The Presidio Suite comes with all the amenities. There's a king-size bed, a skylight, a 42-inch flat-screen TV (with over 10,000 available movies), aroma therapy, Internet radio and 24-hour room service. There's even a bedtime story and a nice belly rub included in the $150-a-night fee.
A lot of hotel guests wouldn't want a belly rub.
But Charlie, a French bulldog who is a regular at the suite at San Francisco's Wag Hotel, loves it.
"My feeling is, if I go on vacation, Charlie should go on vacation," says Joe Suttner, a vice president at a pharmacy firm. "I know how ridiculous it sounds, and my friends give me a hard time, but I know that Charlie is safe, happy and well socialized."
That level of pampering might not play well outside of San Francisco, but in a city where dogs outnumber children, it is just part of the ethos. Dogs wander the supermarket aisles, roam leash-less through the parks, and take public transit with their owners. Nothing is too good for our special four-legged friends.
Take Le Marcel Pooch Pastries, where elaborate canine concoctions - Terrier-Misu is a favorite - can run $5 a frosted (with dog-friendly ingredients) cupcake. Critics would say it is one thing to pamper dogs and another to treat them like your first-born.
To which doting doggie parents reply: "So? What's your point?"
"I think we are at the point where people aren't even apologetic about it any more," says Carlie Thibault at Wag.
"There are people who see their pet as their child," says Jessica Mooney, marketing director for Le Marcel. "And I am one of them."
Wag, which opened in 2009 in the Mission neighborhood, is just one of the many upscale business that caters to dog owners. It may also be one of the more extreme cases. The "ultra" suites include a nightly video chat and a 24-hour webcam.
"We've had people call us in the middle of the night and say, 'Could you fluff up the pillow a little? Spot doesn't look comfortable.' " says Kristen Rau at Wag.
We can't conclusively say that San Francisco is more over-the-top than other cities. But you have to believe it is. Rau says the two ultra suites in San Francisco are booked solid, while the one at the Sacramento Wag is not as popular.
Mooney, who splits her time with the doggie bakery outlet in Seattle, says owners in the Northwest are more into dogs that hike and chase balls.
Here, she's seen so-called purse dogs that "have tons of outfits, shoes for the dog, lots of bling. The amount of money they spend to accessorize the dog is phenomenal."
Her topper story is the couple who wanted to buy a specialized doggie bed. They were shown custom beds in the shape of a Corvette, a Mercedes and a Porsche. But they wanted a bed shaped like a Rolls Royce. In pink. With a matching jacket for the dog - whose name was Rolls.
It seems to be one of those slippery slope kind of things. Suttner started taking Charlie to the All-Day Play Time when he was a puppy to get him socialized with other dogs.
Then he started to get the photos from special days: Charlie as an Irishman for St. Patrick's Day, with an eye patch for Pirate Day. Next he started attending pooch parties to stand around with other dog owners and have a cocktail.
And the next thing you know, he estimates he's shelling out $600 a month for Charlie's day care, suite stays, and the occasional blueberry facial. Or, if your four-footed friend is starting to show his age, he could try the touchup special to tint those gray hairs on the muzzle.
All of this, of course, overlooks the fact that the dog doesn't care. He doesn't know he's looking older or that a blueberry facial is special. The dogs seem to enjoy the play day camps, but, as owners say, by the time they get home they're worn out and exhausted.
It is easy to picture a moment when Sparky goes back to his luxury suite and his owner gets on the nightly video chat and asks how his day went.
"Ruff," the dog might say.
via www.sfgate.com/bayarea/nevius/article/SF-dog-owners-pamper-their-pooches-4807010.php
A lot of hotel guests wouldn't want a belly rub.
But Charlie, a French bulldog who is a regular at the suite at San Francisco's Wag Hotel, loves it.
"My feeling is, if I go on vacation, Charlie should go on vacation," says Joe Suttner, a vice president at a pharmacy firm. "I know how ridiculous it sounds, and my friends give me a hard time, but I know that Charlie is safe, happy and well socialized."
That level of pampering might not play well outside of San Francisco, but in a city where dogs outnumber children, it is just part of the ethos. Dogs wander the supermarket aisles, roam leash-less through the parks, and take public transit with their owners. Nothing is too good for our special four-legged friends.
Take Le Marcel Pooch Pastries, where elaborate canine concoctions - Terrier-Misu is a favorite - can run $5 a frosted (with dog-friendly ingredients) cupcake. Critics would say it is one thing to pamper dogs and another to treat them like your first-born.
To which doting doggie parents reply: "So? What's your point?"
"I think we are at the point where people aren't even apologetic about it any more," says Carlie Thibault at Wag.
"There are people who see their pet as their child," says Jessica Mooney, marketing director for Le Marcel. "And I am one of them."
Video chats
Wag, which opened in 2009 in the Mission neighborhood, is just one of the many upscale business that caters to dog owners. It may also be one of the more extreme cases. The "ultra" suites include a nightly video chat and a 24-hour webcam.
"We've had people call us in the middle of the night and say, 'Could you fluff up the pillow a little? Spot doesn't look comfortable.' " says Kristen Rau at Wag.
We can't conclusively say that San Francisco is more over-the-top than other cities. But you have to believe it is. Rau says the two ultra suites in San Francisco are booked solid, while the one at the Sacramento Wag is not as popular.
Mooney, who splits her time with the doggie bakery outlet in Seattle, says owners in the Northwest are more into dogs that hike and chase balls.
Here, she's seen so-called purse dogs that "have tons of outfits, shoes for the dog, lots of bling. The amount of money they spend to accessorize the dog is phenomenal."
Her topper story is the couple who wanted to buy a specialized doggie bed. They were shown custom beds in the shape of a Corvette, a Mercedes and a Porsche. But they wanted a bed shaped like a Rolls Royce. In pink. With a matching jacket for the dog - whose name was Rolls.
It seems to be one of those slippery slope kind of things. Suttner started taking Charlie to the All-Day Play Time when he was a puppy to get him socialized with other dogs.
Then he started to get the photos from special days: Charlie as an Irishman for St. Patrick's Day, with an eye patch for Pirate Day. Next he started attending pooch parties to stand around with other dog owners and have a cocktail.
Blueberry facial
And the next thing you know, he estimates he's shelling out $600 a month for Charlie's day care, suite stays, and the occasional blueberry facial. Or, if your four-footed friend is starting to show his age, he could try the touchup special to tint those gray hairs on the muzzle.
All of this, of course, overlooks the fact that the dog doesn't care. He doesn't know he's looking older or that a blueberry facial is special. The dogs seem to enjoy the play day camps, but, as owners say, by the time they get home they're worn out and exhausted.
It is easy to picture a moment when Sparky goes back to his luxury suite and his owner gets on the nightly video chat and asks how his day went.
"Ruff," the dog might say.
C.W. Nevius is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. His columns appear Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. E-mail: cwnevius@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @cwnevius
via www.sfgate.com/bayarea/nevius/article/SF-dog-owners-pamper-their-pooches-4807010.php
Show Konversi KodeHide Konversi Kode Show EmoticonHide Emoticon