Every year, more than 70,000 animals pass through New York City's JFK airport.
To accommodate all the dogs, cats, horses, penguins, infrequent sloths and many other additional species, the airport is building a new facility on the site of a now demolished former cargo terminal dedicated exclusively for handling traveling animals, the Associated Press reports.
The $48 million, 178,000-square-foot terminal – called, appropriately, the ARK -- will serve as both a housing and quarantine facility, according to the AP. It's common for animals arriving in JFK to be held at the airport for a short period, sometimes up to a few days, to ensure they are not infected with contagious diseases.
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Here's a list of the features the ARK, billed as the first ever terminal built exclusively for animals, will include, according to the AP:
- Climate-controlled stalls for horses and cows equipped with showers
- A 20,000-square-foot dog "resort" (run by Paradise 4 Paws), complete with more than $100-a-night suites featuring flat-screen televisions, splashing pools and spa services, including message therapy and "pawdicures"
- A space dedicated to giving penguins "mating privacy"
- Holding pens for goats, pigs and sheep
- Trees reserved for cats to climb
- A 24-hour animal clinic
Sounds pretty cool, right? Next time you're stranded in a hectic, overcrowded terminal, think of the traveling dog that's relaxing in front of a flat-screen TV while enjoying a pawdicure.
Or don't.
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