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<p><img src="https://azure.wgp-cdn.co.uk/app-yourdog/posts/celebrating_pet_friendly_holiday_homes_ydh.jpg" alt="Celebrating pet-friendly holiday homes" /></p><p>Scottish holiday home provider, Embrace Scotland, has announced the winner of its Paws for a Break Pet-Friendly Award.</p>
Launched to celebrate those properties that go above and beyond to cater for man’s best friend, the award attracted 140 nominations.
The winner was Mains of Taymouth, which offers a selection of dog-friendly, luxury, self-catering holiday cottages, houses, villas and apartments in Kenmore, Highland Perthshire.
“Our winner was selected because pets are made to feel welcome from the moment they arrive, not least by the estate’s resident four-legged hosts; Surka, Bug, and Mabel,” explains Fiona Campbell, chief executive of Embrace Scotland and The Association of Scotland's Self-Caterers (ASSC).
Runners-up were Mansefield House, in the picturesque Scottish village of Arrochar; The Steadings, on the doorstep of the famous Angus Glens in Perthshire; Perkhill Holiday Cottages, in the Grampian & Moray region; Cologin, near beautiful Oban; and Ardtornish Estate, in the Highlands & Skye.
The Pet-Friendly Award is part of Embrace Scotland’s Paws for a Break campaign, which launched in September 2016 with backing from the Visit Scotland Growth Fund, and saw the introduction of the Pets Welcome Charter.
The charter sets out a range of standards that the holiday homes in the Embrace Scotland collection must meet in order to be classified as pet-friendly, such as providing water bowls, poop bags, details of suggested local dogs walks, contact details and directions to local pet shops and vets, pointers to suitable exercise areas nearby, and details of local pubs and restaurants where pets are accepted.
Holidaymakers can identify the properties that are pet-friendly by ticking the ‘pets welcome’ box in the search function on the website www.embracescotland.co.uk
The Paws for a Break campaign was created in response to a 35 per cent increase in bookings in the past five years from guests with pets, at Embrace Scotland’s 3,000-plus self-catering properties.
“There is clearly demand for a greater volume and choice of pet-friendly holiday options and our Pet-Friendly Award gives special recognition to those holiday homes that really go the extra mile to welcome guests with pets,” adds Fiona.
You can read all about the award winner and runners-up in the August issue of Your Dog Magazine — available now from newsagents, supermarkets, and the Your Dog shop.