Vancouver is a beautiful city
and the Fairmont Vancouver is the grande dame of hotels,
all crystal chandeliers and antiques
–very old, elegant and beautifully maintained.
But what I like best? Its two canine employees, Mavis and Beau.
Here they are, on the job Wednesday afternoon at their
stations near the concierge desk.
That’s right. On the job. Guests are allowed to walk the dogs,
take photos with them,
pet them and most of all, admire them.
The charming Mavis and mellow Beau
work a 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. shift
and then go home with their manager-owners.

Notice that they wear the canine version of the Fairmont
staff uniforms: same color, same fabric.
But no tricky name tags: their names are stitched on the uniform.

Originally, these dogs were being trained as Seeing Eye Dogs.
But they were just too damn…friendly. So they failed the course.
But hey, they were perfect for the hospitality business!

The hotel adopted them.
That’s right.
The hotel got them expressly for guest services.

And a couple of the managers became their forever parents.
They work together and they go home together after work.
It’s fun to see these happy canines hang out with their owners
in the lobby, greet guests and just smile.

There are three Fairmonts in Vancouver,
and the Pacific Rim Fairmont here also has a dog.
Just one.
A special dog, because the Queen had her photo taken with it.
Because as we know, the Queen loves dogs.

I love staying in a hotel that offers its guests dog company. It’s a first for me!
Oh, and pets stay free this fall at the hotel. Yep.

And aren’t they just the cutest damn dogs?
Almost as cute as my Riley.
Sure do miss that little terror.