the NewsPetter for all the poop on how to enter. And speaking of prizes, congratulations to Shannon Cragin of Fort Walton Beach, Florida, and her dogs, Buster and Jackey, the winners of last month's contest.

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We hope everyone finds the FloridaPets.net Web site useful and we hope everyone will enjoy this issue of the NewsPetter. Your opinions matters, so please write us with any comments, suggestions or requests. Until next month, thanks for "tailing" along with us and remember our motto:

"They're part of the family, so take them along!"

Patricia Collier
Editor

Special Note: If you cannot see the photographs in this NewsPetter, you are missing a lot of neat stuff! Some of our readers just can't get email in the HTML format that allows them to view pictures and other artwork, so we've come up with this solution:

A Day for the Animals
By Patricia Collier

Polk County Leisure Services will hold its annual Scales and Tails Pet Festival Saturday, April 29, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event will be held at the Hunt Fountain Park, located at the intersection of Duff and Green Roads in North Lakeland.

Low-cost vaccines and microchipping will be made available for pets and there will be live entertainment, food, pet-friendly vendors, children's activities, pet adoptions, door prizes, pet/guardian contests, a run for fun contest, and more. A past winner of the Best Dressed contest is pictured above.

Admission to join in on all the activities is free. This event is for all ages and pets with proof of current vaccines are welcome. For more information or detailed directions, contact Brandy Gray at Polk County Leisure Services at 863-534-4340.

Gracious Hospitality Awaits You and Your Pet
By Patricia Collier

This month's pet-friendly get-away is The Colony Hotel & Cabana Club, located in Delray Beach. Built in 1926, the hotel is a designated Delray Beach Historic Landmark and its beach has been voted one of the 10 best beaches in the Southeast by Holiday Travel Magazine.

The Colony is within walking distance to at least 60 restaurants and the "Porch Bar" overlooks famous Atlantic Avenue. Guests can relax at the hotel's private beach club which includes a heated salt water pool and easy ocean access. This is an area in Florida with more things to do than there are minutes in a day. You can learn about more attractions and happenings, including outdoor festivals and concerts here.

The Colony Hotel & Cabana offers 70 guestrooms. Well-behaved pets are allowed with no size restrictions. There is a daily fee of $25 per pet.

"I'm a what and a what?"

Meet Poco, companion to
Karen Burroughs of Orlando.

Poco was supposed to be an "under 10-pound Yorkie-Poo" but in reality, he's 25 pounds of jet black sweetness. Karen said her family members are so in love with Poco, they wouldn't trade him for any blue-blooded hound.

"Poco loves to run and can bounce like he is on springs!" Karen said, "He is a smart boy, but doesn't mind terribly well. Guess he has us trained."

Uh, huh. Just like they all do all of us, Karen. Hey, if anyone has any ideas which side of bow wow Poco's parents may have hailed, let us know!

Would you like FloridaPets.net to feature your pet(s) in the NewsPetter or as Pet(s) of the Week on the Web site? If so, please email WebMistress. Send 1 or 2 photos of your pet(s) and tell us things like breed, age, sex, personality, likes, dislikes, how you found each other and anything else you would like to share with others. Please type "Submission" in the subject line of your note and send photos in JPG or GIF format.

A La Doggie? It's looking good! A bill, sponsored by Sen. Dave Aronberg, D-Greenacres, and Rep. Ari Porth, D-Coral Springs that would allow restaurants to welcome Rover and Fido in outdoor dining areas is moving forward in Tallahassee. The bill would arrange for a three-year test program to start July 1 that would allow, not require, restaurants throughout Florida to welcome Rover and Fido in outdoor dining areas. An amendment was made to the bill (HB 333) in the House as recently as April 17. A similar bill is making the rounds in the Senate (SB 1172) where further action is scheduled for April 24. We'll post updates in next month's NewsPetter.

Another pet-friendly career? According to the American Trucking Association, there's a national shortage of about 20,000 long-haul drivers. One solution they've come up with is to allow potential drivers to have their pets with them while they trek up and down the roads of America. We think that's a great idea!

Time for the repetitive, subliminal message from FloridaPets.net:
"Doggie pooper scoopers, use them, always, everywhere you go. Good human."

Have a pet-related tidbit, tip or tale? Send it to WebMistress and we'll share it with other readers of the NewsPetter.

Offerings from the FloridaPets.net Paw Patch Shoppe

"We're about half-way through our first bottle and we're thrilled with the results. Our dachshund has chronic back problems and Syn-flex seems to be working well." - Linda from Texas.

Liquid Syn-flex - a wonderful alternative to harmful arthritis drugs & it's perfect for both pets & people. We carry it in the Paw Patch Shoppe because we use it with our own dogs & have seen how much & how quickly it helps them feel better. For more information or to order, click on the bottle of Syn-flex above.

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The Paw Patch also carries Dog Cookies made by the 7 Dogs Tropical Bakery where dogs will beg for treats in all shapes and sizes, such as the tropical cookies we're giving away in our contest below, or the canine-related shapes such the bones, paw prints and fire hydrants shown above. We accept all major credit cards and PayPal and you can order online or by phone! For more information or to order, visit the Paw Patch at the link shown below.

Product Notice

We're excited to tell you we're going to debut a new product for the Paw Patch Shoppe in next month's NewsPetter. This is a very simple item that will help you and your dog win lots of friends and influence even the most indignant of dignitaries. It's affordable and we guarantee you'll wonder how you did without it. We don't sell things we ourselves don't use and like, so that should tell you how very special this is. Watch for it!

Email: webmistress@floridapets.net

Phone: 904-879-9352

Web: http://www.floridapets.net