So who did you take to bed last night? The chances are the ruffled covers and hairs on the pillow aren’t from any human companion but rather your best beloved, of the pooch or moggie variety. In a recent survey conducted by budget hotel chain, Travelodge, 48% of women admitted to letting their pet sleep on, or in, their bed each night with a lip-smacking 12 million* girls even giving their pampered fur-ball a good night smooch before turning in.
It’s well known that our pets offer unconditional companionship. They love us gals for all our shortcomings - they won’t leave the top off the toothpaste, the loo seat up, the dishwasher unemptied or criticise us for how long it takes us to get ready in the morning.
A staggering one in five women even admitted their four legged companion receives more attention in bed than their partner. Excessive pet devotion can of course lead to jealousy within a relationship as findings report one in ten men regularly argue with their partner about sharing their bed with an animal.
However, ‘let sleeping dogs lie’ is probably the best advice for all blokes out there stuck in third position when it comes to the relationship. For more revealing still are the top three annoying habits that pet owners endure from their sleeping pets – snoring, breaking wind and scratching. Sound familiar girls?
Travelodge also found that indulging our pets, rather than our partner, doesn’t just stop at home with 27% of women missing their furry friends so much they will take them on holiday. Of those that don’t, 31% said they are extremely distraught when they have to leave their pets behind while taking a trip.
The most popular reasons women gave for taking their pets on holiday included:
· My pet is a vital family member· It’s too expensive to put them in a kennel or cattery
· Couldn’t bear to be parted from them
Over 10 million** girls said they would take their pets away more often if more UK hotels offered a pet bed service. Following the recent success of its pet bed trial, Travelodge is now introducing a king size, double bed and a designer bed called the ‘Dogillow’ to the collection. All beds are free to hire and will be available in various Travelodge hotels across the UK who have regular pets staying throughout the year. Hotel sites will include Edinburgh Central and Haymarket, Norwich and Eastbourne.
The king size pet bed is a mini replica of the company’s luxury king size bed. At 3’ 6’‘x 2’ 6ins’’ it comes complete with mattress, pillow and duvet in Travelodge colours. The ‘Dogillow’ is an adaptation of the Travelodge ‘Cuddillow’ which has been converted into a snuggling pet pillow-bed; this will come in two sizes suitable for a large/medium and small dog. (The double pet bed is 2’ 6’’ long and 2’ wide and also comes complete with bedding).