Since my husband Stan and I impulsively adopted a rescue Chihuahua-Lab mix puppy at the OC Fair's Pet Expo back in April, I've turned into a crazy dog person.
My little Stasha goes everywhere with me
Susan Sim's dog Junior at last year's Get Your Licks on Route 66 kick off.
PHOTO COURTESY SUSAN SIMS
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Over the past months, she's gone motor homing, boating, shopping, ghost hunting, and even enjoyed a weekend at The Parker in Palm Springs.
If friends call for a lunch date, unless it's a pet friendly restaurant, I don't go.
I've turned into one of those people I used to make fun of.
I'm obsessed with this little ball of fur and have become a strong supporter of pet adoption. So when my longtime pal Susan Sims, publisher of FIDO Friendly magazine, contacted me this past summer about her fourth pet adoption campaign called Get Your Licks on Route 66, I was excited.
Since she stated this tour, 1,000 pets have been adopted as she travels Route 66 from Los Angeles to Chicago.
To give you a little background on Sims, she grew up in Anaheim, and was even Miss Anaheim in 1969.
She raised her two boys in Tustin and now lives in Idaho.
We first met in the mid 1980's when she had just started her first publishing venture, The Irvine Spectrum Independent. It ran from 1986 until the economy took a downturn in 1990 and Sims closed it.
It would be 10 years before she'd venture into publishing again.
I wasn't surprised when she started FIDO Friendly magazine in 2000 with her son, Nicholas Sveslosky, who now serves as editor in chief.
She was always crazy about dogs.
Her son was in his last year of college when he urged his mom to try her hand at publishing again. He remembered having so much fun delivering the Spectrum as a kid, she told me.
Sims says since the family often traveled with their dog - and would have to sneak it into places - she felt it was time someone focused on where dogs would be welcomed.
"Twelve years ago not many places were pet-welcoming," she says. "Now they are all over the place. We have the most fun traveling to review hotels and destinations with our dogs, Junior and Jake."
FIDO Friendly comes out four times a year and offers subscriptions for both online and hard copy versions of the publication. There's even an app for smart phones and pads that can be downloaded off their website.??
The magazine opened a whole new world for me as a first-time pet owner, offering tips on traveling with your dog, and what destinations welcome you both.
There are regular features on pet wellness, training, fashion, nutrition and reviews of the latest trendy pet products.
In 2008, along with her husband Greg and their newly-adopted black Lab named Junior, Sims launched Get Your Licks on Route 66 ? a cross-country tour designed to draw attention to the importance of pet adoption.
"It is just so important for people to realize that you can find great pets in shelters," Sims says.
When we spoke over the summer she was looking for a spot to kick off this year's event. I suggested she start in Orange County since this is her home town.
She tried. She pitched the idea to the Irvine Co. for a launch in Fashion Island since it's such a dog-friendly shopping place.
They didn't bite.
She had no luck with the OC Fairgrounds either.
So the tour will kick off from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. next Saturday, Oct. 6. in Van Nuys at LA Animal Services East Valley, 14409 Van Owen St.
On hand will be the tour's official spokeswoman, Victoria Stilwell, host of Animal Planet's hit TV show, "It's Me or the Dog".
As Get Your Licks moves along Route 66, it will stop at partner animal shelters to encourage adoptions. Animal Radio, Ford, Petfinder, and Pet Plan Pet Insurance will sponsor the adoption stops, which will feature games, fun, and plenty of cute pets to adopt.
One lucky adopted pup will be chosen to appear on the cover of an upcoming issue of FIDO Friendly magazine.
"It's a way for me to give back and raise awareness for homeless pets," Sims says.
I can't imagine life without our little Stasha, which is why both of us will be in LA for the kickoff of Get Your Licks on Route 66.
As Sims always says, "don't shop ? adopt."
Check here for details of the tour and city stops.?
Source: http://www.ocregister.com/articles/pet-373016-sims-route.html
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