It is the ultimate in expat luxury. Rather than having to walk your canine friend in the baking desert sun you can drop him off at a luxury spa and retreat to your villa to sunbathe by the pool.
My Second Home opened in Dubai this summer and is believed to be the biggest indoor pet resort in the world.
It has been 100 percent funded by wealthy expat entrepreneur Sanjiv Dihman, who plans to open a second resort elsewhere in the UAE later in the year.
Click here for a gallery of the My Second Home resort
The AED10 million ($2.7 million) facility is situated on a vast leased plot comprising 5,800 square metres – the equivalent of 18 tennis courts – at Dubai Investment Park 2.
Two-thirds of it is indoors, enabling owners to escape the heat of the Dubai summer while exercising their pets.
The facility comprises a dog boarding resort and spa with 100 luxury rooms and 12 high-end suites complete with flat-screen TV and orthopaedic beds, as well as an indoor swimming pool and agility area.
Nightly room rates range from AED125 per pet for a shared ‘dormitory’ that sleeps up to four dogs, to AED350 for a single occupancy ‘presidential suite’.
In between, there are options to stay in a ‘villa’, ‘little gem chalet’ for puppies, ‘family room’ or ‘royal suite’. A standard single suite costs AED125 per night.
Guests can choose to have their suite customised with their favourite toys and comfort possessions.
The resort has 24/7 surveillance, but owners can keep an eye on their pampered pooches via webcam.
There is also a dog daycare centre, first aid facility and supermarket selling a range of pet food, treats, bedding and other supplies.
For health conscious canine guests and their owners, nutritionists are on hand to provide advice on allergies, diet supplements and tackling obesity.
And My Second Home employs a team of experienced dog trainers that can be hired during the course of a stay.
More than AED6 million of private funding has been invested in the facility to date, with a further AED4 million earmarked for a second phase of development in September including an outdoor swimming pool and dog beauty salon called Groomingdale’s Pampering Parlour.
The three-man consortium of dog lovers behind My Second Home says they spotted a gap in the market for an indoor pet resort for expats funded by expats, to “bridge the gap between traditional dog boarding kennels and restrictive outdoor parks”.
Founder and chief executive Sanjiv Dihman told Arabian Business: “We got off to a very promising start and reached our first strategic goal of 200 members within a few weeks of opening in April – and two months ahead of schedule.
“The daycare facility is popular among working families and already has around 50 guests each day. Breed-specific special events such as the Running of the Bulls which takes place on Saturday evenings attract between 50 and 80 dogs.
“A major awareness drive and focus on promoting the luxury accommodation meant we are approaching July with only a handful of suites still available, and more than half of August’s slots already taken.
“We’re confident we’ll be in a position to start breaking ground on our second venue before Christmas as hoped.”
Dihman added: “We were as frustrated as everyone else that there are so many restrictions and so few places [for dogs] to play.
“Thankfully there are some excellent facilities in Dubai, but we felt we needed to go a step further and create a world-class environment that focuses on providing our best friends’ most essential need – space to have fun, learn and interact safely.”
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