MONTREAL, LOEWS EST FANTANSTIQUE
Today we waved fond farewells to our racing friends as they set off home to Rochester, NY and Toronto. It had been a wonderful long weekend but like all good things, came to an end.
Yesterday Ben appeared to become noticeably more lame and was at times struggling a little. This morning he was still quite lame and seemed very sleepy and lethargic. I thought it could be the after effects of a little [very little] game of frisbee we had the previous evening and decided today he would have a very quiet day. We took our time leaving Mont Tremblant and drove slowly to Montreal with several stop so he could stretch his legs.
I had booked us into the Loews hotel downtown as everyone told me it was the best in Montreal and was pet friendly. They were right, it is extraordinarily pet friendly, in fact I will probably have to bribe Ben to leave tomorrow. We did not reach check-in before several of the very pleasant and smartly dressed staff were making a fuss of my charge, he acted like this happens all the time. Well, actually it does I suppose.
At check-in we were presented with an extremely smart gift bag secured with blue ribbons - not for me but for Ben. Up in the elevator with one of the uniformed admirers hauling the bags and Ben’s mattress which I had shoved into a black plastic bin liner. Into the room and realize that I need not have worried with the mattress as in the corner was a proper Ben-sized bed ready and waiting. Just to show me how supernumerary I was Ben immediately made his way to the Loews bed and settled in. Next to the bed was a very smart blue mat with two stainless bowls and bottled water. None of it for me, all for Ben.
THE BED, MAT AND BOWLS WITH BOTTLED WATER, GIFT BAG ON TOP OF DRAWERS.
This was a new level of ‘dog friendly’ for any hotel I have experienced. We have stayed together at some pretty nice places but not even the Trump or Ritz Carlton take things to this level. Loews also provide pet sitting should you wish and a number of other pet services. But the best really is just the friendliness of the staff, they were just outstanding.
As Ben’s 6pm dinner hour approached I wondered what I could get him to make his boring old kibble a bit more interesting. Normally on the road I’ll add a small can of tuna or some such but had forgotten to bring any up to the room with me. So I delved into the room service menu to look for something like a kids meal or beef sandwich that might suffice. This is what I found:
And this is what he had brought to the room and placed on the little blue mat by uniformed service staff:
At first Ben just sniffed at it and looked suspicious and I was thinking I had wasted my money until I bent down for a closer look. The dinner consisting of beef, brown rice and veggies was very hot - this had just been cooked fresh in the hotel kitchen - it smelled delicious! Once cooled Ben could not eat the whole thing quickly enough, every single piece including the beans.
Out for an after dinner walk it was obvious he was in a poor way with the hip and my plan to walk the old town was shelved. Back to the room, tuck the poor chap into bed and I popped out for something to eat myself. By the time I returned a sleep and dinner had worked something akin to magic and he was very chipper for the rest of the evening.
MONTREAL, QC,