ANIMAL HOTEL

by Diana Cooper ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1983

Moving from house to house over the years, Cooper, a peppy English matron, picked up the pieces of previous owners' lives--valiantly trying to market funeral flowers, grow herbs, sell tomatoes. Then, with her move to a ""derelict old house"" with five acres of land and existing kennels, she embarked on a new venture--dog boarding. This chatty, good-natured what-next story covers her first summer in the animal hotel business, with a clientele that soon expands to include cats, birds, guinea pigs, hens, turtles, foxes, and even her neighbors' teenage children home for the holidays. Cooper conscientiously attempts to comply with owners'--sometimes unusual--""peccadilloes."" Says a note from one: ""If [Daisy] has to go out for 'the necessaries,' please put paws in plastic bags."" Teddy, Cooper is instructed, should be led through his prayers each night. And Chanel No. 5-scented Buster simply must sleep in Cooper's bed. (No dog ever actually sleeps in the kennels.) By summer's end, Cooper is a practicing dog psychoanalyst and the owner of sundry (food-producing) farm animals--a pig, hens, goats; she's also reunited with ""Pa,"" who's been away recovering from a coronary. There's a pleasing happily-ever-after ring to it all, though the nutty happenings will mainly appeal to animal enthusiasts.

Pub Date: April 1, 1983

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: St. Martin's

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1983

Categories: NONFICTION