Crunchy pellets are so last season for pampered pooches. These days, coddled canines are dining on fillet steak with potato wedges and gravy, or perhaps a bowl of ostrich mince with cooked oats, flax seeds, fresh apple and dried cranberries. A new pet menu at one of South Africa's most exclusive hotels is taking the term "guest relations" to the extreme.story_article_left1The menu at the Twelve Apostles Hotel in Cape Town even includes a dish for dogs watching their weight - a vegetable and chicken salad with "young" carrots, wilted spinach, apples and dried cranberries.But it doesn't come cheap, with most pet meals setting well-heeled owners back between R65 to R105.The menu, introduced two weeks ago, was devised by the hotel's chef, Christo Pretorius, who worked with the Panorama Veterinary Clinic and Specialist Centre to create the meals.For feline owners, "The Purrfect Choice" section offers deli-cacies such as salmon with scrambled eggs; poached chicken breast with flax seeds, potato and garden peas; and chicken consommé.The hotel's executive director Horst Frehse said the idea was supported by hotel owner Bea Tollman, who "loves travelling with her dogs"."She loved the idea of creating a home-away-from-home for guests and their beloved companions so we have two pet rooms that have a terrace where pets can stay with their owners for free. We just add the dog bed. They can use the pet room-service menu to order meals for their pets and if they require a dog walker or dog sitter we also cater for this," he said.One of the hotel's regular clients is 11-year-old Joya, a cross Labrador-boxer-staffie who moved to Cape Town from Germany six years ago with her owner Barbara Lenhard.Every week Joya, who occasionally stays the night at the hotel, is welcomed into the Leopard Bar restaurant where she is spoiled with gourmet meals.full_story_image_hleft1"The way they treat the dog and its owners, that's why I love taking Joya there," said Lenhard. "The moment we walk in together they greet me and Joya by name. It's hilarious but they make the experience all worth it."And while pet menus may seem over the top, the US has gone one better.New York's John F Kennedy Airport is opening a "pet airport". This week it was reported that the airport will spend $48-million (about R607-million) constructing a section - "the Ark" - to cater for people travelling with animals.Pets will enjoy splash pools and "pawdicures", among other amenities...