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)

华盛顿的市民现在可以把他们的宠物狗送到宠物旅馆里去了。在那里，他们的爱犬将享受到五星级的服务。 位于华盛顿郊区比瑟达的PetSmart宠物旅馆刚开业不久，在旅馆的大厅里，狗的主人们排着队为他们的宠物交房钱，房价为每晚23美元（含税）。 宠物旅馆和昔日的狗窝可大不一样。这家宠物旅馆的经理文斯·玛拉娜菲说，旅馆为宠物们提供了不含乳糖的冰激凌、室内娱乐，如果每晚多花十几美元，狗狗们还可以住进配有电视机的套房，欣赏“全天放映的动物题材电影”。 玛拉娜菲说：“这可以让它们放松、并适应这里的环境，因为它们在家里就常看电视。” 住在一间套房里的一只名叫Bijou的白毛狮子狗被电视里放的《小尼摩梦游记》弄的晕头转向，里面的卡通人物不停的“游来荡去”。 在“狗狗日间寄托营”呆上一天但不过夜需要花费20美元。 有一半的寄宿狗每天都来。一位名叫塞拉的“狗妈妈”每天上班之前都要把她的拉布拉多猎狗和狮子狗送到这里来，她说：“把它们送到这里比让它们自己呆在家里强多了。在这里，它们可以进行‘社会交往’。” 宠物娱乐的负责人梅雷迪思说，如果它们“不听话或撒野，我们会就它们在笼子里呆上15分钟。两次之后，它们就明白了。” 这家位于比瑟达的宠物旅馆能够容纳180只狗和26只猫。猫住在被称为“猫咪别墅”的树脂玻璃笼子里，“房价”为每晚14美元（含税），其中包括15分钟的“爱抚”费用。 总部设在亚利桑那州菲尼克斯市的PetSmart集团在三年前就提出了开办宠物旅馆的想法，公司发言人布鲁斯·理查德森说：“这是宠物业‘发展最快的一个行业’，我们现在共有32家分店，到2010年，希望能达到240家。” (英语点津姗姗编辑)