I am an adoring ''mother" to Chloe, 2, and Duffy, 1, and my life has been transformed by raising them. I take them running, I boil rice and chicken when they're sick, I sometimes bake dog biscuits. I hate leaving them at home on weekends away. But New York with these two boisterous characters in tow? My favorite things in this pulse-quickening city -- eating at restaurants, attending Broadway plays, late-night clubbing -- have nothing to do with dogs.
Where sleeping dogs lie We checked into the W hotel on Lexington Avenue late on a Friday night in September. With music playing and people lounging in the open bar, the dark lobby was like a nightclub downtown. Patrons who saw us come in asked how we managed to bring dogs to the W, one of New York's hot hotels when it opened in 1998.
In fact, the W hotels always accommodated dogs, but in August the rest of the Starwood chain, which includes the Sheraton and Westin hotels, followed suit, welcoming dogs and cats, and catering to them as never before.
''We want to make the pets happy, too, and make their stay just as luxurious as their owners'," said Jane Glastein, spokeswoman for the W New York hotels.
I had told a reservation clerk that my partner, Tina, and I planned to stay at the hotel with our dogs, who are about the size of border collies with the energy to match, and her only question was whether we needed dog beds. As we checked in and got our room keys, the staff offered pats and belly rubs to both dogs. A pair of brand-new leashes and collars were waiting on a new-looking dog bed in our room, along with a large water bowl and a bottle of spring water. The dogs also found a red rubber ball and a disc-shaped tug toy, which we hid from them immediately. (After five hours in the car, they would have turned the room topsy-turvy chasing and playing with their toys.)
I found out later that the toys, bowls, and leashes are on loan; like the bathrobe in your room, if you take it, you will get a bill.
