TRAVELLING WITH A FOUR-LEGGED COMPANION THIS SEASON? NO WORRIES MATE!

This time of year can pose a real challenge for pet owners who are travelling to their holiday locations this year. Here are a few apps that may ease the challenges of travelling with a pet. BringFido is an excellent resource for quickly finding dog-friendly destinations, accommodations, restaurants, beaches, and, of course, parks. It is especially useful for finding and booking hotels, The app notes each hotel’s pet policy, including the pet fee and any restrictions on the animal’s weight, along with a general description of the amenities and guest reviews. It also has a photo tab for sharing pictures of your pup partaking in dog-friendly attractions, a posting tab where you can add new events or locations to help other BringFido users, and a contact tab where you can get in touch with a dog-friendly travel expert via phone or email, just in case. VetFinder uses your current location to help you find a nearby veterinarian. You can refine your search results to find a specialist. You can also refine your search by language, whether the office accepts credit cards, and whether parking is available—all useful information if you’re in a new area. The only issue I had with VetFinder is that it relies heavily on user-submitted data, and as a result, disappointingly, many of the vets listed don’t have full profiles that take advantage of the search refinements. Still, if you’re looking for an emergency animal clinic, perhaps you don’t care so much what the vet’s specialty is. If you’re looking for a dog park, or if you’re not sure whether the park you’re using is dog-friendly, Dog Park Finder can help. This free iOS app uses your current location to search the surrounding area for pet-friendly (and pet-unfriendly) parks. A map with color-coded points shows you where to go: Bright green dots mean off-leash parks, dark green dots mean on-leash parks, and red dots mean no dogs allowed. Dog Park Finder also allows you to search for parks in specific cities or zip codes, and to browse parks by state. For an upgrade fee of $2, Dog Park Finder Plus offers approximately twice as many parks and more details, such as which parks have restrooms, lights, small-dog areas, benches, and fenced-in areas. In addition, the Plus version features dog-friendly rest stops (though, honestly, most rest stops are pretty dog-friendly), photos, and ratings based on user reviews. CamScanner is a great way to would track all of your pets’ important documents—shot records, rabies reports and kennel club registration. It’s easy to use: Just point your camera at a document and scan it. The app automatically crops, rotates, and resizes the item to make the perfect PDF, which you can then share, fax (yes, fax), or print via Air Print. You can use tags to categorize your scans so that you can quickly find your pet’s documents, and you can sync scans across multiple platforms. Although CamScanner is meant for business users, it’s incredibly convenient for traveling pet owners—if you need to see a vet, you can just email or fax your pet’s records over. The Red Cross recently released an Android and iOS app for pets: Pet First Aid, which costs $1 and is absolutely worth all one hundred of those pennies. It features first aid instructions for dogs and cats, and includes information on how to prepare for various situations (such as traveling, giving your pet meds, and what to do in emergencies), as well as quizzes to test your knowledge. The app also gives you a place to enter your pet’s info, so you can keep track of diet restrictions, medication schedules, and vet appointments. This might sound pretty daunting but being prepared for any occurrence when travelling with a pet will lower your stress levels to pre-holiday levels and keep your beloved pet much happier and safer along the way