Fido May Get Lonely Once School Starts

Everyone knows about daycare for kids, but have you ever considered putting your dog(s) in daycare? Do you stress about whether or not your dog will eat your favorite shoes or destroy your $1,000 couch while you are working?  School is starting and ‘Fido’ is bound to be lonely, if he’s had the kids to play with all summer long. Doggie Daycare, in Middlefield, offers a solution at a reasonable price.

Located on Route 66/Meriden Road in Middlefield, Doggie Daycare offers a full array of services for dog owners. According to the office staff, all employees who work with the dogs are graduates of a Vet Assistant Program (such as offered by Middlesex Community College)   or a Vet Tech Program. If someone has the degree but no experience, we start them off working in the boarding kennels. Daycare workers need to have experience, not just the degree. Dog owners want to know their pet will be well cared for at our daycare.
Dogs can be very temperamental and our staff need to know animal behavior well. People with experience working at a Vets office, for example, are perfect daycare workers.”

“All dogs are evaluated before daycare, playtime, or pool time services are offered. We need to know what type of dog it is. Some are used to a lot of other dogs, some are not very social. Some dogs interact well with different people, and some are shy. So, they are all evaluated and entered into our system. All dogs have to have current vaccines and be either spayed or neutered. Once the evaluation is done, owners can purchase whatever services they’d like for the dogs.”

Patch toured the daycare with a four year employee of the immaculate facility. “Out back, we have a full daycare for both small and large dogs”, he explained. “We keep the smaller and large dogs separated while they are in daycare. Each group has their own indoor rooms with a doggie door that leads to their play yard. They can go in and out freely. We keep everything shoveled and paths free of snow during the winter, so we are a year round facility.”

Playtime is done yards, which are separate from the public (dog) access areas. “Staff take turns taking groups of the dogs to exercise in the common play yard (Shown at right in the pictures).”

Daycare rates are very reasonable, starting at $12 for ½ day and $22 for a full day. Weekly rates are $115. If the dog is to be groomed or go for a swim while at daycare, additional fees apply at the rate of service. All services are taxable, due to law changes.

As we continued the tour, I spotted the swimming pool. “Oh, people love the pool! You can make an appointment and bring your dog to swim, for $10 for a half hour. We charge $5 a dog for additional guests. If you want to have a pool party and invite friends to bring their dogs, we welcome you to do so.” The facility doesn’t just offer private swims. “We have a social hour every Saturday, from 11-2 open to the all owners who have already had their dogs evaluated by us.”

Another component of the facility is the Groomin N Roomin, open for both cats and dogs.  The Kitty Condos are air conditioned and heated, and dog kennels offer both indoor and outdoor space. Food is provided by the facility, or pet owners are welcome to bring their own, in addition to favorite beds or toys. Overnight guests can take advantage of being in Doggie Daycare, the pool, treadmill, or playtime, for the applicable fees.

Grooming appointments can be made separate from kennel or daycare services. “All of our groomers have ten plus years of experience. Again, services such as nail polish are add-ons.”

For more detailed information, call 860-346-1242. To see more pictures of the facility or to get more information on services offered, visit the website at http://www.groominnroomin.com/playtime.html .