Afra Al Dhaheri, the owner of Abu Dhabi’s first luxury pet hotel, tells Abu Dhabi Week exactly what it takes to pamper your pets

Speaking to Abu Dhabi resident Afra Al Dhaheri for a few minutes it’s easy to see that she’s passionate about animals and animal welfare. Keen to see the number of abandoned animals reduced, this 24-year-old Emirati college student and budding entrepreneur is the owner of Cloud9 Pet Hotel and Care, a first of its kind facility in Abu Dhabi.

“I met a lot of people who didn’t really care about their animals, especially when I was younger, and I always felt this was wrong. Growing up, I wanted to direct my life in two ways, I’ve always wanted to be a business person and also wanted to do something for the community,” says the soft-spoken Al Dhaheri.

“I worked closely with the municipality and tried a few times to create an animal shelter in Abu Dhabi, but for some reason or another, it never happened,” she adds. So she came up with Cloud9, the pet hotel. “Instead of people dumping their pets during the summer holidays due to the lack of boarding facilities, I thought I could offer them an alternative.

“Two years back, I went to the Khalifa Fund Committee, which supports young Emiratis and helps us start our own businesses. I had to create my own business plan, go to the Khalifa Fund and explain to them exactly what I wanted to do, the concept and try to give them the feel that this is needed in the country. Of course they loved the idea and I’m very fortunate to have their support.”

A student of hotel management and tourism at the European International College, she is the first to admit that the process of starting a brand new business - in addition to her studies - has been a bit of a challenge. “I started slow and faced a lot of problems, it wasn’t easy for me. But during this process I’ve learned a lot and we are launching in a few weeks. We’re just in the final stages.”

Cloud9, located behind the pink shops in Khalifa City A, offers a variety of services, ranging from boarding kennels and cattery, a veterinary clinic, grooming, doggie day care, training and an accessories shop.

Four-legged guests can choose from standard to VIP rooms, offering amenities such as flat screen TVs, glass doors, elegant interiors and aquariums. Currently built to facilitate 60 to 70 animals, including rabbits, cats and dogs, Al Dhaheri tells us that they hope to expand into reptiles and birds in the future.

So how does Afra spend her day?

6am: “I get up at 6am and leave home at 7.30am even though my classes start at 9am. We leave early because we have to drop off my elder sister to work at 8.30am. So it’s a hassle in the morning, it’s quite difficult and we always end up fighting,” she says with a laugh. With no time for breakfast, this vegan usually just grabs an apple or a banana to eat in the car.

9am: Classes begin. Afra had originally hoped to become a veterinarian, however after discovering that colleges in the UAE currently did not offer this major, she decided to focus on her passion and what interested her – interacting with people and travelling.

“At college it is not like we just sit in class and attend lectures, there’s more to it. It’s very interactive and hands-on. We do some cooking, do service, we have leadership programmes where guest speakers speak to us about their experiences. So it always is a busy day.”

12.45pm to 2.15pm: After a class or two, Afra heads down to lunch on campus. Sometimes she visits the student-run restaurant, “which is funny and interesting because we get to go and have a laugh, I’ve been there so I know what it’s like, so we can tease them a little bit.”

2.15pm to 5pm: “This semester I have Global Tourism, Food and Beverage, French and Hotel Stimulation and Hospitality Supervision. My studies have helped me learn a lot about leadership, how to deal with employees and how to interview clients. It’s basic stuff but it’s been a great help, especially when I was interviewing staff. At Cloud9 we have a staff of ten, with one vet, a nurse, two pet handlers, a dog trainer, pet groomer, driver and others.”

6pm to 7pm: After school’s out, Afra is off to meet with some of her suppliers to try and catch up on her orders for the hotel. “It requires a lot of time. When you want to order something you have to be there and focus on the details, because sometimes people miss things.”

7pm to 9pm: Afra heads over to Cloud9 with her own eight dogs in tow to have them run around outside while she gets down to business. “I may have a few meetings there sometimes, but nowadays since we are opening so soon, it is mostly cleaning and rearranging, it’s all about the finishing touches. We’ve been doing a lot of repainting currently, because in the summer it was really humid so for some reason the paint would wear off.”

It’s not all redecorating, though. A lot of research actually goes into making the hotel pet friendly. “There was actually a few things I had to remove and exchange for the animals’ safety. In the outdoor area, since dogs will be running outside, I’ve had to research about which plants to put, what type of medication to spray for insects that is animal suitable, etc.”

9pm: A pet lover through and through, Afra doesn’t discriminate between dogs and cats. In fact, when she returns home she is greeted by her nine cats. After her dogs get a quick bath, she settles down to dinner with her family.

1am: Dinner done, this night owl admits she’s lacking in the sleep department. After a busy day, she heads to her room to unwind. She’ll spend an hour or so on facebook answering emails. Starting her very own page, uaepetlovers, Afra helps re-home and rescue animals. “Once that’s done and the house is quiet, everyone’s sleeping, I feel that now this is my time to do what I want.” She’ll usually read a book or BBM her friends until she finally does fall asleep.

Find out more at www.cloud9pethotel.com

Sawaiba Khan