Deerfield Doggie Daycare Ready For Reopening After Flood

DEERFIELD, IL — More than seven months after a broken underground water main led to water suddenly flooding in from all directions, a Deerfield doggie daycare business will officially reopen Thursday. The Barking Lot invited the public to a ribbon cutting ceremony officiated by Mayor Harriet Rosenthal on Nov. 30 at 11 a.m. at the boarding and grooming facility, 495 Lake Cook Rd.

“My staff and I are thrilled to be reopening The Barking Lot just in time for the holidays, a time of year when our customers often need us most. It’s been a long road, but we’re excited to offer North Shore dog owners an even better experience for their beloved dogs,” said Matt Kriser, owner and co-founder of The Barking Lot.

Highland Park native Kriser was in his ninth year of running the facility when the 25,000-square-foot facility – created as be a clean, safe, fun environment for dogs to give their owners peace of mind — began filling with water. He got a call from an employee on April 26 around 6:30 p.m. that water had started pouring in from all over.

Not knowing where the water was coming from, Kriser first got all the dogs to safety. He later learned that a broken water main had released 80,000 gallons of water into his business and "wrecked havoc" on the "home away from home" for close to 100 North Shore dogs every day.

Its owners say it's been a tough six months of helping helping former customers find alternate care for their dogs, negotiating with insurance companies to cover the cost of reconstruction, and handling the facility's rebuild, but The Barking Lot is ready to reopen and promises to come back better than ever. It's now got upgrades like a third indoor play area, an improved outdoor 8,000-square-foot space with new antibacterial turf and 25 additional kennels, which brings the total to 128.

Plus, Kriser is offering to "transfer" any prepaid time at any other doggie daycare to The Barking Lot for free in order to encourage customers with dogs displaced by April's flood to return. And The Barking Lot is offering a third night free on a three-night stay, 30 percent off all daycare packages and 25 percent off bathing and grooming with the cost of three-night stay, as well as 10 percent off retail products, to celebrate its reopening.

_{The Barking Lot location (Google Street View)}

_{Top photo: "Matt Kriser, Barking Lot Owner, Dani Guigli, GM and Phoebe, celebrate the reopening. | Courtesy The Barking Lot}