A dog called Smudge has been appointed ambassador to welcome guests at the Fairmont Hotel Macdonald in the western Canadian city of Edmonton. The yellow Labrador Retriever “works” weekdays greeting guests with a wag of the tail and accompanying those who want to stroll in the nearby river valley.
“She’s a very calm animal,” said her owner, general manager Garrett Turta.
“When people have had a stressful day and they come in and see her sleeping in her bed, it just gives them that nice sense of place … where they kind of drop their shoulders and go, ‘Ah, I feel like I’m at home.’”
Smudge was apparently the most mentioned on comment cards at a previous hotel where Turta worked in Scotland. He said she was the most popular employee.
Smudge is a former Canadian guide dog for the blind. She has a Facebook page and is followed by 792 people as of 9:30am EDT on Thursday, May 23, 2013.
For reasons beyond our control, and for an undetermined period of time, our comment section is now closed. However, our social networks remain open to your contributions.