After checking our dogs in for the weekend at Superwoof, the lovely new dog hotel and day care centre in Woodstock, we laughed at ourselves for wondering if we would be as happy with our hotel.
When we collected them two days later, we thought they couldn’t possibly have had as much fun as we did in our boutique spa in the winelands … or could they?
Gone are the days when putting your dogs into a kennel was a traumatic event. Our dogs couldn’t have been happier, which was clear from a video Bianca (Oscar’s Ark dog behaviourist/whisperer) sent us during the weekend of the two of them tearing around on the play deck clearly having the time of their lives.
The uninterrupted view of Table Mountain might have been wasted on them but the doggie-sized splash pool definitely was not.
As for the sleeping arrangement, they had a ‘siblings’ room, just the two of them in an area bigger than our lounge at home, with two large comfortable beds.
Welcoming and super-friendly staff made the whole thing feel like we were taking them for a treat.
But before you roll your eyes … this modern doggie hangout is not just a ridiculous indulgence of the dog-mad middle classes. Superwoof is part of the Woof Project, a signature initiative of Oscar’s Arc Trust, a non-profit organisation that brings dogs from shelters to locations where they are introduced to and interact with people.
Capetonians might have seen their ‘showroom’ at the V&A Waterfront, or one of their pop-ups at a garden nursery or on the Seapoint promenade. Since 2017, Oscar’s Ark has brought dogs from often isolated and depressing dog shelters into the community, which has resulted in the adoption of more than 2,300 of them, including our two.
This lovely dog hotel is at the site of their new adoption centre, and hotel nights will help fund their very meaningful work, which has saved a lot of young and healthy dogs from misery, many from death row even.
The Woof Project Adoption Centre is open Monday to Friday, from 10am to 4pm, and members of the public are invited to drop in and meet the dogs and hopefully find their perfect match.
Those who already have dogs can check them in for a couple of days’ at Superwoof, super fun for them, and you will be supporting a brilliant cause. We plan to take ours back to ‘camp’ for a few days every so often.
More information www.oscarsarc.org
