With Any Luck This Means The Economy Is Correcting Itself

Time was, “trend-spotting reporters eager for pampered-pooch stories” couldn’t get enough of WoofSpa. Oh how times have changed:

To peek inside the windows of the WoofSpa and Resort at 678 Hudson Street was once to glimpse a real-life Cassius Marcellus Coolidge painting in action: Dogs of every breed lounged on leather dog furniture in the lobby. Multicolored Andy Warhol–esque portraits of the proprietor’s Wheaten Terriers adorned the walls. And for non-canine glitz, the likes of Ed Burns, Julianne Moore, Lili Taylor, Molly Ringwald and Molly Shannon coming through the front doors was unbeatable.

But this fall, a sign was posted to the entrance, dated Sept. 15, announcing that the pet spa had been “forced out” of its lease.

In fact, the departure of WoofSpa from the meatpacking district was the culmination of a prolonged legal struggle with its landlord over tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid rent, as well as numerous regulatory violations and customer complaints of less-than-luxurious animal accommodations.

. . .

The sudden shuttering came as little surprise to some disgruntled patrons, who became dissatisfied with the upscale dog-hotel.

“With the fake Le Corbusier sofas and fake Warhols, it was very much geared toward the West Village aesthetic done doggie-style,” said one neighborhood dog owner and former client, who wanted her name—and that of her precious pooch—withheld. “[WoofSpa proprietor] Keith [Acker] really tapped into something, knowing that there was a certain comfort level that us West Village–meatpacking [district]–Chelsea residents felt in leaving our dogs somewhere stylish.”

Conversations with several patrons revealed that however luxurious-looking the place may have been, a kennel is still finally an indoor place where lots of dogs spend lots of time; dogs with rich owners, it turns out, don’t smell any better than the less fortunate of their species, making the prospect of an upscale kennel seem, at best, paradoxical.