Experience Québec
Santol at the Château Frontenac
Pet me—please!
The Fairmont Le Château Frontenac’s newest employee asks for just one thing: to be cuddled. Well, okay—it helps if you don’t mind a little hair. This minor detail aside, you’ll quickly fall for his melting gaze. Be warned, though: Santol is a heartbreaker. He’s also the famous hotel’s Canine Ambassador! Another shaggy dog story? Read on… 
It’s love at first sight. Santol loves everybody and they reply in kind. Just “doggone” good publicity for the Fairmont Le Château Frontenac? You bet, and the E-Magazine doesn’t try to hide it. But the intent is laudable and the cause a good one; and as for Santol, he’s just plain adorable!
Who is Santol?
Santol is a Mira dog and a fine male specimen of the St-Pierre breed—a Bernese Mountain Dog-Labrador cross—developed by the Mira Foundation to assist physically challenged people, notably the visually impaired.As it happens, Santol has become a public relations professional. Unsuited to life as a Mira guide dog due to his extreme sociability (is it possible to be too nice?), he was given a new job: accompanying the organization’s volunteers on funding campaigns. For three years, Santol served as Mira’s ambassador, travelling back and forth across Québec.
A day in the life of Santol
Santol, now a permanent hotel employee, has his own business card and is on duty five days a week, including one day per weekend. Enthroned on his cushion in the Château lobby, he is very easy to find. He loves being petted, going for walks of any length and, er, Kleenex (something to watch out for during walks).
His days are spent greeting visitors and taking them on walks. Pet therapy? “Yes and no,” laughingly said Geneviève Parent, Public Relations Manager at the Château and Santol’s host family. “He gives our clientele something different, something that feels like home. A little canine warmth.” Yes, but who uses Santol’s services?
“Everyone. Santol just loves everyone. But let’s just say that at least one businessman has been spotted sitting down with Santol on his cushion for some intense TLC.” No doubt to Santol’s enormous satisfaction. And to Mira’s? “Yes, because each time a customer takes Santol for a walk, he or she is given an info pack that includes Santol’s favourite routes, the rules to respect, and an envelope for making a donation to Mira,” said Geneviève.André Quenneville
2009-07-24
