It is a mid-morning like every other at the @Frits Dog Hotel and Daycare Centre. New friendships are being forged in the play area for the more boisterous guests. Classical music drifts through the interior. Somewhere, a ball is being tossed for the 50th time. From the spa comes the gentle hum of a hairdryer as a pampered pooch has her regular salon blowout. A tummy tickling session is due to begin in the spacious doggie dormitory. In a private consultation room, a stressed-out mutt is having her chakras realigned by the on-call reiki master.
Taking up residence today in this urban oasis is a posse of pooches who have gathered for their customary annual catch-up; a group whose friendships date back to when they still had their milk teeth … Art investor Maximilian von Fabio de la Bon Jovi and novelist Mini Minuit, inseparable as always. Anderson Pooper, fresh off the plane from a climate-change conference in London. Copenhagen-based architect and consummate aesthete Ozi Magnussen-Jacobsen and his best friend, star chef Spud “Bend It Like Beckham” Cumberbatch.
Celebrity judge from Canines’ Got Talent, Brody Baron-Alberding and his on-again-off-again partner, yoga instructor Leah Organa. Enigmatic UN translator Olga Moneypenny. And finally, the newcomer to the circle, Gucci (just, Gucci), who is celebrating her millionth Instagram follower. With check-ins complete and bags unpacked, an alert sounds from the group WhatsYapp chat. It is from alpha dog Maximilian and it reads, as it does at every reunion: “What’s up dogs… Let’s get this pawty started.”
atfrits.com
Cover Story May 2025
Eat, play, love
Funky rooms, multiple play areas, a high-end spa, and a heated hydrotherapy pool…welcome to Cape Town’s hippest pet hotel.
Image: Elsa Young/Bureaux
It is a mid-morning like every other at the @Frits Dog Hotel and Daycare Centre. New friendships are being forged in the play area for the more boisterous guests. Classical music drifts through the interior. Somewhere, a ball is being tossed for the 50th time. From the spa comes the gentle hum of a hairdryer as a pampered pooch has her regular salon blowout. A tummy tickling session is due to begin in the spacious doggie dormitory. In a private consultation room, a stressed-out mutt is having her chakras realigned by the on-call reiki master.
Taking up residence today in this urban oasis is a posse of pooches who have gathered for their customary annual catch-up; a group whose friendships date back to when they still had their milk teeth … Art investor Maximilian von Fabio de la Bon Jovi and novelist Mini Minuit, inseparable as always. Anderson Pooper, fresh off the plane from a climate-change conference in London. Copenhagen-based architect and consummate aesthete Ozi Magnussen-Jacobsen and his best friend, star chef Spud “Bend It Like Beckham” Cumberbatch.
Celebrity judge from Canines’ Got Talent, Brody Baron-Alberding and his on-again-off-again partner, yoga instructor Leah Organa. Enigmatic UN translator Olga Moneypenny. And finally, the newcomer to the circle, Gucci (just, Gucci), who is celebrating her millionth Instagram follower. With check-ins complete and bags unpacked, an alert sounds from the group WhatsYapp chat. It is from alpha dog Maximilian and it reads, as it does at every reunion: “What’s up dogs… Let’s get this pawty started.”
atfrits.com
Fine wines and famous fowl
Image: Elsa Young/ Bureaux
Image: Elsa Young/Bureaux
Cast of characters:
Image: Elsa Young/ Bureaux
Maximilian von Fabio de la Bon Jovi
Breed Standard poodle
Occupation Art investor
Style icons Kenny G; Karl Lagerfeld; Bob Marley; Cher
Best traits Loyal; great posture; seldom has a bad hair day; renaissance man
Pet peeve Humidity
Soundtrack to my life Hairspray: The Musical
Words to live by “The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return.”
Mini Minuit (or Midnight to my friends and family)
Breed Miniature poodle
Occupation Historical novelist
Role Models Josephine Baker; Sofia Coppola; Jane Austen; Gloria Steinem; my mom
Best traits Intuitive; multi-tasker; fast metabolism
Soundtrack to my life 9 to 5 by Dolly Parton
Favourite historical figure Cleopatra
Personal catchphrase “Pearls are always a good idea.”
Image: Elsa Young/Bureaux
Anderson Pooper
Breed Pug
Occupation Environmentalist and model
Currently reading The Lorax by Dr Seuss
Best traits Retrieves a ball like a boss; killer smile; fluent in Dothraki, Klingon, and Elvish
Last place I swiped my credit card The tattoo parlour
Soundtrack to my life Beds Are Burning by Midnight Oil
Words to live by “Fetch!”
Image: Elsa Young/Bureaux
Scud “Bend It Like Beckham” Cumberbatch
Breed English bulldog
Occupation Michelin-star chef
Best traits Go-getter; good at sleeping; forgiving; cuddle-obsessed
Currently binge-watching Schitt’s Creek; Queer Eye; Peaky Blinders
Signature dish Beer-and-vodka-battered fish & chips
Soundtrack to my life Firestarter by The Prodigy
Words to live by “I cut down trees, I eat my lunch, I go to the lavatory. On Wednesdays I go shopping and have buttered scones for tea.”
Image: Elsa Young/Bureaux
Ozi Magnussen-Jacobsen
Breed Great Dane
Occupation Architect
Best traits Punctual; creative; always able to reach the top shelf
Design influences Ingmar Bergman; Yohji Yamamoto; Wes Anderson; IM Pei; Zaha Hadid
Favourite pastimes Bird-watching; silent discos; jogging
Last place I swiped my credit card At the nursery because plants
Words to live by “Never give up and good luck will find you.”
Image: Elsa Young / Bureaux
Olga Moneypenny
Breed Black Russian terrier
Occupation UN translator
Best traits Emotionally intelligent; discreet; good sense of humour
Currently binge-watching Killing Eve; The Great British Bake Off; The West Wing
Pet peeves Obnoxious co-workers; the Mac SPOD (Spinning Pinwheel of Death)
Last place I swiped my credit card The juice bar at the gym
Personal catchphrase “To bark or not to bark, that is the question.”
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From the May edition of Wanted, 2025