Marko and W Punta de Mita
We’ve been to the W Hotel in Punta de Mita along the sunny coast of Nayarit, Mexico several times. Punta de Mita sits on the far edges of the Bay of Banderas, situated between Puerto Vallarta and Sayulita. The thing that continues to draw us back time and again is how wonderfully dog friendly the hotel is. Unlike some “pet friendly hotels” that severely limit the size of the dog and won’t allow the dog in its restaurant(s), the W is particularly accommodating.
And they support your stay with a wide variety of items from leashes to dog beds to food, if you forgot to bring Fido’s, and offer dog walking, dog sitting and even access to a veterinarian in case of emergency. One staff member used to work for the ASPCA and one staff member we met actually has a small dog rescue. To say that the W is canine-centric seems a bit of an understatement!
In the past, we traveled to the W with our beloved Blue Doberman, Misty, who unfortunately, passed away earlier this year at age 11. After way too much grief and heartbreak, we ultimately decided that a good way to honor Misty would be to adopt a Mexican “street dog”. After researching several local rescues, we ultimately reached out to the Municipal shelter here in Puerto Vallarta. With the help of their volunteer group, Friends of PV Animals, we met our new little guy Marko. We have no idea of his background as all the dogs at the shelter are pulled from the street. At 7 years old, severely underweight and suffering from a tickborne disease called Ehrlichiosis, we figured his chances for adoption from someone else were slim. So, 5 weeks ago, we brought Marko home. We were amazed that he was already completely housebroken, sits so you can attach his leash prior to walks and is a perfect gentleman. He's on antibiotics for his Ehrlichiosis, has gained over 8 pounds and appears to be doing extremely well.
So, this last weekend, we decided to introduce Marko to the W in Punta de Mita. And he was very popular amongst the staff and the guests. He relished running on the huge grass lawn and loved the long walks on the beach (though he doesn’t like the water!).
On the last night, they surprised him with house-made dog cookies (which he gobbled down) a card and a W dog tag. It couldn’t have been a better weekend for us or Marko. And while the memories of Misty were very much on our mind, we felt extraordinarily fortunate we could make new memories with Marko.
Our sincere thanks to the W Punta de Mita and Friends of PV Animals.