[News] New Wave of Posh Doggy Hotels and Country Clubs

[fasteddie]

NEW YORK — Vacationing dog owners who have left their pets at the local kennel are often haunted by the vision of their precious canines spending their days in cramped steel cages, shivering during the cold nights and getting a weekly shower via a blast from a garden hose.

In Miami, Chicago, New York and other big cities, however, the old cages and concrete floors are giving way to private suites and lush appointments at a new breed of exclusive doggy hotels and canine country clubs.

"Kennel is a four-letter word around here," said Scott Smith, manager of Biscuits and Bath, a dog hotel and day care center on Manhattan's East Side. Indeed, there are no cages at Biscuits and Bath. Their "guests" run free in a huge playroom replete with state-of-the-art artificial grass to protect sensitive doggy paws and an indoor sprinkler system to keep the grounds clean.

And Biscuits and Bath won't take just any dog. New prospects must pass an "interview" process to ensure they will socialize nicely with the other guests. Only then are their owners handed membership cards with their pet's photo. Guests can expect to be served all-natural organic meals and free-range chicken. And no chemicals ever touch their manicured manes, only preservative-free soaps and shampoos.

Customers who patronize Biscuits and Bath wouldn't have it any other way. "Taking your dog to a kennel is like putting your child in an orphanage," said Craig Gross, who has been dropping off Leo, a sharp-eyed Yorkshire terrier, since he was a pup.

Most people attribute the trend toward comfortable quarters to the change in how people view their animals. "Pet owners now consider themselves parents," said Smith. "It's a little word but a huge mindset shift."

Indeed, luxury pet hotels and their attention to personal service are having a huge impact on the rest of the industry. "Within the last 10 to 15 years, the public's view of their pets has changed from a pet to a member of the family," said Jim Krack, executive director of the American Boarding and Kennels Association. "They have come to expect the same kinds of services and facilities they expect from day care for their kids."

Many dog hotels come with color television and VCRs playing big screen canine favorites like "Beethoven" and "101 Dalmatians," a service that seems aimed more at the pet owners than their pets. "There is a lot of separation anxiety," Krack said. "Sometimes if you spend more money, you feel less guilty."

The Ritz-Carlton in the Coconut Grove section of Miami has just the answer for that malady. There, the four-legged guests are pampered in the lap of luxury. Dogs are greeted by the Bow Wow Butler, a personal valet who caters to their every need. Four hours of butler service will run a neat $500 and includes a walking tour of the Grove's swanky boutiques and restaurants, a stop at the spa for pedicures and grooming and, of course, doggie snacks.

Gourmet meals are freshly cooked in the same kitchen as the hotel's award-winning restaurant and served in silver-plated bowls from Tiffany. The hotel's spokeswoman, Michelle Payer, says the food is so good she sometimes eats it herself. The Oatmeal Kiss, a crunchy oatmeal and peanut butter bone, is "quite good," she said.

One extravagant customer even had her dog taken for a cruise in a 65-foot speedboat, which cost a cool $2,500 for the afternoon. It was "the most elegant trip a canine has ever seen," said Craig Keiffer, the hotel's Bow Wow Butler.

Pampered pooches at Citizen Canine in Oakland, Calif., are no strangers to luxury either. Each guest is treated to a private room with a special doggy bed on a raised platform, and dog owners can purchase individual love sessions and deep-tissue massages for their pets. The kitchen at Citizen Canine will cater to any need, from vegetarian meals to rotisserie chicken.

For seriously discriminating dogs that have a taste for Manhattan's upper crust experience, there is the Ritzy Canine. Owner Anthony Laza, mastermind behind two gourmet health food restaurants, has converted a 19th-century carriage house into a refined pet palace. Past the chandeliered entrance, carpeted staircase and walls adorned with gold-framed needlepoint prints of aristocratic animals, guests can lounge on the rooftop deck or play in the triple-filtered water fountain. Fitness hounds can work up a sweat on the Jog-a-Dog in the downstairs gym. After a tiring day, privileged guests can retire to the Windsor Suite, a private accommodation with chaise lounge, steel-framed bed set and multimedia center.

Stays at the Ritzy Canine were given to presenters at this year's Grammy Awards and the Golden Globes, but the pets of regular New Yorkers can enjoy it too. "Every time I enter the door his tail starts wagging," said Sandy Linder of her salt-and-pepper-haired Shih Tzu, Oreo. "I wish I could stay here."

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