Mar 29
2009

Dogs, cats, perhaps even pet snakes , bring companionship and joy the their owner’s lives. Unfortunately, there have always been some who love their pets more than human beings. There are others who literally kill their pets with kindness by overfeeding them. Pets are ultimately a prisoner or slave to their owner. They are not free to roam, hunt or mate as they would choose.

It came as a surprise to learn on Twitter, that there is now a Pets only airline. Like many others I thought it was April 1st come early. I did some further research and found even bigger excesses. Hotels where dogs sleep in pyjamas in four poster beds. Where they have their own swimming pool and gym and where the hotel chef prepares meals for them. If you don’t believe me just put “dog luxury hotel” into a search engine.

Travel can open the mind and lets us see the world and its inhabitants in a fresh light and allows us to see the beauty of the planet we inhabit. Personally, I don’t see how pets can benefit from travel in this way. Of course they will enjoy playing on the beach and in the sea and  they are unlikely to miss their owners if they are together. I have no problem with pet friendly hotels, even the budget chains in France allow pets. What I can’t come to terms with is pets wearing pyjamas and sleeping in four poster beds in rooms equipped with TV’s.

One commentary I read on the reason for the Credit Crunch was that spending had gone out of control. They quoted the array of Christmas gifts, costumes and even Christmas stockings for pets on sale as a sign that we had become addicted to spending for the sake of spending, even if it meant borrowing to fuel the addiction. It was reinforced by a visit before Christmas to a store in Cardiff where I saw the goods pictured below. All unnecessary and most likely not appreciated by the pets.

Pet holiday

There is a big difference between pet friendly hotels and pet only airlines monogrammed pyjama wearing pets sleeping in four poster beds. A line must be drawn between ‘pet friendly’ and wasteful extravagance. Where would you draw it?

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