Dogs hotel

Meet Numtal, Sawa, Kuang, Bang, Tangmo, Jihoon, Bob and Nora ... oh yes, and Sunetra as well.

The dogs in the photo are just a third of Sunetra's canine guests, mostly rescued after the tsunami but a few were taken in for other reasons, like the need for somewhere to recover from a road accident.

Sunetra keeps the dogs at Baan Sunetra, an immaculate hotel and restaurant near the Merlin and Emerald hotels. It has eight rooms, mostly by the elegant pool, and the beach is just a few steps away. And guests are never short of company.

"I love my dogs," said Sunetra. "I take care of them like they are my babies."

Most people like the dogs but some people in the area say they do not like it when they bark. This may mean Sunetra having to buy some land nearby and keep the dogs there. But not yet!

The kindness of Sunetra, whose nickname is Nid (which, appropriately, means 'beautiful eyes'), does not stop with the dogs she keeps. She also makes her rounds daily to feed another 15 strays.

Perhaps the most unlikely guests at Baan Sunetra are ... two cats. But that's another story.