Hotels are always claiming they offer all the comforts of home — and a little bit more besides.

But the people at Fairmont Hotels &Resorts have been taking things a step further by introducing “Canine Ambassadors” at select establishments around the world.

If you miss the pampered pooch you had to leave behind on your travels, meet the likes of Zeus, a “handsome Chocolate Labrador” who has in the past month taken up residence at the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa in California.

He’s available on a complimentary basis to join guests on walks, to take part in various lobby-based fun and games and, no doubt, enjoy a decent scratch behind the ear.

Zeus joins a team that now includes Smudge, a Golden Labrador Retriever who can be found performing the same services at The Fairmont Algonquin in New Brunswick, Canada, and Volga and Ducia, also Golden Retrievers who enjoy the run of the Fairmont Mount Kenya Safari Club in Kenya.

The first Canine Ambassador was the Black Labrador called Morgan who joined the team at The Fairmont Waterfront in Vancouver back in 2002. Morgan has since retired.

Fairmont has also introduced an email service so guests can keep track of their newfound canine friends, and a number of the dogs have proved so popular that they even have their own pages on the Facebook social networking website.

Source: AFPrelaxnews, 2010