Category Archives: Dogs

Pet insurance support for employees

Posted on July 21, 2011 | Leave a comment

The Kimpton Hotel chain based in the United States regularly makes it onto the list of Fortune magazine’s 100 Best Companies to Work For list.

Why?

Well one reason that distinguishes this employer apart from others is that they offer a benefit programme that includes pet insurance at reduced rates. The hotel chain has chosen Pet Assure as its insurance provider.

“At Kimpton, we respect and care for all canine companions,” said Steve Pinetti, senior vice president of sales and marketing at Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants. “We want to make sure every member of the Kimpton family is well taken care of, and that includes making sure our pets are safe and happy.”

The Kimpton chain offers pet packages at each of its locations; these pet packages include gourmet dog treats, dog walking and dog massage services.

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Posted in dog care, dog-friendly accommodation, dog-friendly workplaces

Tagged employee benefits, Kimpton hotels, Pet Assure, pet insurance

The ultimate dog tease

Posted on July 14, 2011 | Leave a comment

This video was sent to me by a customer. I think it is great and something that so many dog owners can relate to.

Enjoy!

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Posted in Humor/humour

Tagged treats, ultimate dog tease, video

Printing for Less – a dog friendly workplace

Posted on July 12, 2011 | 1 comment

PrintingforLess.com (PFL) is a Montana-based printing business that is also a dog-friendly. Their press release for this year’s Take Your Dog to Work Day proudly stated:

Here at PrintingForLess.com, we get to bring our dogs to work on a daily basis. We’ve found having office dogs helps with staff morale, builds camaraderie among employees, stimulates creativity and decreases employee absenteeism.

I’m a huge supporter of the pet-friendly workplace for all of the reasons stated above. I recently heard a Chief Executive say that he uses statistics on frequency of employee sick leave as a measure of whether the employees are engaged with the business or not. Many businesses with pet-friendly workplaces, like PFL, report that employee absenteeism decreases after the pet-friendly workplace is instituted. That’s good news for employees, employers, customers, and the dogs!

Here’s a video (courtesy of YouTube) of Bodie performing tricks in the offices at PFL:

When you take a look at the PFL website, you can see that the company has a pretty special culture, and the dog-friendly workplace policy is only one part of that. Watch the PFL culture video on their website.

Well done PrintingforLess.com!

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Posted in dog-friendly workplaces

Tagged dog-friendly work, dogs in the workplace, employee absenteeism, Montana, Printing for Less, workplace culture

Pet parks at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport

Posted on July 9, 2011 | 3 comments

In May, I featured an item about the pet relief area at the Maui airport.

Did you know that in 2008, the US Department of Transportation passed a law called the Air Carrier Accessibility Act? This Act requires airports to have relief facilities available to service dogs.

Many airports have since realised the value of catering to their customers who are traveling with their dogs and opened up these facilities not only to service dogs but all dogs. One airport that is leading the way is the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. This airport has pet parks at all three of its passenger terminals. They are:

The Bone Yard (Terminal 4)
The Paw Pad (Terminal 3)
The Pet Patch (Terminal 2)

If you are traveling through Phoenix, remember that the Airport offers these facilities and, if you’re not, here’s a great video of the Airport’s pet parks for you to enjoy:

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Posted in dog care, dog-friendly accommodation, Dogs, dogs and holidays

Tagged airport, Bone Yard, dog parks, Paw Pad, Pet Patch, pet relief areas, Phoenix, Sky Harbor

Paw Justice 2012 calendar competition

Posted on July 9, 2011 | Leave a comment

The folks behind the Paw Justice campaign have come up with another creative way to help raise funds for education about animal abuse in New Zealand.

For $25.00, you can enter two photos of your dog in the Paw Justice 2012 calendar competition. If you want to enter more photos, you can pay an additional $5.00 for each additional group of two photos submitted.

The grand prize winner will see their pet:

featured on the 2012 Paw Justice calendar
immortalised in a pet portrait commissioned just for you
replicated in a soft toy mascot for Paw Justice that will be sold in stores

All entrants will receive a copy of the Paw Justice 2012 calendar.

What are you waiting for? Just click on the Paw Justice logo above and it will take you directly to the photo competition page. Good luck!

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Posted in animal welfare, Dogs

Tagged calendar competition, dogs, Paw Justice, photos

Dogs as bed partners

Posted on July 7, 2011 | Leave a comment

Bedmaker Sleepyhead has released the results of New Zealand’s largest sleep survey. The survey aimed to assess the sleeping habits of New Zealanders, primarily to make the connection between bedding and quality sleep.

The survey found that 60% of New Zealanders share their bed with a partner every night, 12% of us share our beds with our dogs or cats.

So, if you sleep with your dog – you are not alone!

(One of the benefits not mentioned in the survey is that your dog is an excellent bed warmer on cold winter nights. Whereas a hot water bottle or wheat bag will cool down overnight, your warm and furry dog maintains your bed at a constant temperature.)

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Posted in dog ownership, Dogs, statistics and surveys

Tagged dogs in bed, sleep survey, Sleephead

Firm comes to aid of disabled dog

Posted on July 6, 2011 | Leave a comment

When Lucky’s wheelchair was stolen, New Hampshire firm HandicappedPets.com stepped in with a new one. Read the story here.

David Feeney with his dog, Lucky, in Lucky's new wheelchair. Photo by Matthew J Lee, Boston Globe.

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Posted in special needs

Tagged Boston Globe, handicappedpets.com, Lucky, New Hampshire, wheelchair

Congratulations Dogwatch!

Posted on July 5, 2011 | Leave a comment

The Palms Shopping Centre in association with The Breeze easy listening radio station has been running a $100,000 campaign to give back to community organisations in Christchurch and Canterbury. Members of the public were asked to vote on the organisation that they felt should win the largest grant of money.

I’m pleased to report that Dogwatch is the supreme winner – earning $50,000 for the charity. Dogwatch takes condemned dogs from the pound and works to find them a forever home.

Well done, Dogwatch. By all accounts, the animal sanctuary won by a landslide.

Watch the video, courtesy of YouTube: