Dog days were never this good
By 4 p.m., about half the dogs are snoozing.
Many are young dogs, and high-energy breeds, like golden retrievers and Labradors, in peak condition. But Choco, a 2-year-old German shorthair, is lying on the rubber mat, trying to keep his eyes open and gradually failing. When 5-year-old Darby the Dalmatian’s owner comes to get him, the pooch lies right down in the lobby with a big grin on his black-and-white spotted face.
“We don’t make it out of the parking lot and he’s stretched across the back seat,” said Darby’s owner, Pam Nett. “I am so supportive of this. I don’t know what I’d do without it.”
Daylong exercise is one reason pet owners love Play-N-Stay, a three-year-old doggie day care run by Josh and Julie Burdick in North Spokane. Socialization is another. Keeping up on obedience training is a third. Dog owners pay $13 to $17 per day so their pets can play and go down for naptime in an 1800-square-foot indoor arena filled with toys and painted to look like a backyard.
“It’s a labor of love,” said Julie Burdick, who’s been training and showing dogs since fourth grade. “There are times I just sit and watch the dogs and I think how great is this.”
The business actually has three parts — boarding for dogs that stay overnight or are too old or aggressive to mix with other dogs; the day-care room, which is split into big dog and little dog sections; and a small retail shop. Julie Burdick figures the business’s revenues are split 40-40-20 over the three segments.
The dogs come one to five days per week and Burdick says she knows them so well that when one barks, she knows which it is. And the barking is surprisingly minimal just after naptime (noon-2 p.m.) one recent afternoon. Burdick says that’s because dogs bark mostly when they’re lonely or bored. And they’re neither at Play-N-Stay.
There also are few, if any, fights, because dogs are extensively screened before being admitted. They are also monitored “100 percent of the time,” Julie Burdick said. Dogs that are not spayed or neutered, or that are aggressive, will not be admitted to the day care. Dogs are also required to be current on vaccinations. Though Play-N-Stay is not a formal training facility, the Burdicks do reinforce commands like “Quiet,” “Leave it,” and “Easy” to keep the dogs under control.
Gary and Sharon Randall of Colbert have been bringing Jake, their 2-year-old golden retriever, to Play-N-Stay since he was 6 months old. The Randalls both work and didn’t want Jake to be home alone. Their veterinarian, whose dog also attends the day care, recommended Play-N-Stay.
“He’s become very socialized with other dogs,” Gary Randall said. “He’s happy to come here in the morning.”
The business does have its drawbacks. Overhead — including rent, electricity, insurance, toys and janitorial supplies — runs high. The Burdicks put in 75 hours apiece, per week. Though the business is only open to the public Monday through Friday 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., dogs can be boarded over the weekend, and that requires daily care. And though it’s grown over the three years, the Burdicks’ take-home pay is modest, an estimated $30,000 this year.
“A ton of people come in and say, ‘What a great business, I would love to run one of these,’ ” Julie Burdick said. “But it’s not just playing with dogs.”
Still, for the lifelong dog lovers, the rewards are many. The Burdicks spend their days with happy, obedient animals. The dogs’ crazy antics make them laugh all the time. And their customers share the Burdicks’ love for animals. About 90 percent of the dogs have gone through obedience training. Two veterinarians are clients of Play-N-Stay and nine others regularly send them clients, Julie Burdick said. “We’ve done everything in our power to make sure this is the safest facility possible.”
Julie, who is 32, was running a dog-grooming business when she first heard about dog daycares. She and Josh researched the idea for two years, reading up on it and visiting other businesses in Portland, Seattle, and Las Vegas. They rented the former warehouse at 724 W. Rosewood, just off Francis and Wall, and renovated it for their needs.
Josh, 31, previously worked in construction and handled the remodeling. He built a pathway around the arena where people could walk and not over-excite the dogs. He painted the walls yellow and added fake windows with curtains to look like the back of a house. He hung a giant rubber soccer ball from the ceiling which the dogs jump for when it swings. He added plastic couches, jungle gyms and other toys.
On Wednesday, dogs were hanging out everywhere. A golden retriever reclined on the couch, and two puppies wrestled in the corner. The Burdick’s own Wheaton terrier, Fauna, climbed up the jungle gym slide then slid back down.
“Most people remove the dog hair before they go to work,” Josh Burdick said with a laugh. “We come to work and get covered in dog hair.”