Yorkville’s swanky lounge for celebrity pets (and a good cause)

Apparently we’re not the only ones who wonder what happens to stressed-out celebrity pets after years of getting bombarded by camera flashes (really, it’s amazing that we don’t hear reports of more chihuahuas having stress-induced seizures). The folks at Canine Culture, the same ones behind Woofstock, have created the Four-Legged Lounge, in which celebrity pets can rest while their owners are off at pressers and galas for the Toronto International Film Festival. No, this is not a joke; it’s a little piece of Hollywood, right here in Yorkville.

Bianca Kapteyn, the brains behind the lounge, partnered with gossip site the Hollywood Minute, Central Image Agency and Modern Dog magazine to take over part of Tire-Biter’s premises, on Scollard Street, to house celebrity pets while promoting awareness of homeless animals. About 40 framed pictures of dogs (and some cats) that need homes sit on shelves in the lounge. In addition to getting those pups adopted, the goal is to get the celebrity clientele to autograph those pics, which will be auctioned off to raise funds for Helping Homeless Pets.

Kapteyn is tight-lipped about who’s scheduled to drop off their pets—that would defeat the purpose of the lounge being a safe haven for the four-legged family members—but she says celebrity clients have to make an appointment through their publicist before coming, which will prevent bookings by celebrity impersonators hoping for free doggie daycare.

The Four-Legged Lounge runs from Sept. 9 to Sept. 14 at Tire-Biter Inc., 104 Scollard St.