Taunting me from the seat pocket in front of me, SkyMall has a way of luring me in every time I fly. It doesn't matter if I was on a plane yesterday or a week ago, I'll pick up the same copy and chuckle at the new gadgets and gizmos in a why-didn't-I-think-of-that kinda way. Although I haven't purchased anything to date, the day is coming. I know it. In the meantime, here are some hand-picked helpers for trip style = pet-friendly:
PortablePET PortaBottle
This product is semi-genius. No joke. I can't tell you the amount of times we've gone away for the weekend with our dog (@nachoking, yep, he has a twitter account) and needed to slip into a coffee shop to grab a plastic cup, because we forgot his portable water bowl. The best part about this PortaBottle: the "bowl part" flips up when the dog is done drinking. Since I have a propensity to forget things occasionally, maybe I'll get two. Price: $9.99
Waterproof Hammock Seat Cover
I chose the dog car hammock (yep, just uttered those three words consecutively) for two reasons:
a) it's a hammock, for a car, that holds a dog...and it's waterproof which is a good idea
b) the picture is funny, pretty sure the dog is photoshop'ed onto the hammock = awesome
Price: $36.99
Pet Booster Seats
If this giant pet holder wasn't lined with faux lambswool, I'd think it was a bath (which seems a little weird for a moving car unless you're watching the 1980's classic Beverly Hills Teens featuring a hot tub in the back of a limo). Apparently, its height reduces dogs' motion sickness allowing them to see out the window. I support this since I'm prone to motion sickness on everything that moves, including chair lifts at the ski hill. Price: $97 - $119
PortablePET LunchBox
I was only going to feature 3 items, but I had to include this pet lunch pale; it reminded me of elementary school. It holds the dog's food inside and sports a dual-purpose lid for covering and feeding/watering the pup.
Pet Travel Tip: if going through the CAN/USA border, dog food needs to be its original bag. US customs won't let dog food in unless it's made in the USA. I learned that the hard way when I meticulously packaged my dog's food into individually portioned zip lock bags. Maybe the border guard dogs ended up eating it, but alas, it was probably thrown away.
Price: $21.99 - $24.99
PS - if you are traveling with your pet, and brave enough to bring them on a plane, here's a great pet packing list!