A groomer at Dogotel styles a dog up. Kane Wu / China Daily

Some people will see to their own pets?comfort before looking to their own. Such are the people who, when they go traveling, take their pets to Dogotel, a high-end hotel and spa that even has hydrotherapy baths. Kane Wu reports.

It takes a big time love of animals and maybe a streak of madness to come up with Dogotel - featuring, wide-screen TV, a spa with hydrotherapy baths, ultrasonic massage, a rec room replete with slides, and imported beds - for vacationing dogs.

Sisse Pang is such a dog lover. She owns seven. Her sister owns five.

"We both enjoy traveling, and my sister often goes on business trips. So we really worry about our untended dogs. That's how we came up with the idea of Dogotel," Pang says. Pang and her sister were finally able to convince some friends to form a joint partnership in to open Dogotel in 2002.

Cindy Tsang thinks it's a great idea. She never worries about her dogs when she is away traveling. She suspects her dogs may be better off at Dogotel than they are at home.

Dogotel's boutique facade. Kane Wu / China Daily

"I always take them to Dogotel. They get a nice place to sleep and play. And they are well looked after by the staff," says the 33-year-old English teacher who lives in a Mong Kok apartment with her two dogs, on Kwong Wa Street.

Whenever she walks them to Dogotel, three blocks away on Argyle Street, "they start to hop up and down when they get to the door and look really happy," Tsang says.

"Then I know I can leave with ease."

The two dogs, a 5-year-old dachshund and a 4-year-old Jack Russell Terrier, are put in a joint unit at the dog hotel, not exactly a private en suite, but they sleep in a bed specially imported from the United States - for maximum comfort and back support. If they are bored, they can dance around on the sliding board in the common exercise area. They can play with other dogs or play by themselves if they're not feeling sociable. World-class groomers from Japan are available in the spa to give them their hydrotherapy baths. Then there's ultrasonic massage with microbubbles to purify their skin. They might as well go home clean and clear with a posh pet magazine cover hairstyle. Their owner has to be up for paying the extra charges of course. In a city of more than 320,000 domesticated pets, pet hotels, however, are a relatively new business. Dogotel was actually the first licensed dog boarding service provider in the city center.

"We were also the first company to hire Japanese groomers," Pang says.

"When I applied for a working visa for my staff, the immigration officer didn't even know what a groomer was. She just kept asking questions."

After a third renovation this January, the hotel now has a capacity of 24-28 dogs, depending on their size. Standard rooms are individual units with beds, the kind that Tsang's dogs stay in.

There are "double units" that can accommodate two dogs from one family. The hotel also has two deluxe family suites that can take three to four dogs from one. Each suite provides a large projection TV screen, a few toys and custom made furniture.

Most hardware in the hotel was purchased abroad. Pang says she is forever searching for good quality products from all over the world, either when she goes on the Internet or when she is traveling overseas. The family suite beds for example, came from the US. They're made from a special plastic, which is more durable and healthier for the bone structures of dogs. The sliding board in the play area, as well as some other toys, she says, was from Japan.

"This is like a dream place I create for dogs, so I have to make sure that everything has a high standard," she says.

It's a dog's life, but luxury spas still come at a price. Cindy Tsang pays more than HK$300 each for her dogs to spend a night at the hotel. Each enjoy a space of some 20 square feet. The family suite charges triple for 40 to 50 square feet. The price may seem a bit steep - but Dogotel isn't short of business. The place is booked two to three months in advance during peak seasons like Christmas and Easter.

"We once had almost 100 dogs on the waiting list," Pang says.

"Our regular customers include Jacky Chan, Shawn Yue and Aarif Rahman, the emerging actor."

A wall full of autographed pictures of smiling stars and their happy dogs says it all.

However, too much lux can be more form than function that makes pet owners feel less guilty about going away and leaving their pets behind.

"Dogs just want to live in a clean and comfortable place where they feel secure. They don't really mind if there is a lux bed or a TV," says Winnie Chow, an office lady who has a 3-year-old labrador. Chow takes her dog regularly to PetWorld, a dog park in Yuen Long, New Territories, for swimming and play.

"They have a big lawn and a small lawn for dogs of different sizes to stretch and run with their peers," she says. Chow has also boarded her dog there in a VIP room about 60 square feet with a balcony that costs HK$200 a night.

"The staff there really care about dogs, so my dog is quite happy," Chow says.

"And that's enough. I won't spend a lot of money on luxurious things."

Furniture and toys sometimes are even potential health hazards, Wendy Full Lanusse, customer relations manager and head of boarding at the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals HK (SPCA), tells China Daily.

"I don't recommend furniture in the kennel. The dogs might chew and swallow them and you don't know if they are toxic or not. It could be dangerous," she cautions.

The SPCA is a licensed boarding service provider for both dogs and cats. But it's a member-only service. Dogs stay in a room some 40 to 50 square feet while cats live in smaller units specially designed to meet their habits.

"As long as you can provide the animal with a nice area to move around in, daily contact with humans, good quality food, examinations, and a clean and healthy environment, that's far more important than little gimmicks like tables and chairs," Dr Jane Gray, chief vet at the SPCA, stresses.

"We don't go to the pampering stage. That's like we are imposing what we think (on animals)."

Cindy Tsang doesn't agree with Dr Gray.

"Raising a dog is already a luxury. If you can't afford it, don't do it," she says.

"I want to pamper my dogs as much as I pamper myself. The price doesn't matter as long as we are happy."

Pet owners like Tsang are what Dogotel is targeting. The operation has prospered over the years.

When Pang first opened the dog hotel, there were only five pet boarding places licensed by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department. This year, there are 26. In Mong Kok alone, there are three dog hotels within walking distance to each other.

Market competition is getting fierce, but Pang doesn't feel the pressure.

Many celebrities, including Jacky Chan, are regular customers at Dogotel. Kane Wu / China Daily

"We have many repeat customers who are serious dog lovers," Pang says.

"They will make sure they get what they pay for. And our well-trained staff and customized service meet their demands."

Pang and one of her partners who obtained a degree in pre-veterinary, train their staff regularly. The groomers are separately trained by professionals from Japan.

"Our staff are all dog lovers and have patience dealing with dogs. Everybody enjoys the work, because it is a career that we are devoted to, rather than a commercial business," Pang says.

Tsang shares the same passion. "The moment dogs come into our house, their world is changed. Our world is the whole world, but their world is only us. So of course we should treat them as best as we can!" Tsang says.

Tsang is thinking of getting her dogs some nail care some time soon.

(HK Edition 05/17/2011 page4)