One thing that was really annoying as a dog owner was the fact that so many pubs, bars and restaurants were suddenly off limits.  Here in the UK most catering outlets believe (mistakenly) that it is against the law to allow dogs in restaurants.  This is not true – obviously they should not be roaming around the kitchens sniffing the food, but dogs can accompany their families for an enjoyable meal inside the restaurant.  I mentioned in an earlier article that we met a delightful pug called Betty in an Amsterdam restaurant earlier this year.  Betty’s owner told me that Amsterdam is a very dog friendly city, and they do not have to leave their dog at home when enjoying an evening out.  Who knows – if Betty the Pug applies some anti wrinkle eye cream she might be able to bluff her way in to an English eatery until a similar approach to pet friendly venues prevails in the UK.

I am as curious as everyone else to know which breed of dog the Obama family is going to adopt. They have already confirmed they intend to get a rescue dog, which is a good example to set.  Like us, they have decided to time the arrival of their new dog after their spring vacation.  There is no point in booking cruises straight after getting a new pet!The first family will be back home in April so we can look forward to the patter of four tiny new feet around Easter.

When I arrived in Devon my first stop was a Cider Farm, where Mum and Dad wanted to try the English Wine and Cider. They were not very impressed with Jack Ratt Cider but they loved the Lyme Bay Ginger Wine, so Mum bought a bottle for my Nan. Then we continued to our first hotel, the very Dog Friendly Hillcroft Hotel in Torquay. The owners are called Stuart and Karen, and they are very kind to dogs who come to stay at the hotel. They found us a suite with polished wooden floors so there was no carpet to pick up annoying bits of dog hair. This is a picture of our living room, where I ate my meals. There was plenty of room for my dog bed in the main bedroom and – this is really cool – the big wooden bed was so high that I could run underneath instead of walking round the bed. This really confused Mum and Dad, it was the closest I get to playing. Stuart said he quite liked hearing me bark in the mornings when I was ready to go for a walk, and they told us about all the best dog beaches in the area too. There are also two good pubs for dogs in Torquay, and we visited both of course – they are the Hole in the Wall and the Devon Arms.

Here I am in Devon on my holidays. We drove here yesterday after the usual dramas of Mum forgetting her makeup, Dad forgetting half his clothes and it was raining. Things did not look good: then we noticed a cider and wine farm that Mum had wanted to visit, and it was signposted off the main road. Very nice, and no problem on letting me in. They had a great yard for me to sniff around and do what a dog has to do …. We arrived at our hotel at 5pm and Karen and Stuart welcomed us with a pot of tea. They are really friendly and they allow dogs to anywhere in the hotel except the dining room and kitchen. I was very tired after all that activity so I had a snooze before the evening.
Many such places can be found around the town that offer dog-friendly environment, but hardly a puppys-oriented setting can be seen where these little cuties can feel at home. Such points specially approve of the australian shepherd because of its cool temperament and agile nature. They behave themselves quite nicely even without a bark collar and are very safe to have around kids keeping in view the dog health concerns.

I am really looking forward to my holiday next month, we are staying at two pet friendly hotels in Devon and they must have been designed for us. The first hotel is in Torquay and it is has two rooms suitable for dogs to stay in because they have polished wood floors to make it easy to sweep up any fur. I can go anywhere in the hotel except the restaurant, and their website includes these photos of dogs who have stayed at the hotel – sweet! The hotel owners are real dog lovers and they have offered to look after me in the evening if Mum and Dad want to go out. But Mum says the hotel told her about so many pubs where dogs can go in Torquay that I can probably go out with them every night. And we have heard that there is a beach near Torquay that is dedicated to dogs, some of the best beaches are in Devon so this should be dog heaven.

Tags:dogs,weblog, pets,diary,dog food,

Mum has been checking a lot of dog friendly hotels in the UK, and you might want to read about the hotels that she found. We are going to stay in Devon and we have found a hotel that gives every dog a goodie bag when they check in. There are some excellent dog friendly hotels in Devon near the beaches and we are looking forward to our stay. Mum and Dad also wanted hotels with WiFi internet access and they were quite surprised at how many doggie hotels in Devon offer free internet access as well. We have found two really good dog friendly hotels that let the humans play with their laptops, so everyone is happy.