The Sunday Read: ‘My Goldendoodle Spent a Week at Some Luxury Dog ‘Hotels.’ I Tagged Along.’
whatshot 14 snips
Mar 24, 2024
Explore the world of luxury dog hotels with a comedic twist as a Goldendoodle enjoys opulent amenities. Discover how perceptions of pet ownership have shifted dramatically, transforming pets into valued family members. Uncover the emotional investment owners have in their furry friends and how this trend reflects broader societal changes. Humor and reflection intertwine as personal stories reveal the lavish treatment pets now receive, raising questions about loneliness and the human-pet bond in a rapidly evolving landscape.
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Dog Hotel Road Trip
Sam Apple, intrigued by the rise of luxury dog hotels, embarked on a road trip with his dog, Steve.
Their journey aimed to explore these upscale accommodations and the changing relationship between humans and dogs.
insights INSIGHT
Humanizing Dogs
The increasing humanization of dogs raises questions about our obsession with them.
Apple pondered this shift while experiencing the dog hotels firsthand, sometimes feeling awkward.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Pampered Pooches
At Dogwood Acres, Steve enjoyed a bedtime belly rub tuck-in, highlighting the extent of dog pampering.
Apple reflected on the rising spending on pets, including over half a billion dollars annually on Halloween costumes.
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By the time Sam Apple pulled up with his goldendoodle, Steve, to their resting place, he was tired from the long drive and already second-guessing his plan. He felt a little better when they stepped inside the Dogwood Acres Pet Retreat. The lobby, with its elegant tiled entrance, might have passed for the lobby of any small countryside hotel, at least one that strongly favored dog-themed decor. But this illusion was broken when the receptionist reviewed their reservation — which, in addition to their luxury suite, included cuddle time, group play, a nature walk and a “belly rub tuck-in.”
Venues like this one, on Kent Island in Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay, didn’t exist when Apple was growing up in the 1980s. If you needed a place to board your dog back then, you went to a kennel, where your dog spent virtually the entire day in a small — and probably not very clean — cage. There were no tuck-ins, no bedtime stories, no dog-bone-shaped swimming pools. There was certainly nothing like today’s most upscale canine resorts, where the dogs sleep on queen-size beds and the spa offerings include mud baths and blueberry facials; one pet-hotel franchise on the West Coast will even pick up your dog in a Lamborghini. Apple knew Dogwood Acres wouldn’t be quite as luxurious as that, but the accommodations still sounded pretty nice. So he decided to check his dog in, and to tag along for the journey.
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