Critter Comforts : Frills-for-Fido Hotel Takes the Worry Out of Being Far Away on Vacation

Winchester has checked in alone this time, with just the usual rawhide strips, some chewies and a few other treats to supplement the hotel fare.

He’s accustomed to nights away from home and, unlike some of the other guests, travels pretty light. His girlfriend, Rachel, on the other hand, just can’t sleep without that special blanket from home. She has even taken it to the hospital, where she’s ensconced at the moment, being checked for a bladder infection.

Assuming her condition is nothing too terribly serious, Rachel is counting on joining Winchester next month for a five-night stay in the hotel’s Royal Suite. Should they so desire, the Schnauzer couple can watch color TV all night or nuzzle each other on the couch or go for a midnight stroll--with a chaperon, of course.

“They are not going to settle for Motel 6 if they can have the Hyatt Regency,” sniffs Dr. Leslie Malo, veterinarian, entrepreneur and animal lover extraordinaire.

“I don’t know about you, but when I go on vacation, I want to make sure that my pets get love and attention. I’m not going to leave my pet with some yahoo.”

Malo, owner of Garden Grove’s Animal Inns of America--still a one-building establishment despite the plural name--says that as the summer vacation season gets under way, anxiety and guilt among conscientious pet owners start to rise.

But from Malo to the masses comes the message: “Not to worry.” For prices that range from $7 a night for a no-frills cat cage to the $55 a night that the owner of Winchester and Rachel is paying, Malo says cat and dog lovers can buy themselves peace of mind and can buy their pets comfort and attention.

Worried about your Abyssinian while tripping across Australia? No problem. Kathy Evans, the hotel’s assistant manager, says the staff “valets” think nothing of answering telephone calls from lonesome or concerned owners wherever they happen to be. The valets, each assigned to specific guests, keep daily records on each of the animals to note apparent physical or mood changes.

“Did they poop? Did they urinate? Did he eat? You know a lot of pets are spoiled, let’s face it,” Malo says. “So if they don’t eat, we’ll hand-feed them. With that kind of special care, you keep them happy.”

“If you have never had a pet, then maybe you couldn’t understand this,” Evans adds. “But to me, personally, there are no eccentric requests. . . . If you want your pet to have filet mignon, cooked, we’ll do it. If you want us to go down to McDonalds for hamburgers, we’ll do it.”

Of course, such special requests will run you a little extra. But all guests at what the Animal Inns brochure calls “America’s finest pet hotel” get their choice of seven “menus”--dry, semi-moist, canned--plus a daily snack, a daily comb-out, 15 minutes of “cuddling” and another 15 minutes of so-called physical exercise.

During a recent visit to the hotel, Zelda, 14, a pudgy beagle mix, stepped out to the exercise patio full of gusto and tail wagging. But after a quick couple of laps down the length of the concrete enclosure, her age was showing: Her tongue cascaded over her teeth and out her mouth. She led her valet to the door. She had clearly had quite enough.

“We do whatever the pet wants to do,” Evans says. “Some of the older pets just like to be held. Some just like to sit in the sun. The younger ones like to run up and down the patio. We have pets who like to play with bubbles, so we do that. It’s fun.”

Extra cuddling and physical exercise, incidentally, can also be arranged for $1.75 per 15 minutes.

Repeat Customers From Far Off

Malo, himself the father of three teen-age boys and the owner of a cat and a 12-year-old Great Dane, says the standards he sets for his hotel have brought him hundreds of repeat customers, from as far away as San Francisco and Dallas.

Holidays, he says, usually mean a full house--there are accommodations for 100 dogs and up to 105 cats--although a steady clientele of business travelers and vacationing families keeps the hotel busy all year.

And despite some rather testy guests, Malo says that since the hotel opened in 1978, he has never evicted a dog or a cat.

“We have never given up,” he says, “although we do have some scars because of it. One of the kitty cats bit a valet so hard that he left a tooth in his hand.”

Merlin the Dalmatian, who visits the hotel maybe four times a year, has also been known to cause a scene.

“This is a dog that nobody will take,” Malo says. “They’ve told her (the owner) ‘Forget it, Lady.’ That dog is so nasty and so tough that nobody else will handle him.

“Now, when he comes here, OK, he’s tough for the first day, but then after that, he’s fine.”

Evans says that another guest, the curmudgeonly Mr. Buffington, an English sheep dog, now runs up to her from the hotel parking lot as soon as he sets his eyes on her.

“I had to spend three of my lunch hours back with Mr. Buffington,” she says of her intensive therapy with the dog. “The major thing is time, no matter how aggressive an animal may be.”

Animals, Children Compared

“I wish I could be as good with my kids as we are with these animals,” Malo says, “but after all, animals never give you that ‘teen-ager look,’ that ‘come on, Dad, get real’ look.”

His customers, Malo says, appreciate the location of the animal clinic right next door--although he says because of the threat of disease, hotel and clinic employees are kept separate.

Also, customers don’t have to worry about “kennel cough,” because the hotel air-conditioning system does not recycle air.

And Evans, who has worked at the hotel for 6 years, points out that there are emotional benefits as well: “When I come in at 6 in the morning, there are a hundred pairs of eyes that are ecstatic to see me. There are happy eyes and happy tails. I don’t know where else you can come in and have 100 bodies that are dying to see you.”

PET-SITTING SERVICES There are several options for county pet owners who need someone to care for their animals while they are away.

In addition to pet hotels--the telephone directory lists scores of them--kennels and veterinary hospitals also board animals.

For pet owners who prefer to keep their animals at home, the Pet Sitters Assn. of Southern California may be of help. In addition to feeding, walking or playing with your pet, many pet-sitters will also do such tasks as bringing in the mail, turning on sprinklers and watering plants. Prices per visit range from about $6 to $22.

For information, Carl Anderson, the group’s treasurer, can be reached at (714) 964-5884.