Christmas 2011

I hope everyone had a great Christmas. Just like the previous 2 years, I spent Christmas 2011 on the east coast visiting friends and family. I had two great airplane flights all the way from San Diego to Philadelphia and then back again. I flew comfy in the Us Airways airplane cabin inside my pet carrier with my people. While the flights are long (6 hours westbound) I don't mind. With 16 flights logged (in 2 years) I stay calm and quiet during the flights.

The highlight of my Christmas trip was getting to finally meet three extra special shiba friends. Our people scheduled a playdate for us at an indoor play area in New Jersey so we could romp around for a couple of hours. I got to meet Shio and Emi who live in NYC. You can check out their adventures on their blog.

And I got to meet and play with Phineas the superstar shiba with his own movie from New Jersey too! You can also check out more pawsome pictures of us playing by clicking here.



Seriously Philadelphia International Airport...where is my suitcase?



Don't forget there are always more pictures of me on: http://tokyoshiba.tumblr.com/

Viceroy Palm Springs

First off, I must say that being a California shiba inu is pawsome. California has some great dog friendly resorts. And the southern California weather, is perfect for living my shiba inu life. I spent the weekend with my people relaxing at the uber cool boutique resort and spa the Viceroy Palm Springs. When we arrived at check-in, the super friendly Viceroy staff made me feel right at home. They even gave me my own Viceroy dog bowl to take home. I wore my pink camo EzyDog quick fit harness to look Palm-Springs-cool and used my leash with pink skulls so I was punk-rock-chic.

We stayed in a charming little private one bedroom house called the Dorrington Villa #103. I had my own fully enclosed patio and a little grassy yard all around my house.  Our house was directly next to the Regency pool. At the resort, I was pretty much allowed to be anywhere on the property, with the exception of actually "in" the swimming pools. But while my people enjoyed swimming themselves, I could hang out with them next to their lounge chairs. The onsite restaurant Citron also allows dogs to dine poolside or on their outdoor patio/pavilion.

The Viceroy Palm Springs charges a $100 total nonrefundable pet fee per stay and pets must be under 40 lbs. Compared to other hotels I've stayed at, this is a very fair fee. All in all, the resort took care of all of our needs. If you are looking for a relaxing time away, I highly recommend checking out the Viceroy. And tell them Tokyo sent you -woof!

Don't forget, there are always more pictures of me Tokyo: My Shiba Inu Tumblr
Follow me on twitter @tokyoshiba

Flying the Shiba Friendly Skies

Can shibas fly? As many of you know, I've been flying with my people since they got me in November 2009. To date I've logged 14 flights on Us Airways. A few months ago, Us Airways initiated a new pet policy. Instead of requiring my people to call ahead for an in-cabin pet reservation -- usually right after they book their flights -- Us Airways no longer issues ahead of time reservations for in-cabin pets. Instead, pet reservations are now made at the check-in counter on the day of your flight. This means we arrived to the very busy San Diego International airport on November 23 not knowing if there was enough space for me on the plane, or if the flight had already reached its quota of allowable in cabin pets (which I believe is 6). Luckily, we did not have any problems and my people paid the $200 for a round trip pet reservation for me and we were off like normal. Good thing, because I needed to get to my Grandparents' house for Thanksgiving!



Tokyo enjoys her prime spot in row 4 First Class

On the plane, the in-cabin rule is that I have to stay completely inside my carrier under the seat in front of my people. I swear, I wouldn't run the shiba 500 down the aisle if they let me out *wink wink*  As you can see, the under seat space is small, and there isn't really that much room for pets so being small is key to a comfortable flight. For this flight, I flew in style in my new custom made Celltei bag in olive and camo mesh. It measures 11.5 inches high by 19 inches long by 11.5 inches wide (plus a hidden 5 inch zippered expander which you can see already expanded on the right hand side.) Once expanded, I get about 19 inches x 16.5 inches for spreading out. During the flight, my people keep me comfortable by slipping in ice cubes and some treats (but not too many).  In flight, I'm quiet and usually just sleep for most of the flight.


Tokyo waits for the bus after flying from San Diego to Philadelphia.



Celltei is a pawsome company and their pet carriers are made in the USA. They are extremely knowledgeable about pet carriers and have made countless custom designs for clients over the years. My people sent lots of ideas to design my new bag and Angie worked with them to design the best bag just for me. Angie even sent me a standard bag to try to help my people decide what I needed. You can check that out by clicking here. Now that I weigh 17 lbs, my people had my comfort in mind in coming up with a design that would also continue to work in-cabin for me. Be sure to check out the Celltei website with  the actual bag they made for me by clicking here.  

If you need a pet carrier for a pet of any size, I highly recommend you contact the nice people at Celltei and see what they can do for you. If there's a way, they will figure it out.

Don't forget there are always more pictures of me on Tokyo: My Shiba Inu Tumblr.

Follow me on twitter @tokyoshiba