Hilden, Germany (dpa) - In the wood-panelled reception room stands a large bowl filled with dog biscuits, and a glance through the high glass windows reveals several dogs happily splashing around the swimming pool. Then the curious odor gives away the real character of this newly-built luxury hotel. With the beginning of the summer season, the first "pet hotel" in Germany‘s most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia, has opened. Some 120 dogs, cats and birds, even guinea pigs, will have a chance to enjoy the same pampering their holidaying owners take for granted. About 70 air-conditioned single and double rooms, spread out over about 850 square metres, await them. Music from the sound system lulls the guests to sleep, and a dozen employees accompany the dogs through four to five hours daily of games in the playground, swimming in the pool, or running in the adjoining woods. As soon as the first German shepherd jumps into the pool, movement is perceptible through the swimming hall glass roof, for here the cats have their quarters, with a view of their arch-enemies at play. "Because we can‘t send the cats into the garden, we wanted to at least offer them a little entertainment," explains hotel owner Wolfgang Goergens. The 39-year-old Goergens spent four years planning and building the facility, investing a sum in the "high seven figures" of German marks. And then the entire facility was painstakingly tested. Hi tech equipment makes sure the animals - and their owners - are kept happy, whether it is through the computer-directed feeding plan or the Web Cams in every room. The latter service not only means more security, but allows the animal‘s owners to use the Internet to see their dear friends and make sure they are content. Birds, too, can enjoy luxurious surroundings. Parrots do not have to sit in a tiny cage waiting for their owners to return, but can enjoy an aviary the size of a telephone box. Even rabbits, rats and mice have specially-built quarters, and Goergens says he can look after almost any pet; his property even includes a meadow for sheep and goats, which is right by the "adventure playground" where dogs can enjoy wide-open space for running, a pond, and wooden bridges. Naturally, this means the owners have to pay more than they might for more humble, conventional places for their animals to stay: 45 marks (about 24 dollars) is the daily tariff for a large dog or a pup which is not yeat house-trained. It costs only 12 marks daily for a rabbit, however. These prices include a check-up in the attached veterinary practice. Despite the higher prices, pet owners were lining up outside the pet hotel within days of opening.