Guests "Elektra" (C) and "Lily" (left) meet in the lobby at the Petsmart Pets Hotel and Doggie Day Camp in Bethesda, Maryland. Washingtonians can now drop their pooches off at a pet hotel that cares for their friendly canines in a five-star environment -- pet-themed television shows optional. [AFP] Washingtonians can now drop their pooches off at a pet hotel that cares for their friendly canines in a five-star environment. In the lobby of the PetSmart PetHotel, which just opened in the Washington suburb of Bethesda, the pets' human "parents" line up to plunk down 23 dollars plus tax for each night their pooch stays. The doggie hotel is nothing like kennels of yore: in this inn there is lactose-free ice cream, indoor recreation, and for 10 more dollars a night, pooch can stay in a "suite" with a television set showing an "animal related movie all day," said Vince Malanaphy, who manages the PetsHotel. "It helps them to relax and to adjust as they are used to hearing TV at home," Malanaphy says. In one "suite" a little white poodle named Bijou is lost in the embrace of Morpheus with "Little Nemo" and his cartoon friends swimming by in an eternal loop on the TV set. A stay at "Doggie Day Camp" without the overnight goes for 20 dollars the day. Half of the boarders come every day. "It's better than leaving them at home alone," said Cyra, one of the pet "mothers," as she drops off her Labrador and her poodle for Day Camp before running off to the office. Here "they can socialize," she said. Meredith, in charge of animal recreation, says that if dogs "are aggressive or play too rough, we give them a time out in a cage" for 15 minutes. "After twice, they get the message," she says. The Bethesda site has room for 180 dogs and 26 cats. Cats stay in plexiglass cages known as "kitty cottages" for a mere 14 dollars plus tax a night, which includes 15 minutes of TLC -- Tender Loving Care. The Phoenix, Arizona-based PetSmart Inc. launched the pet hotel concept three years ago and it is "the fastest growing sector" of the pet business, said spokesman Bruce Richardson. "Now we have 32 hotels; we anticipate 240 by 2010," he said.   (Agencies)

華盛頓的市民現在可以把他們的寵物狗送到寵物旅館里去了。在那里，他們的愛犬將享受到五星級的服務。 位于華盛頓郊區比瑟達的PetSmart寵物旅館剛開業不久，在旅館的大廳里，狗的主人們排著隊為他們的寵物交房錢，房價為每晚23美元（含稅）。 寵物旅館和昔日的狗窩可大不一樣。這家寵物旅館的經理文斯·瑪拉娜菲說，旅館為寵物們提供了不含乳糖的冰激凌、室內娛樂，如果每晚多花十幾美元，狗狗們還可以住進配有電視機的套房，欣賞“全天放映的動物題材電影”。 瑪拉娜菲說：“這可以讓它們放松、并適應這里的環境，因為它們在家里就常看電視。” 住在一間套房里的一只名叫Bijou的白毛獅子狗被電視里放的《小尼摩夢游記》弄的暈頭轉向，里面的卡通人物不停的“游來蕩去”。 在“狗狗日間寄托營”呆上一天但不過夜需要花費20美元。 有一半的寄宿狗每天都來。一位名叫塞拉的“狗媽媽”每天上班之前都要把她的拉布拉多獵狗和獅子狗送到這里來，她說：“把它們送到這里比讓它們自己呆在家里強多了。在這里，它們可以進行‘社會交往’。” 寵物娛樂的負責人梅雷迪思說，如果它們“不聽話或撒野，我們會就它們在籠子里呆上15分鐘。兩次之后，它們就明白了。” 這家位于比瑟達的寵物旅館能夠容納180只狗和26只貓。貓住在被稱為“貓咪別墅”的樹脂玻璃籠子里，“房價”為每晚14美元（含稅），其中包括15分鐘的“愛撫”費用。 總部設在亞利桑那州菲尼克斯市的PetSmart集團在三年前就提出了開辦寵物旅館的想法，公司發言人布魯斯·理查德森說：“這是寵物業‘發展最快的一個行業’，我們現在共有32家分店，到2010年，希望能達到240家。” (英語點津姍姍編輯)