From Celltei.com comes the Traveler Backpack-o-Pet. You better be a serious traveler who brings your pet everywhere…it’s the only way to justify the price tag. $225 for small pets and $255 for large. Designed to supposedly fit in overhead cabins on flights, the stylish pack has 3 different colors to choose from. I’ve never seen anybody with these. I’ve seen a recent increase in pet carriers on wheels, but not in the form of a backpack like this.

Sleepypod.com sells high end pet travel carriers. They are pretty much for small dogs and cats only. The top is designed to be removed so your pet can use it as a bed when not on the go. I particularly like the way they strap in to a seat using the seat belt…you’ll have to check out their site for that picture. They go for around $165 plus any expensive accessories you want to get with it.

For this week’s Pet Week, I’ve been scouring the Internet looking for quality content sites…and I have to admit…it’s kind of weak. Most sites look like they’ve been abandoned for years with old designs and the “new” articles dating back to 2004. Not good. But I did find a couple of good sites. One is PetFlight.com. They track airline industry pet information and even report on the number of pet losses, pet injuries, and pet deaths. Kind of morbid for a Monday morning, but their findings showed one very interesting figure. Apparently (and I do not pretend to know this is fact) Continental airlines is a horrible pet carrier. In 2007, PetFlight.com says Continental Airlines lost 3 pets (good for 2nd place behind Delta who lost 5), 1 injury (which isn’t bad across the board), but had 12 deaths (more than double that of Alaska Airlines who came in 2nd worse with 6 pet deaths in 2007). I’m curious to know if those stats are accurate or if the site owner had a bad experience with Continental and is dishing out ultimate revenge….but I kind of believe their information to be true. Continental claimed the worst record in 2005 and 2006 as well.

Of all the sites I’ve browsed so far, this one seems to be the most up to date and had some of the best information. Tomorrow’s post won’t be so depressing….I hope.

I was excited to see the buttons turn out well. It’s motivated me to knock out another two or three this weekend for next Friday. (Friday 8:00 am central time is when they are generally available). My buddy Matt is as big a dick as ever with a couple mean comments. I wonder if guys throughout history have expressed their friendship by ripping on each other or if it’s a 21st century trend.

Next week will be Pet Week. I’ll try to get some good content for all those who want to travel with your pets. “A good time will be enjoyed by all.”

[note: words in quote's are not mine]

The 2nd button in the FLaKoHN Series. France 1″ Button. Featuring the Eiffel Tower in front of National Flag Background. $1.00 in the Izuno Store.

Escape – Travel – Live appears to be the theme behind Island Company.  They have some very cool shirts and travel wear…problem is…it’s not cheap.  $48 for sandals is too much.  $48 can buy you 2 nights in a descent European hostel.  But I posted this because I like their site and their tag lines.

Jansport‘s ‘go to’ bag, the superbreak, is now available in many different colors and designs.  For backpackers planning on hostel jumping, you may want a daybag like this if you’re pack isn’t over 3700cc.  It’s good to pack around cities once you get to your destination.  The funky color above can be found here. Usually Jansport bags can be found in about any retail store and will go from $20 – $75.  The standard bag above is their lower end model (no leather on the bottom).

TarmaDesigns.com gets its name from the Peruvian Village… Tarma. First time I saw this jewelry I was thinking it was going to be another overpriced item that gets circulated around design blogs, but I was very wrong. And happy I was wrong because their prices are very reasonable. And like any good nature themed company, they use recyclable material and low environmental impact techniques to make their jewelry. This will definitely go on my best gifts for travellers list.

Michael Hughes Photography can be found on his FlickR page. He uses miniature souvenirs to replace the actual object. Apparently he’s travelled quite a bit.

This is a good site if you’re into world music…and they have a terrific logo. Part of me is in disbelief I haven’t heard about it yet. Calabash Music is a site dedicated to helping the world musicians and fund them without using major record labels. All I know, is I can listen to many artists and get free tunes every week. Here are a few of their freebies you can download at the time of this post.

Andre Bourgeois and Mano Bap – Pentagrama

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Angelique Kidjo – Salala w/Peter Gabriel

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Radial Mundial – Tambor

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