There is a complete grooming center with Jacuzzi-style baths and tables with blow dryers so that pooches can be fluffed up and perfectly coiffed for show day.
A section of the room is strewn with sawdust and converted into a doggie restroom. And yes, the line is definitely longer for female dogs. Some of them simply can’t find a spot!
The exercise room is set up with jog-a-dog treadmill machines so that the show dogs can get plenty of exercise without leaving the hotel and risk getting their fur wet and paw pads damaged on sidewalks heavily salted to combat the snow.
“It’s a really great workout,” says Carolyn Asquith of Miami, whose Australian shepherd Willow climbed on for the first time. “I can’t get her off it. She thinks its lots of fun. I brought her downstairs to go to the doggy toilet, but she refuses to stop jogging.”
Also set up in the green room is Debbie Zimmermann of Newburg Park, Calif., a pet masseuse and aromatherapist whose job it is to ease away any last-minute stress that may hinder performance on show day. Canine clients are given a special drink of lavender flavored water to calm them down.
A pet psychic is on hand to talk to the dogs and find out if they have any problems which could be standing in the way of success in the show ring.
“Some of them sniff out the competition and get very nervous,” said animal communicator Anni Germani of Monroe, Mich.
Also doing brisk business is the International Canine Semen Bank as breeders organize to have the sperm of their top show dogs frozen for litters in the future. It costs owners $275 to create a semen vial, which is instantly frozen and placed in the sperm bank.
“You can freeze sperm for up to 30 years,” says company spokesperson Chuck Murray. “One breeder successfully produced a litter of puppies with sperm that had been frozen for over 28 years.”
The adjacent pet mall has vendors selling everything from fancy jewelry to stylish leaches. The stall offering mint-flavored doggy ice cream has been doing brisk business with canines that have a sweet tooth. Dogs can also have their portraits painted and their photographs taken.
Apart from the facilities available to canine guests, the hotel also organizes a full week of events, including a canine couture fashion show with outfits that are knock-offs of designer gowns worn by celebrities such as Charlize Theron and Nicole Kidman.
Grymek estimates that more than 70,000 Westminster show dogs have walked across the hotel’s portals during its 87 year-history and that probably more than 100,000 canines have stayed here taking into account the hotel’s year-round pet-friendly policy.
Welcome to the Hotel Pennsylvania. It is indeed a dog’s life.
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