Hotel for Dogs
In the latest family release from Paramount, two kids invite a ruck of otherwise homeless dogs for an indefinite stay in an abandoned house, thus creating a "Hotel for Dogs."
In reality, hotels are businesses, run by adults, for the benefit of people, who are often paying good money for their stay.
While hotels, motels, inns and resorts that permit dogs have grown in number over the last decade, those pet policies come with conditions. It is the responsibility of the pet owner to seek out, understand and adhere to the hotel's policy. Noncompliance, according to the following letter from a hotel manager, brings the promise of fewer hotels that will extend an invitation to your pet.
Dear Uncle Matty: I read your column regularly on the Creators Syndicate website and love your common sense approach to responsible pet ownership.
Speaking as the office manager of a small boutique motel, I wonder if you would address being a responsible pet owner when traveling with your dog. Our policy is: Dogs up to 20 pounds are allowed, there is a $10 pet fee, dog are never to be left alone in the room, and they are not permitted in our two log cabins or the fenced pool enclosure.
One of my two biggest pet peeves is people who simply show up with their dog and neither inquire about our pet policy nor tell us they have a dog with them. When people reserve one of our cabins, which sleep eight, they are told that pets are not permitted in the cabins. And yet the person making the reservation doesn't pass this information on to other family members who will be staying with them, and those family members don't bother asking about the pet policy before showing up.
My other pet peeve: People who let us know they have the dog, but then blatantly ignore our very reasonable pet policy — leaving the dog alone in the room or bringing the dog into the pool enclosure. They then get offended when someone points out the sign that says pets are not allowed around the pool. "I didn't think it mattered if I brought (insert dog's name) in here" is a favorite response.
Guests also bring dogs into the cabins, as if the housekeepers, noticing the dog bowl, the water bowl and the dog bed, won't put two and two together.
Don't misunderstand me, I like dogs. It takes the average dog about two minutes to figure out that I'm an easy touch for a scratch behind the ears or a belly rub. However, if it weren't for the fact that a number of our regular guests are responsible dog owners, I would suggest to my boss that permitting pets is more trouble than it's worth.
Truthfully, I foresee properties that currently permit pets moving to a no-pet policy in the future because the irresponsible pet owners are too much of a pain in the neck for staff. If that day comes, I'm going to tell people who complain that they need to look to themselves and their fellow pet owners for the reason. — Proud Parent of Four Fish
Questions to ask when booking a hotel room for you and your four-legged companion:
— Are dogs allowed?
— Is there an additional pet-rental or cleaning fee?
— Are dogs allowed to stay in the room alone?
— If not, is there a local day-boarding kennel they would recommend?
— Is there a weight or breed restriction?
Also, be considerate of where you take your pooch to relieve himself — as far away from the guest rooms as possible. And if you are allowed to leave your dog alone in the room, make it for short periods of time and hang the Do Not Disturb sign outside the door to avoid unnecessary confrontations with housekeeping.
Of the more than 300 million people living in the United States, about 50 million of them are dog owners. The relative few owe it to the many to abide by those policies established to make harmonious coexistence possible.
Woof!
Dog trainer Matthew "Uncle Matty" Margolis is co-author of 18 books about dogs, a behaviorist, a popular radio and television guest, and host of the PBS series "WOOF! It's a Dog's Life!" Read all of Uncle Matty's columns at the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com, and visit him at www.unclematty.com. Send your questions to dearuncle.gazette@unclematty.com or by mail to Uncle Matty at P.O. Box 3300, Diamond Springs, CA 95619.
COPYRIGHT 2009 CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC.
