THE DOZENfrom Egg Strategy I’m going to spoil you whether you like it or not

My dogs are fed the most premium of premium pet foods.  They get organic biscuits and sockeye salmon oil supplements on a daily basis.  To top it all off, they have an eternally flowing doggie water fountain, complete with filter, on a plush mat in my kitchen.

At bedtime, they have their choice of my bed or one of four special dog beds:  a ‘cooling’ bed for those nights when central air conditioning just won’t cut it, two faux fur beds with extra supportive inserts and an orthopedic (molds to their body) bed with a soft suede exterior.

I thought I was really pampering my pets until I read an article in USA Today recently.

Apparently, for a premium price, hotels in both the U.S. and Europe are offering gourmet meals to pets traveling with their humans.  Here’s an example of what’s available:

At the Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa in Phoenix…. your pooch can enjoy “Zen Yo” ($11), a vegetable stir-fry served with poached eggs and steamed brown rice that's meant to help pets with jet lag.

Chicken liver pâté ($7) and braised New Zealand lamb served on a bed of rice ($15) are some of the decadent doggie offerings at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Tampa.

Would I, personally, order these for my dogs?  Probably not…however, knowing that these places cater to my best friends, I would definitely put them at the top of the list of places I’m likely to stay.

Incidentally, my dogs think crunching on lettuce cores, gnawing toilet paper right off the roll and nabbing a piece of pasta that’s fallen onto the kitchen floor are absolute ‘prizes’ .  To them, that’s even more of a treat than their gourmet bison and blueberry biscuits. 

In addition, sleeping on the cool hardwood floor (in summer) or inside of a freshly laundered basket of clothes (in winter) is their idea of ultimate comfort. 

However, whether or not my dogs partake of the amenities I offer them, the one thing these dog-friendly brands give me is peace of mind.  I know I’m doing the best I can for them … even if they choose a plastic soda bottle for fetching instead of an ‘ergonomically-designed’ chew toy that claims to clean their teeth and improve their dexterity.