It's a Dog's Life

I don’t own a dog, but have always been a ‘dog’ person; I like dogs and they generally like me. When I was younger the family always had a dog, and often the family dog was sometimes mostly ‘my dog’. As I result I tend to notice the dogs around me, and I have written a number of blog entries about the dogs in the countries we visit.

Come on in - buy a house

Here in Florida the dogs lead pretty good lives. I have not seen as many out for walks as I did in Spain or Portugal, but the other day walking around the neighborhood a couple of the local dogs stopped to fill me in on the “Doggie Scene” here in Naples.

Although I have not seen so many dogs, I have certainly seen the extensive infrastructure in place to serve their needs. The first thing you notice is how many pet supply shops there are. There seemed to be one in every shopping area, and these are not just places to go get pet food and flea collars. Just check out some of the names, “Fergie’s Closet Doggie Boutique”, “Pucci & Catana Luxury Pet Boutique”, “Daisy Collars” (Can you say diamond studded dog collars?), and “Topcoat’n Tails Inc”. You can get entire designer outfits for you pet from these shops.

Need to find some place to leave your pet while you go on vacation? You can take them to “The Pet Nanny TLC”, “Love My Dog Resort & Spa”, or perhaps “A Dog’s Dream Daycare, LLC”, where the testimonials speaks volumes . . .

"If Bogey could speak, he would tell you that Jill's daycare is his favorite thing on this planet. Check out his videos and you will see why. It is an experience I cannot offer him at home." 

"Bailey loves going to daycare! Every morning when we drive up she gets all excited to be there and runs to the front door. When I pick her up after work she is happy and tired (but still happy to see mommy). Going to daycare has also made her very social with other dogs. It's nice to have a place to leave my 'baby' during the day so she is not alone all the time, and everyone at A Dog's Dream Daycare takes good care of her!" 

Somehow this sounds like a bit more then a dog kennel & kibbles . . . .

A memorial to "Peanut"

Hey, wait a minute, all these doggie daycares and pet resorts, I thought everyone down here are already on vacation . . . these pets are getting a vacation from their vacations.

The pet grooming places are just as elaborate, and they look as fancy as the ones dedicated to the pet’s owners.

Strolling the downtown area one day I found a real estate office with dishes of fresh water and bowls full of doggie treats on the steps outside and just down the road was a city fire hydrant painted and decorated to honor a fallen pet. Even the local SPCA is upscale, with a Pet Adoption center in one of the big shopping malls.

Jim, keep this Blog Post away from Jude, he will want to go on vacation with you next time instead of going to the “kennel”.