We have just returned from an entire week in Orlando, Florida where we flew to be a part of the Global Pet Expo. For those who aren’t familiar with the pet industry, this is one of several annual shows that attract thousands of manufacturers, retailers, media, and pretty much anyone in the pet industry. This year, I thought it may be fun to bring along 3-D Bree.
3D Bree is a life-sized stuffed animal version of Bree, our rescue star. Since I hate getting my own photos taken, and I don’t believe in stressing my animals out for the sake of a little PR, I choose to bring either 3D Bree or Flat Bree (a two-dimensional model of Bree) when I travel to events such as this. While Bree is great in a crowd and people flock to her, she doesn’t really “enjoy” it. So, we just make it easier on everyone by leaving “real Bree” and bringing along whatever I can stuff into an overhead bin.
Here is a travel narrative of our adventures in Orlando at SuperZoo – starring 3D Bree…
3D Bree is always a big hit on the airplanes! Since she’s life-sized, she takes up a lot of room, so I usually put her in the overhead compartment, which always makes everyone gasp. It’s a fun reaction. But, occasionally, there is a little boy or girl on the flight who is terrified of flying, and I always let her sit with them if they need some moral support. That wins us big points with the pilots who love to have her join them in the cockpit. This is Bree getting a “Thanks for keeping the kids quiet” on the flight from the pilots.
We had to spend a lot of time in taxis this trip. Some of the taxi drivers were nervous, but we ultimately showed her that 3D Bree is a model doggy citizen.
We also ate a lot of junk food, which happens when you’re traveling.
The trip was a lot of fun and we got to meet many of our favorite celebrity-friends. This is Victoria Stillwell with Harrison Forbes, two of our favorites!
And this is Preston, the famous dog from PrestonSpeaks – he’s a celebrity in his own right with a huge fan base! And, Kristen Levine from Fetching Communications who is a brilliant marketing and PR person. And finally, we met the group from PuppyCakes who appeared on Shark Tank! This is a fun group with a great product (and I don’t care what Kevin Leery says).
Sandy Robins received her award from Purina for Excellence in Journalism and let me tell you – it was a well-deserved award! Sandy is a dear friend and we are so happy we could be a part of the special night.
The big highlight was the huge number of amazing pet products. It was overwhelming to see everything we’ll be talking about for the next year. Here are a few of our favorites. This is the Bio-Bubble, which are completely enclosed habitats that keep your pets enclosure at the perfect humidity and temperature. Perfect for birds, lizards, snakes, tarantulas, and more. It allows you to create a little micro-climate no matter where you live!
This is the new “expandable Carrier” from PetMate, which we are very excited about. It opens up into a much bigger area for the times when you’re traveling and want to give your pets some extra room without them escaping. Perfect for layovers, restaurants, and car trips. We’ve also got a pictures of their new line of bamboo dishes and housewares. All of their products are built to last, sturdy, beautiful, easily washed, and affordable. We’re very excited to bring their huge selection of pet products to you in 2013-14.
That’s just a small taste of what we saw. You’ll be seeing lots more on PetsWeekly as we move through the year and as I work on getting some giveaways and conte4sts together for you with some of these great products as the wins.
By the time the five days were done, we were completely exhausted.I wound up leaving 3D Bree behind on Days 2-3 so I could get some work done. She was sort of slowing me down… I hear she gave housekeeping quite a start – LOL!
We finally wound down towards the end and were happy to get back on the flight home. In all, we had a fantastic time and we can’t wait for next year! Soon we’ll be on our way to Superzoo 2013…