I've sung the praises of The Farm at Natchez Trace before.

But now I have a few more things to add to the list...

Soon after our beloved pet sitter (our next door neighbor) moved away, we began our search to find someone we could trust to watch our dog whenever we went out of town.

This was hard for us. In all my years of having dogs, I have only left my dogs in a pet boarding facility twice. They were well cared for, but it just wasn't the same as leaving our dog in the comfort of his own home when we were away. Everywhere that we've lived, we've always been fortunate to have a responsible teenager living next door to us.

One of the first places we researched here in Franklin was The Farm at Natchez Trace.

The Farm is Middle Tennessee's only pet boarding facility to earn full accreditation by the American Boarding Kennels Association.

Still, it was hard to get past my first impressions:

#1 That this was probably just some expensive "doggie hotel" for the well-to-do people in Franklin and Williamson county.

#2 That the experience for our dog would probably be nothing like the 4-5 times a day that our next door neighbor typically visited our dog in our home.

Boy, was I wrong!...

The Farm is a cage-less facility with no concrete runs -- just 18 acres of private farmland, complete with a creek and a well-maintained nature trail.

Aside from play time inside the fenced-in yard, all dogs are kept on leashes during their walks.

There is 24-hour care on-site, even on weekends and holidays. A night manager is always on duty (not just "on the premises"). Also, the Director lives on the property. All FT and permanent PT staff is ABKA-certified.

A veterinarian is on-call 24 hours a day.

Both of these dog parks are worth visiting, despite any of the "negative" things that I might allude to below.

My aim here is simply to give dog owners an honest review and some idea of what they can expect to find upon their first visit to either of these dog parks.

All in all, they're both great dog parks, and both are very popular with the locals.

If Tenor were to be the judge, the Franklin Dog Park would rank #1, followed by the Brentwood /slash/ Bellevue /slash/ Nashville /slash/ Warner Dog Park as #2.

Actually, the Warner Dog Park is part of the Percy Warner Parks system which lies between Bellevue and Brentwood (and just a hop, skip, and a jump from Franklin), but it's technically in Nashville.

The Franklin Dog Park has its own claim to fame: it is Tennessee's first off-leash dog park!

Thankfully, Franklin residents who happen to have pets also have a lot of resources right at their fingertips.

There are many different vets to choose from in the Franklin area.

And there are plenty of pet stores -- both the dog-friendly kind where dogs are allowed inside the store, and the people-friendly kind where only humans are allowed. Not to mention all the fun stores that keep popping up and sell unique pet accessories & supplies.

But are you prepared if your pet becomes sick or injured... and your vet's office is closed?

Here's what you need to know about P.E.T.S... the Pet Emergency Treatment Service.

Got an email the other day from "Ronnie the Collie". Yep, a dog.

I guess there's a first time for everything...

Ronnie wanted to share his vacation photos, which include a couple taken right here in Franklin, Tennessee (and Florida).

Woof!

Following is a list of hotels in and around the Nashville area that allow pets. Most of these have no restrictions as to the size or breed. And only a few charge an additional fee for this pet-friendly option.

(For the record, if I were to stay in a pet-friendly hotel, I would prefer those which charge an additional fee for extra cleaning and extermination after each pet's visit!)

If you're looking for a FREE puppy that's happy and healthy and just now ready for a new home at 8 weeks of age... check out the Franklin/Columbia "Freecycle" group!

That's where we got our new puppy just three days ago.

Beverly, the dog's owner, said there were 10 in the litter, and there are 5 still available.

We took our puppy from this litter to the vet yesterday and he checked out just fine with a clean bill of health!