Gayle Martz - No Pet Left Behind: The Sherpa Guide for Traveling with Your Best Friend

2008 LifeTime Media, Inc.

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means-electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or any other-except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Published in Nashville,Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson. Thomas Nelson is a registered trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Thomas Nelson, Inc., titles may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, fund-raising, or sales promotional use. For information, please e-mail SpecialMarkets@ThomasNelson.com.

Sherpa is a registered trademark of Sherpas Pet Trading Company and is used by permission.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Martz, Gayle.

No pet left behind : the Sherpa guide to traveling with your best friend / Gayle Martz,
with Delilah Smittle.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
978-1-4016-0344-1
1. Pets and travel. I. Smittle, Delilah. II.Title.
SF415.45.M37 2008
636.088'7dc22

2007041996

Printed in the United States of America
08 09 10 11 12 13 RRD 5 4 3 2 1

A LifeTime Media Production
LifeTime Media, Inc.
352 Seventh Avenue
New York, NY 10001
www.lifetimemedia.com

Editor: Karyn Gerhard
Illustrator: Dee Densmore DAmico
Designer: Roger Gorman

contents

a tail of love and commitment

I love my pets, and I love to travel. And I cannot imagine having to choose between the two. Globetrotting with my pets has become my way of life, but not so long ago, things were very different.

In 1987, Sherpa, an adorable gray Lhasa Apso given to me by my fianc, became my everything when my fianc tragically died in his sleep a month before our wedding. Without a signed will, I wasnt entitled to any of his estate and had to leave our New York home. To make matters worse, after two decades as a flight attendant, I had recently been laid off during a strike. At thirty-seven years old, my entire world had been turned upside down.

Feeling alone and distraught, I wanted to spend some time with my mother, who lived in California, but I hesitated because the only way that Sherpa could accompany me on the plane was in a small hard-sided pet carrier that would be uncomfortable for her and cumbersome for me. I finally decided to leave her with a friend.

After arriving in California, I was appalled to learn that my friends husband had placed Sherpa in a kennel. (Kennels then were not what they are now.) But worse than that, I felt completely lost without my little best friend; I realized I was the victim of a travel industry that had caused me to separate from my pooch during the time I needed her most.

At that moment, a new commitment was born. I vowed to devote my energy to broadening the industrys pet-in-cabin policy to accept an alternative to the hard-sided carrier. My diverse international travel experiences, coupled with the time I had spent as an aspiring professional photographer in the handbag industry, laid the groundwork for an idea that would revolutionize pet travel: The SherpaBaga soft-sided pet carrier.

I designed and developed my first The Sherpa Bag with my Sherpas comfort and ease of travel in mind. It provided proper ventilation to keep her comfortable, had plenty of pockets for water bottles and toys, included a detachable leash, and most important, fit perfectly under an airline seat. That pet carrier encouraged those airlines that did not accept small pets in the passenger cabin to change their pet-in-cabin policies. I lobbied the airlines myself, one by one. American and TWA were among the first to officially approve The Sherpa Bag for onboard use, and others soon followed. My Sherpa Bag became the first officially approved in-cabin soft-sided pet carrier.

I had little business experience and absolutely no financing. I borrowed five thousand dollars from my mother to have the bags made and then pounded the pavement, selling them from store to store on my own. I targeted the stores I knewBloomingdales, Saks, Macys, and Hammacher Schlemmer. I designed the bags, distributed and shipped them, and handled the business from my 800 number. In the process, I spread awareness about traveling with pets. During that difficult but exhilarating time, my satisfied customers made it all worthwhileand helped me spread the word about this revolutionary approach to pet travel!

By 1994, The Sherpa Bag was officially approved by ten airlines. Today, The Sherpa Trading Company manufactures more than a hundred different bags, collars, leashes, pet throws, and car seat covers that are sold in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Japan.

Life is all about change, and just a few years ago, another major change took place in my world. My beloved Lhasa Apso, Sherpa, the namesake of my company and my companion for seventeen years, passed away. Though I miss her still, her spirit lives on. When Sherpa was ten years old, I adopted SuNae, my gorgeous Coton du Tulear, whose Korean name means true love. SuNae was originally named Sweetie Pie, but as soon as I met her, I knew a name change was in order. She was to be groomed as Sherpas protg, and Sweetie Pie just didnt fit. (Although she is a sweetie pie!)

SuNae is a strong-willed little girl and a source of comfort, inspiration, and friendship to me. I also just adopted a young Shih Tzu whom I named Kartu. Though SuNae is not exactly thrilled about having to share me with Kartu, Im certain that shell soon learn to enjoy Kartus friendship, just as Sherpa enjoyed SuNaes.

Pets make a huge difference in our lives, and it is up to us as pet lovers to ensure that our pets are not left behind. We havent yet reached a point in our society where pets are accepted everywhere and treated as the family members that they are. But we do not have to live with unfair laws and regulations; we can work together toward change and acceptance.

My reason for writing this book is to share my knowledge and experience concerning pet travel. I wanted to create a kind of pet travel biblea reliable source that people can trust and turn to when they have questions and concerns, or just want to learn how to travel with a pet.

Note to readers: Throughout the book I make many references to Sherpa-brandedproducts because, in addition to being the market leader for pet travel gear, the Sherpabrand is near and dear to my heart. Though I reference the Sherpabrand, there areother brands of pet travel gear that are suitable for traveling with your pet. When makingyour selections, choose a product that best fits the needs of you and your pet.

Who unfailingly loves your cooking, puts pep in your step, a smile on your face, and a song in your heart? Whether its a cold, wet nose, a whisper of fur brushing against your ankle, or a chirp or whistle that greets you at days end, your most steadfast admirer is also your best friend: your pet. But even though hes always there for you, your constant cheerleader can become bored with his daily routine, be it life in the not-so-great indoors, a quick game of Frisbee in the backyard, or a leashed walk around the neighborhood.