Tuesday 7 December 2010

GUPPY LOVE


There are a group of hotels on the East coast that have a Guppy Love program. I know you’re seriously trying to figure out what that is. In short, you can choose whether or not you want to share your room with a bowl of goldfish (you are secretly let down at the answer, aren’t you?) The thought is that most people leave their beloved pets behind and are looking for that little piece of home right there in their hotel room. I sure hope they’re not expecting the guests to clean the bowl, cause that part of home I assume most do not miss in the slightest. Psychologists have also long stated that watching fish swim in a bowl has a calming affect on the person doing the watching. Either that, or it puts you to sleep from sheer boredom. Which bodes well as you are in a hotel with a large bed that you don’t have to make in the morning. God do I love hotel living.

Another hotel in California has a Labrador on staff that welcomes guests and goes on hikes with them, if you so desire. He will also eat your shoes, and pee in your suitcase if you ask really nicely. I kid I kid. This new trend of hotel pets is catching on across the country where several hotels have actually found themselves with waiting lists for those wanting to walk the resident dog around town. Seriously? You’re on vacation, isn’t that what you go on vacation for, so you don’t have to walk the dog and pick up after something? Call me crazy, but when I’m on holiday, my goal is to resemble someone with a frontal lobotomy. Just put me somewhere comfortable with an umbrella drink and leave me to it.

My old office had a dog. Actually it was my dog that wasn’t potty trained yet, so her work sojourn only lasted a few weeks. Too many surprises behind potted plants for the boss’s liking. But while it lasted, I must admit, it did make the office kind of cozy and of course provided a nice excuse to not do one's work. She would mosey from office to office, lie under people’s desks, or her favorite thing, fall asleep right smack in front of the entrance door so that people would have to step over her. I loved that she didn’t overly accommodate anyone.

I suppose pets do have a calming positive affect on people and often make people nicer and more friendly, which in today's world goes a long way. Unless of course one is highly allergic to animals or has OCD and then one is looking at one big downer of a holiday. It’s probably best that those types steer clear of any hotels where Buddy the lab is going to be jumping on your lap and licking the side of your face.
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