The most fashionable Parisian pooches get coiffed and groomed at Dog in the City (www.doginthecity.fr/en) in the Marais, the popular gayborhood of Paris. The shop also has dog accessories such as chic outfits and costumes, cashmere and cable-knit sweaters, winter coats trimmed in fake fur, beds and couches, and travel totes.
La Tour Caline (www.latourcaline-toilettage-paris.fr) is a dog and cat groomer located in the 16th arrondissement, which is the Paris equivalent of the upper east side in Manhattan. Upscale clients bring their prized pets to be perfectly groomed, and when in Paris, blockbuster writer Danielle Steele grooms her dog at La Tour Caline.
Photo: Pixel-Shot
Busy Parisians sometimes don’t have the time to properly walk their dogs and trust Doggies et Compagnie (www.facebook.com/doggiesetcompagnie) to walk them instead. Doggies et Compagnie offers a special service to walk dogs in forests in the confines of Paris such as Bois de Vincennes, and Bois de Boulogne, where the Duke and Duchess of Windsor used to live and walk their super pampered pugs.
The closest you can get to a five-star dog hotel is Actuel Dogs Hotel (www.facebook.com/actueldogs), located in the tony suburb of Vincennes, just outside of Paris. Short of feeding your dog from a silver platter, Actuel provides luxuries such as heated pools for your pooch to swim in, massage treatments, gyms, and training sessions. The “hotel” has four rooms, each measuring 100 square feet plus two suites which measure 130 square feet and have all the luxury amenities you expect in a human hotel including cushy beds, pet photos on the walls and TV sets with DVDs that show dog videos. Vincennes is located in close proximity to a lush forest and dogs can be taken for walks, jogs, hikes, and runs alongside a bicycle. Rates start at 35€ a night for the standard rooms and 45€ per night for the suites.
The most famous Parisian cat is not a real, live cat, it’s from an illustrated poster. Le Chat Noir, a black cat seen against a bright yellow background, was a lithograph originally drawn in 1896 by French artist Théophile Steinlen. He drew it for a popular cabaret and nightclub in Montmartre, Le Chat Noir, where artists, writers, musicians and poets gathered, including Claude Debussy, Guy de Maupassant, Toulouse Lautrec, and French can-can dancer Jane Avril. Le Chat Noir closed permanently in 1897, but the poster has outlived the cabaret and is still an iconic image nowadays, displayed on posters, coffee mugs, key chains, dish towels, and countless other items.
Lindesy Tramuta with Leo and Charlie
Photo: Courtesy of Lindsey Tramuta
Best-selling author and travel and lifestyle writer, Lindsey Tramuta, adores her two cats Léo and Charlie so much they have become feline superstars on her popular Instagram @lostincheeseland, with close to 100,000 followers. Léo and Charlie are prominently featured in Tramuta’s Instagram Stories, as she films them playing and getting into mischief in her apartment, in addition to the valuable info she posts about culture, food, and life in Paris. She also plays with them as a distraction from when she needs to take a break from her busy writing schedule.
When I asked Lindsey how she pampers her cats, she said, “ They are treated like royalty.” She feeds them superior quality food, a mix of wet food and kibble from Science Diet (Hill’s) and gives them delicate, handmade toys from her travels to play with. Two of their favorites are a blue knit fish, which she received as a gift from a hotel in Amsterdam, and a mouse made of rabbit fur she picked up in Philadelphia, her hometown before she moved to Paris. The New Parisienne: The Women & Ideas Shaping Paris is Tramuta’s latest book, published in July 2020 by Abrams.
When their owners are away, cats can check into La Moustache (www.lemoustachepensionparis.fr), a cat pension, which provides rooms that house no more than four cats at a time and feature six individual themed rooms with games, beds, food dispensers, and a customized water fountain. La Moustache also has a 600 square foot playroom with a glass roof where cats can “socialize”.
Le Café des Chats (www.lecafedeschats.fr) is the ultimate place for cat lovers, especially for travelers missing their cats back home. The quirky, homey café at the moment has 14 rescue cats free to roam the café and also play with the customers. Gavroche, Zan, Apollon, Izmir, Frida, and Alaska are just a few of the cats you can interact with (but just like the zoo, please don’t feed the animals!) while enjoying tea, coffee, home-made desserts, hot chocolate, salads, and burgers.
Frank Barron and Fitzy
We know that all dogs go to heaven, but before they arrive, there’s a special place they are laid to rest. The Le Cimetière des chiens d’Asnières-sur-Seine (www.decouvrir.asnieres-surseine. fr) is a dog cemetery just on the outskirts of Paris on the banks of the Seine. Opened in 1899, it’s the world’s oldest pet cemetery. Although it’s technically named a dog cemetery, there are 40,000 pets buried there including cats, hens, hamsters, pigs, monkeys, turtles, and horses. Noted “celebrity” pets buried in the cemetery include the movie star, German Sheperd Rin-Tin-Tin. Just beyond the Art Nouveau style entrance of the cemetery designed by architect Eugène Petit is an impressive, large scale statue of Barry, a Saint Bernard mountain rescue dog who saved 40 people who were trapped in the mountain snow banks.
If you are inspired by this article to bring your precious pooch or cat on your next sojourn to Paris, there are many hotels that pamper their guest’s pets just as well as humans. La Pavillon de la Reine (www.pavillon-de-la-reine.com/fr), hidden in a garden courtyard on the historic Place des Vosges, La Reserve Hotel and Spa (www.lareserve-paris.com), a former mansion converted into a luxurious boutique hotel, the epitome of luxury, the posh Four Seasons George V, and the elegant and intimate L’Hotel (www.lhotel. com), where Oscar Wilde spent his last years, in Saint Germain des Pres. They are all pet friendly, and will happily accommodate your pet for a fee ranging from 35 to 55€ a day. At The Peninsula Paris (www.peninsula.com/en/paris), they roll out the red carpet for your dog by providing a bed with a personalized blanket, a welcome basket with gourmet dog food, water, a name tag, and a toy, all free of charge. The Mandarin Oriental, Paris (www.mandarinoriental.com/paris) has a resident dog mascot Archie Le Woof, who greets his fellow dog guests with a personalized welcome letter, a gluten free dog biscuit made by the hotel pastry chef, and a doily with their name printed on it.
