Pet paradise
Once a year, we take our pampered Persian cat to a pet shop for a good shampoo and grooming session - a ritual that starts and ends with feline resentment and pouting. Ours is a spoilt house pet who has only a passing interest in the outside world, and none at all in being trapped inside a plastic cage and bumped about inside a taxi.
But our latest trip fell flat when we found that our usual grooming centre had closed down. Despite its name, Doggy Bag, it was not as dog-centred as some pet shops in dog-obsessed Bangkok, and gave a fair amount of space to feline well-being. Indeed, the friendly shop owner crossed the great divide between dog and cat owners by having several of both, and we always felt welcome despite the barking canines.
Given the huge spending power of Bangkok's affluent pet society, Doggy Bag's apparent closure came as a surprise. A penchant for dogs among royalty, and the sense of security of having a pooch around, make dogs a popular addition to any Thai household.
Mongrel breeds are also thick on the ground. Bangkok is famous for having tens of thousands of stray dogs.
However, it turned out that Doggy Bag had transformed into a bigger, bolder pet project: Ozono, a pet park complete with a hotel, restaurants, shops and even a spa. The owner apparently decided to move to a bigger site and let his imagination run wild, betting that his customers were willing to spend even more money on their substitute children.
Inside the Ozono complex, the Petropolitan Park has a large stretch of grass for dogs to run and play, as well as a wilder section of small trees and bushes. To use this facility, owners must buy an annual membership, making Ozono a new kind of country club.
Dog training is offered, by an American instructor, so Thai owners will need to master the verbal commands in English - unless they have bilingual dogs. Other services include pet grooming, shops and beauty salons for the owners, pet-friendly restaurants, a canine spa and the Petropolitan Hotel, which offers both day care and a place for the pets to stay when owners are overseas.
The offer extends to cats, too: Ozono advertises a chance for feline socialising in the 'Cat Societe' section. This seems like an odd idea, given their fiercely territorial nature - unlike dogs, which love to run around and check out the competition.
The first time we took our Persian to Doggy Bag, one of the owner's cats jumped on top of the cage and tried to peer inside. Our cat hissed and meowed in rage and fear - or at least that's how it seemed. The other cat quickly withdrew, its socialising brought to an abrupt halt.
