I went and checked out Happy Hounds Doggy Day Care on Barrington Street today because they're hosting Silvia Jay and Adina MacRae's seminar on September 18th and 19th - and I'm the one who's organizing it, so I wanted to see what it was like before everyone showed up at 9am and no coffee was ready for them!
And I have to say I was super impressed with the facility - it's currently the only institutional dog day care on the whole of the peninsula here in Halifax -
In case you haven't heard the elected officals and bureaucrats at the HRM really do not seem to like dogs or dog businesses very much - even though Halifax has steadfastly stayed dog friendly in spite of everything that they've put in front dog dog owners - so we are horribly under serviced in the area of doggy day cares currently - and Happy Hounds has got some pretty onerous restrictions -
One of which is that they don't have any outdoor area for the dogs - but the dogs don't seem to notice - they were really happy there today - even more so since it was so hot outside! This picture is the area where they have their "doggy socials" when the humans come to have a good time! It's also part of the "small dog area"
And this is where the big dogs play - which they were doing with great aplomb when I was there - they get around the "no outdoor area" by going for pee breaks at regular intervals - which I'm sure is find because it gives the dogs some good chances for time-outs anyway
I thought it was a really well run facility and the ladies there had a really good handle on the dogs and the layout was really well thought-out - I give a "four paws-up" - I've been to several institutional doggy day-cares in the city and this one is definitely one of the better ones, for sure - and they also have NO breed restrictions - you can take any breed of dog to Happy Hounds - which is awesome.
Here's a final shot of the big dog's floor of all the dogs having some good Friday afternoon fun!
This was Winston - and his housemate Willow - who will some day be his "wife" Willow
Here he's giving me the "what-for" - he's saying - "you are too far away from me to lick you!"
And here's a shot of what it looks like from the front door of the facility - it's a pretty nice view of the MacDonald bridge!
What a pawsome day care! HRM is waaay ahead of PEI - we haven't got a single day care on the Island!
ReplyDeleteFew people will "dog" sit, mostly AVC students, but not licensed day care.
Boarding kennels, for that matter are not required to be licensed or inspected.
When I inquired with the person in Regulatory, with the province - I was informed boarding kennels fall under the Dog Act (which in itself is a croc of crap!)
So basically, anyone can set up a boarding kennel - and no one really gives a dam whether it is built or run according to any particular code.
Sad.
Wow, this looks really good! Too bad it's over in Halifax, I'd love to have something a bit closer to the Cole harbour area, but I hvaen't really found anything I'd be comfortable with yet.
ReplyDeleteAny suggestions as for other day care centers? Perhaps ones with weekend hours as well? I'd love to put my greyhound in when I'm gone to school, but usually my timing is too early... What a bummer!
Hopefully more faculties like this will pop up!