It’s the last day of 2014, and wasn’t this year a spectacular one?! Looking back over where we’ve been is my favorite year-end tradition and, as I pursued all the posts that have appeared on Take Paws in the past twelve months, a few really stood out. Let’s take a walk down memory lane to remember some of the Best of Take Paws in 2014 …
Most Exciting
Winning post: Thrilling Encounter On Grey Whale Cove Trail
Seeing the two Macaw parrots flying over the California coast, with grey whales spouting below, was our most memorable experience this year. That was a once-in-a-lifetime encounter that we’ll never forget!
Most Enlightening
Winning post: Pet Blogger Challenge 2014
Each year I get so much out of the Pet Blogger Challenge. Coming together to share, learn, and celebrate the achievements of the members of our community is always a great way to kick off the new year. I hope you’ll join us for the 2015 Pet Blogger Challenge on January 10th!
Most Hair-Raising
Winning post: Low Clearance
Our most harrowing experience this year was the day our precocious GPS navigated us right up to a train trestle that was too low for us to fit under. I still get heart palpitations thinking about that trip!
![Low Clearance]()
Most Important
Winning post: Faking Service Dog Status
The most important post I wrote this year was on the evils of faking service dog status. Yes, we’d all like to be able to take our pets everywhere we go. And, yes, it may be tempting to buy a forged certificate and a service dog vest. But the price is paid by people who truly need their assistance animals, in the form of embarrassing and devastating challenges to the authenticity of their service animals. There is no explanation that makes this practice (or the companies who promote it) acceptable.
Most Life Changing
Winning post: Announcing Take Paws to Volunteer
There’s nothing quite like the feeling you get when you help a person or animal that needs you. This year I launched our Take Paws to Volunteer program and visited five animal shelters to donate a day of my time as we traveled across the country. It’s just amazing to meet the staff and volunteers who work so hard every day to help these animals. And loving on the animals is pretty fantastic, too!
Biggest Change in Pet Travel
Winning post: New Requirements for Dogs Entering the US
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in their effort to prevent the spread of rabies to animals or people, implemented a new policy for dogs coming into the country. As of August 11, 2014, home confinement agreements for dogs without proper evidence of rabies vaccination were no longer available at the border crossing. These agreements now require pre-approval, which should be obtained by emailing the CDC at CDCAnimalImports@cdc.gov.
Best Pet Travel Tip
Winning post: How to Handle A Trip to the Emergency Vet
One of the most stressful things that can happen on any pet friendly trip is to have your pet get sick or injured and require a visit to the emergency veterinarian. I’ve written a lot of posts with tips for traveling with pets, but this one is the most important, simply because it could affect your pet’s health.
Best Revelation
Winning post: 5 Lessons You Learn From Traveling With Your Pets
These dogs are constantly teaching Rod and I to be better people, and every once in a while I actually catch on to their lessons. This post is a reflection on one those times, and I should probably go back and read it again ever day.
Best Product Review
Winning post: New Sleepypod Harnesses for the GoPetFriendly.com Dogs
When Sleepypod released their new ClickIt Sport safety harness earlier this year, we were thrilled to be asked to test it with Ty and Buster. After using them for a few months, we’re absolutely sold – and delighted that the boys are safer now while we’re traveling!
Best Pet Travel Series
Winning posts: 8 Places Your Dog Definitely Wants To Go On Vacation, 8 Places Your Dog Absolutely Wants To Go On Vacation, 8 Places Your Dog Positively Wants To Go On Vacation, 8 Places Your Dog Really Wants To Go On Vacation, 8 Places Your Dog Truly Wants To Go On Vacation
This series of blog posts, highlighting 40 of our favorite pet travel destinations, was a blast to write! Going back through five years of posts and pictures brought back so many great memories and reminded me of some of the fantastic places we’ve visited. If dogs make bucket lists, these are the kinds of places that would be on them, and I hope these posts inspire you to get out and see some of them with your furry travel companions!
We had a great ride in 2014, and we’re looking forward to having you along as we cruise into 2015!
Happy New Year and waggin’ trails to you all!
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