The Pampered Pets of France

Summer has traditionally been a time of trauma for the pets of France. Left behind by vacationing owners who believe that animals, like some good wines, do not travel well, they have languished in crowded kennels, often going on hunger strikes or catching troublesome diseases. For many French pets, those weeks of anguish are now a thing of the past. For about $3 per day, a new pet vacation club will find a pet-loving, nonvacationing family that will take in a cat or a dog--or even a parakeet or snake--during the owner's absence.

To assure that Le Club des Animaux de Compagnie will provide a proper environment for the pet, customers must answer detailed questions. "Is your pet on a diet? Is he fussy about certain foods? Is he unable to endure a ringing telephone? Does he sleep at the foot of the bed, in the kitchen, in an armchair?" Data obtained, a kindly club employee picks up the animal and delivers it to a temporary home where in most cases a beast of similar breed but of the opposite sex awaits it. For an extra $2 or $3 per day, the pet receives a weekly "toilette" and food delicacies, and the host family* writes regular reports to the vacationing owner. The club even provides its own version of the Guide Michelin. Cat-housing families are awarded ratings of one mouse, two mice or three mice; and dog boarders get from one to three bones.

Blanket and Slipper. Le Club began its career in 1969, after Founder Ferdinand Koos was forced to abandon his vacation because most French hotels were put off by the fact that he planned to bring along his three Great Danes. It now boasts 800 host families and 1,000 satisfied customers. One of them is William Bader, an American foundation official who left his Irish setter, Shenandoah, with the club for two weeks. "When the young driver called for my setter," he reported, "he asked to take along the dog's blanket and an old slipper. When I said goodbye, I felt as if I were sending my son to camp for the first time. When they brought her back, they pointed out she had missed her weekly shampoo--and asked if they could pick her up the next day and wash her."

Le Club's Koos extends the same kind of courtesy to all pet owners. A vacationing Englishwoman stopped in recently with a minipoodle and a problem. "I'm taking the train to Le Havre," she said, "but Fifi doesn't like trains. So could you please drive her to Le Havre?" The club obliged.

* In addition to the pleasure derived from another pet, the foster owners receive between 60% and 80% of the club's fee.

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