The Hardeeville Pet Resort is the Carolina Lowcountry's best place for your pets to make their home-away-from home, whether you're gone for a day, a week or a month. The resort is equipped to care for all breeds and species of animals, from the average hound dog to a rare Shar-pei, from the tabbycat to the prized Kentucky Tortoiseshell, and from talking parrots to wily ferrets to inscrutable iguanas.

The resort offers lodgings with lambskin beds for up to 40 dogs, including a number of suites, complete with televisions that come with a library of animal tapes, and extra-long runs for larger breeds. The resort's facilities are both indoor and outdoor, which allow your dog plenty of exercise, including thrice-daily walkings, as well as the opportunity to socialize with other dogs.

The resort can accommodate up to 15 cats in its special Kitty Condos unit. The condos can open to make a larger space for your cat and nearby is a porch dedicated solely to the primary joy of the felis domesticus: dozing in the sun.

In addition to boarding services, the resort offers a daycare for dogs. Many canine fanciers in the area use this service while they're at work, preferring to give their dogs activity and stimulation during the hours when their owners cannot be at home. And for those who love their dogs but do not know how to keep them from digging to China or chasing every squirrel in the neighborhood, the resort provides obedience classes ranging from basic skills (such as sit and stay) to advanced (running obstacle courses; preparing four-star French cuisine -- just kidding on that one). If your dog is looking a little shaggy or if, when you pat him, you come away with a handful of fur, come to the resort and have him properly groomed, with services including bathing and fluff-drying, clipping and pedicures to trim those long nails.

The health and well-being of your pet is the resort's foremost concern. When you first bring your dog or cat for boarding, the resort asks that you also bring proof of vaccination. This ensures the safety and health of all animal guests at the resort, so that your pet is just as bright-eyed and bushy-tailed when you pick him up as when you brought him. And, if your animal has unusual needs in the way of diet or medication, the resort staff will gladly work with you to ensure that he gets just what the veterinarian ordered.

Trust us when we say that your pet will be in expert hands. The resort's host, Dennis Bennett, has worked in the business for 20 years, as a veterinarian's assistant, a professional groomer and one who has shown his own dogs in competition. His staff is equally experienced and qualified to offer the best care available for your pet.

So when it comes time for your dog or cat, your turtle, squirrel or African Grey parrot to take a vacation of its own, call Hardeeville Pet Resort, where your pet is treated so well that he may not want to come home.

Hardeeville Pet Resort. Highway 17, a half-hour from Hilton Head and 15 minutes from downtown Savannah, one mile east of Exit 5 off I-95. Open, Monday-Saturday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday by appointment. (843) 784-6035; FAX (843) 784-3567; e-mail kennlboy@aol.com.