Business & Tech
Fido Fido is Dog Heaven on Earth
The dog daycare and spa bills itself as a home away from home for canines, including at least one pooch with a celebrity owner.
While Coleen Raimondi wakes up most mornings for a full day of work, her one-year-old chocolate Labrador retriever, Blitzen, wakes up for a full day of play.
Raimondi takes Blitzen to . Think dog spa, with say, doggy suites and rich pastel colors. A place where your pooch can nap on a couch of fluffy pillows, run and play with other dogs, or even watch TV.
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"Blitzen can't wait to come here every day," Raimondi said. "He nearly knocks me over every morning to get in the door. And he's super tired when he gets home from playing all day."
Fido Fido is owned by father and daughter Syl and Marea Battle. Their Sandy Springs business is on Mount Vernon Highway near I-285.
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Marea Battle was a publicist at CNN when she asked her retired father to go into business with her.
"I've always been an animal lover," said Battle, who has two rescue dogs and two parakeets at home.
About age 6, she called her father at work urging him to hurry home to take her sick hamster to the veterinarian, Syl Battle recalled. "We stayed [at the vet] overnight and the hamster didn't make it. But after that we got her some geese," he said.
The idea of a pet business grew as Battle grew restless with her job at CNN.
"I just didn't enjoy it anymore," she said. "I wanted to be my own boss."
"While I was planning my exit, I was researching the business, volunteering at boarding facilities and making my business proposal. The whole process took about two years," Battle said.
They opened in 2006 and gradually built a steady clientele. Among them is Whitney Houston, who sometimes brings a video of her films so her dog can be at ease with her voice in the background.
Fido Fido also offers overnight boarding and baths. Each dog gets a drawer for toys and personal items that may be needed during their stay.
Dogs are screened and observed during a daylong process to make they are friendly and play well with others. Play time can include bigger canines running free within an enclosed area.
They have to be spayed or neutered and have a happy-go-lucky personality, Marea Battle said.
The pets at Fido Fido, and their owners, are an extension of the family, Marea Battle said. "When one of our clients has an emergency, like a death in the family, we are able to help and make sure everything is taken care of with their pet. That has been the most rewarding," she said.