Greetings, everyone!

Thanksgiving is our favorite holiday. We always have so much for which to be thankful, including all our loyal subscribers. May everyone have a lovely break, filled with good food, fun-loving family and friends and healthy companion animals.

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Will you be mugging for the camera with your pet(s) this holiday season? According to a survey by the American Animal Hospital Association, 58 percent of pet guardians include their pets in family or holiday pictures. Check with your local rescues and humane societies because many hold "Photos with Santa" fundraisers. What a great way to acquire a nice family portrait, plus help those who help needy animals.

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In this month's NewsPetter, we feature a parade for pugs and their admirers, a very pets-OK get-away, a furry travel agent, a few pet-related tips and of course, FloridaPets.net's contest! This month you could win delicious doggie biscuits in sun, sand and surf-inspired shapes from the new 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 Donald Drennon of Sunrise, Florida, the winner of last month's contest.

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We hope everyone will enjoy this issue of the NewsPetter. Please pass the word about FloridaPets.net and write us with any suggestions or requests. Your opinion matters to us. 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:

Partying with the Pugs
By Patricia Collier

The unofficial motto for a pug is "a lot of dog in one place." And that's just what you'll find at the 4th annual "PugsGiving", a picnic and fundraiser combo for Pug Rescue of Florida, Inc.

The event will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, November 12, at the Alligator & Blue Heron Pavilions inside Lake Parker Park in Lakeland. Grab your dog, pug or other, and go enjoy a full day of family fun and excitement, including a pug costume contest, a unique tricks contest, lots of games, a pug parade, pictures with Santa, an auction of pug items, pet-related vendors, prizes and lots more.

Tickets are $5 per pug and $1 for humans over the age of 12. The small fee includes all games and contests and a free raffle ticket. Organizers are asking attendees to refrain from using retractable leashes or those over 6-feet long. For more information about the event, visit Pug Rescue of Florida.

Editor's Note: Our guest pug is Scooter, designated driver and companion to Babette Wilkins of Ocklawaha, Florida.

How about a holiday in Holiday?
By Patricia Collier

The Tahitian Resort is a pet-friendly facility in Holiday, Florida. Located on US19, the Resort is convenient to most Tampa Bay area attractions, including those in Palm Harbor, Tarpon Springs and New Port Richey.

Dick Hamilton, General Manager of the Tahitian Resort and himself guardian to two fur kids, said there's a $5.00 plus tax fee, per pet, per night. There are both smoking and non-smoking pet-friendly rooms available and most are located on the ground level. Pets are not allowed in the poolside rooms, but there's a nice walking area for everyone with dogs to enjoy.

For those not familiar with western Florida, the Tampa Bay area is a favored get-away destination for all kinds of travelers, especially those with pets. There are several dog parks and pet-friendly beaches within an easy drive from The Tahitian. While they do not yet have a Web site, the above photo shows off the Resort's lovely, tropical ambiance. You can make reservations at The Tahitian Resort by calling Dick and his staff at 1-800-931-0333.

Travelin' Man
Meet Mason, companion to
Samantha Lai of Mascotte, Florida.

Mason is a 12-year-old Bichon Frise who has accompanied Samantha the past 8 years as they drove from Texas to Oregon to California and finally now to Florida.

"He doesn't do much anymore," Samantha says, "But when you get him started and playing, you'd never think he was as old as he is."

Mason is pictured here in his spiffy fall attire looking, as Samantha says, "so nice and fluffy and squeeshy!"

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 1-3 photos of your pet(s) and tell us things like breed, age, sex, personality traits, likes and 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 your photos in JPG or GIF format only.

Sponsor Dog for this month's Tips & Tails
Lady, companion to
George and Patty Thompson, of Boynton Beach, Florida.
The Thompsons adopted Lady in July. She's a purebred beagle and about two-years-old. Lady loves taking motorcycle rides and going to the dog park.

Speaking of dogs parks, how about one in the Clermont area? One of our readers, Jenni, tells us for her Girl Scout Gold Award (the highest honor in Girl Scouts), she is going to create a dog park in Clermont or south Lake County, depending on where she is able to get land. If you or anyone you know has land to donate, knows how to write grants or would just like to help Jenni with her project, please contact her at jenni88@gmail.com.

Did you know? The Humane Society of the United States is lobbying for the Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act (PETS Act), which would require state and local authorities to include pets and service animals in their disaster evacuation plans. Click on the link given to find out how to make your voice heard on this issue.

Due to increased safety concerns, US Airways will no longer accept pets and other animals for travel as checked baggage or cargo. The policy change does not apply to the transportation of service animals such as seeing eye dogs.

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

Have a handy tip or tail about traveling with pets? Send it to WebMistress and we'll share it with other readers of the NewsPetter.

Great news from the FloridaPets.net
Paw Patch Shoppe
We now accept all major credit cards and PayPal
and you can now order online or by phone!

Besides Liquid Syn-flex, the wonderful alternative to harmful arthritis drugs for both pets and people, the Paw Patch carries dog cookies made by the 7 Dogs Tropical Bakery who believes dogs deserve treats in all shapes and sizes, such as the tropical cookies we're giving away in our contest below. See what else our creative canines have been up to in the kitchen at the Paw Patch Shoppe.

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We welcome a new sponsor
AllAboutBirdFlu.com

Because there are so many unknowns about bird flu, we need to stay educated about the topic. All About Bird Flu will help us do just that with easy-to-understand articles, an RSS feed which provides the latest world-wide news about bird flu, and links to related sites with even more information.

Email: webmistress@floridapets.net

Phone: 904-879-9352

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