Take Your Pet - To a Luxury Hotel!

The Freshpet bounty

There are hotels that take dogs, but charge you an extra fee. Of they accept dogs, but warn yo that they can't go on the furniture. Or that body shame your dog, allowing you to only bring dogs under a certain weight.

The Soho Grand Hotel takes dog friendly to a whole new level. This luxury boutique hotel has a bespoke dog park right next to the hotel. No exhaust fumes or cobblestone-sore paws for your pooch. The park has water stations, shade and benches.

The Soho Grand also provides dog beds, organic treats, bowls and waste bags.

Dr. Katy, 2nd from right, and pets up for adoption

I had always wanted to treat my dog, Karat, to an afternoon here and got an opportunity thanks to Freshpet, which had a "Take Your Pet to Work" day.  My dog, a labrador retriever, has a sensitive stomach, though she hoovers up trash from the streets. Freshpet uses real chicken and vegetables to create its food, and the table of people food and pet food was hard to distinguish.

As a vegetarian, what I liked about the food was the roll of chicken, turkey or beef could be sliced and served with minimal handling by me, the meat-averse. We hosted a dog who ate a raw food diet and just the smell was enough to send me searching for kale.

The Freshpet food is cooked at low temperatures, to preserve nutrients, and it has to stay refrigerated. No worries about it spoiling with Karat; she scarfs her food so quickly that we have a special insert in her bowl to slow her down.

The kitten missed her friend

Dr. Katy Nelson, host of The Pet Show with Dr. Katy and a veterinarian in Virginia, said the food meets an animal's nutritional needs and said that anecdotally, some overweight dogs actually lost excess weight by transitioning to this diet.

The Soho Grand bikes

The "Take Your Pet to Work" day included adoptions from Animal Haven and the ASPCA, but we just adopted a kitten and are maxed out on pets. If you adopt a pet from one of these organizations by July 31, you get free Freshpet food.

Dr. Katy said that pet-friendly workplaces are good for both pets and employees and it seemed true at the Soho Grand, where everyone was happy.

I know Karat wants to spend more time at the Soho Grand and I definitely want to check it out. The hotel provides free bicycles and my cocktail-loving cousin says the martinis are unparalleled. What a great base for exploring NYC.

Note: I was a guest at this event and did not receive any compensation, though Karat did eat a lot of treats.