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LEONORA LaPETERThe swanky TradeWinds Island Resorts has relaxed its no-pets policy, turning over a ballroom to critters of customers fleeing from Hurricane Frances.
ST. PETE BEACH - Linda Alvarado gently lifted her 9-year-old cocker spaniel, Baby, out of his cage and held him, yes, like a baby.
She nuzzled his face, gave him a kiss and carried him from the ballroom at the TradeWinds Island Resorts to the driveway out front. There, she placed the dog on an area covered with Visqueen and a 400-square-foot layer of sod and walked back and forth, hoping for some action.
But Baby wasn't willing to poop on sod and waterproof plastic sheeting, so Alvarado and her husband went in search of a more natural setting.
"He's never been in this situation," said Alvarado, who spent seven hours in a car Thursday evacuating from Palm City on the east coast. "He's creeped out."
TradeWinds decided to lift its no-pet policy Thursday morning after getting calls from evacuees seeking a pet-friendly place to stay while Hurricane Frances threatens the state. But the resort wasn't willing to open its rooms to pets. Instead, the animals got their own carpeted ballroom: dogs on one side of a divider; cats, guinea pigs and whatever else arrives on the other. All of the animals were required to stay in cages brought by their owners. The cost: $10 a night.
Employees of the resort took turns walking the animals every four hours, as well as feeding them and providing medicine, when necessary. There were a few accidents on the carpet, giving the ballroom a pet store smell.
By Friday afternoon, 45 animals had arrived and another 30 had reservations in the resort's new pet hotel. Only guests of the resort, who paid from $155 for a standard hotel room to $375 for a gulf-front suite, could use the pet area.
"We thought it was the right thing to do to accommodate the animals," said Keith Overton, vice president and general manager of TradeWinds Island Resorts. "Most people treat their animals like children."
Learning that the pet-friendly Don CeSar Beach Resort and Spa, just south of them, was full, helped prompt the move, Overton said.
Travis Johnson, TradeWinds' activity director, learned quickly that pet owners can sometimes be more finicky than the parents who drop off their kids with him for activities.
Brandi, a 15-year-old Yorkie, had a kidney problem that required her to be walked every hour. Tasha, a chihuahua and husky mix from Port St. Lucie, needed help down the front steps of the ballroom. Duchess, a black Lab from Vero Beach, would eat her food on a blanket only, not out of a bowl.
Savannah Wechsler, 5, of Maitland knelt in front of the cage of her Maltese, Bachelor, and told him she'd be back after lunch. Then she mournfully stood up and walked away, looking behind her as Bachelor whined just a little.
"He'll be fine, honey," said her mother, 38-year-old Larina Wechsler. "He's just making you feel sorry for him. He'll go sleep just like he does all day at home."