Friday, April 07, 2006

Homer's First Visit to a "Pet Resort"

If you know Kate and me, then you know that we are very attached to our pets. I was raised around animals, but I was taught they were outside creatures that were not part of the family. (This was despite my best efforts to adopt every stray cat I could.) Obviously, this teaching did not sink in with me and our pets are very much part of the family. (Though they would be embarrassed to admit it, my dad and grandpa have started treating their dogs like family members, too.)
We take Homer and Frankie everywhere with us that we can. If that is not feasible, then we take them to Kate's parents', which they know as "camp." When that does not work out one of our friends, usually Alyson or Jesse, come to stay at our house and puppy sit. But this weekend, Homer is going to be boarded for the first time. We are staying at my grandparents' house, and Homer is a little too large to be running around in their home. (Frankie is small enough, though.) Dropping him off at camp would add at least an hour to our travel time, and our pet sitters are unavailable. (Uncle Jesse is, of course, in the Czech Republic and Aunt Alyson has a big concert this weekend.) I am relaying all of this just to give an idea of how big a deal it is for us to leave Homer with strangers for the weekend.
Now, before you start feeling sorry for Homer allow me to briefly describe Halliday's Pet Resort. A normal "room" here is a decent sized kennel located in one of several themed rooms. (See the link above for more about the different themes. My personal favorite is the Hard Bark Cafe.) The dogs get three 15-minute potty and play breaks a day and "comfort during thunderstorms." But none of this is good enough for my blackpuppy. Since we made reservations kind of late, the only room left was the VIP suite. Homer is indeed styling. His room is larger, has a skylight, a color TV and VCR with rentals available, his own air purification system, and he is the first one taken out in the morning and last one tucked in at night. There were additional options he could have had such as daily brunch (made with people food), bottled water (if tap water is not good enough), happy hour (an afternoon snack of ice cream), and so on. Poor Homer, his daddy is cheap. I sprung for only an extra potty and play session each day. Even without the luxury amenities, this is better than some of the places I have stayed, I think.
When I dropped him off this morning I took it like a man and did not cry. But I did have to call Kate right away so she could be a little sad with me. My question is: if we are this bad with our dog, how difficult will it be to leave baby Jack somewhere?

Kate and I are off to Part II of the Baby Showers. I will be sure and report all of the excitement that we have with the Weber family sans Homer.

3 comments:

amy7252 said...

Ah, "luxury boarding for special pets." I knew Homer was ... special ... but I didn't know there was a special place for him!

Anonymous said...

awwww.....homer gets a special home for the weekend.....i've never even stayed in a place like that.....lol

Anonymous said...

awwww.....homer gets a special home for the weekend.....i've never even stayed in a place like that.....lol