Press
As seen
in Whidbey News-Times
Daycare pampers dogs
By Susan Mador
Contributing
writer
Vikki
runs a well-rounded daycare at her home north of Oak Harbor. It’s
clean, offers all-natural, healthy snacks, has plenty of toys and
there’s total supervision. Plus lots of room to chase squirrels.
But don’t take your kid there. [Vikki]’s daycare – Pampered Pooch –
caters only to canines.
[Vikki]
started her daycare almost two years ago because she always had
neighbors’ dogs over to play with her English setter Abby.
“One
day, I looked around at all the toys and told my husband, ‘This looks
like a daycare’!” [Vikki] said. “So I took some classes on dog agility
and learned more about dogs and positive reinforcement and opened the
daycare.”
[Vikki] tells people that by giving animals lots of “love, affection
and positive reinforcement they will respond to you.”
Now
Abby and Wesley, also an English setter, have plenty of company.
[Vikki] says the more dogs the more fun they all have. “It’s nice to
have a good mix of dogs here,” she said. “Then everyone can find
playmates.”
On a recent morning, [Vikki] and her assistant
Angela Radke were supervising nine dogs plus Abby and Wesley. The dogs
there for pampering included Magnum and Oscar, two older Labradors;
Diggers, a yellow Lab/golden retriever; Maggie Mae, a wire-haired
pointing griffon; Princess, a Britany; Maka, a sleek boxer; Colter, a
7-month-old black Lab; and Clancy and Molly, two adorable mixed-breeds.
Maka
tossed and tugged at a ball. Diggers, Maggie Mae and Colter quickly
gutted a stuffed toy. “I buy these at garage sales all the time,”
[Vikki] said while picking up the stuffing.
Magnum, Abby and
Oscar watched everything from cool spots in the sand pit. “When Abby
was a puppy, her favorite spot was the sand pit, so I knew I needed a
big one here,” [Vikki] said.
Surrounding the patio and sand pit
are bird feeders and squirrel feeders, deck and grooming room. “Time
out cabanas,”… provide feeding areas and calm spots for naps.
And the dogs are never left alone.
[Vikki]
opened a gate to the pasture and pond, saying, “We’ve waited all
morning for this.” The dogs knew just what to do – run to the pond.
Dogs bounced, splashed and plowed through the reeds. Everyone checked
the neighbor’s fence to see if the sheep and ducks were out. On the
bank, Molly, Clancy and Maka explored the brush where lots of scents
lurked.
“When the blackberries get ripe, we’ll all be out here
picking berries,” [Vikki] said. “And in the fall, we get apples from
the trees along the driveway.”
By September, [Vikki] plans on
having a larger spot cleared and a pole barn for daycare during wet,
cold weather. There also will be a separate area for small dogs. “They
will have their own pasture, sand pit and cabanas,” she said. “And
we’ll have fencing over the top for eagle-proofing.”
Daycare at Pampered Pooch has everything a dog could want … except cats
to chase or stinky stuff to roll in.
Safety
first
[Vikki]’s
property is surrounded by a series of fences. “We’ve refenced higher to
keep dogs from jumping over,” [Vikki] says. A sign at the front
instructs people to “Please honk for a servant. Pets might escape.”
Dogs must have a form with all emergency information including vet
contacts on file. [Vikki] has a simple requirement for accepting a dog
at Pampered Pooch: dogs must be spayed or neutered by an appropriate
age.
As seen in Whidbey
News-Times Vol. 110,
No.115
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Customer
Testimonials
Hank
is a 1-1/2 yr. old chocolate lab who has been going to Pampered Pooch
almost a year now and the transformation in his behavior is not easy to
put into words. Suffice it to say that he no longer chews on the deck
or the garden and he has truly become a great dog because of the
exercise and socialization he gets with Vicky and the gang. Thanks
Vicky!!
Leslie, Tim & Wade |
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