Innkeepers Ali Pitcher and Tom Dott, who describe themselves as a “50-something couple,” bought the Lamb and Lion Inn in Barnstable in 1999. They made the property pet-friendly from the outset, which tends to mean dog-friendly in practice as more guests travel with dogs than other kinds of pets. Pitcher and Dott have four diminutive dogs of their own. (Pictured below are three of them: Pomeranian Golly Miss Molly and Yorkshire terriers Cosmos and Prezza.)

Q: Why open a pet-friendly lodging on Cape Cod?