Catie Copley is the
Fairmont Copley Plaza's Canine Ambassador. When I walked into the hotel, I wondered why a doghouse was sitting outside, behind the lion flanking the door. I was delighted to find Catie resting on her couch in the reception area.
I sat with Catie for a few minutes and was amazed at her serenity in the face of the noise of the lobby. She was unflappable in the face of yelling children, rumbling luggage carts, and crowds of convention-goers. Later, I asked the staff in the gift store (where they sell a book on Catie's adventures) about her. The very nice staffer seemed to really love Catie and informed me that Catie was 11, and had been trained as a seeing-eye dog but developed cataracts and couldn't be placed with a seeing-impaired person. Instead, she came to the Fairmont Plaza. Catie doesn't live at the hotel, but with a staff member, but she is on duty five days a week. Had I stayed at the Plaza, I would have asked to take her for a walk!