House of Wags Pet Resorts offers kenneling services for dogs

OKABENA — A new dog house has sprung up in Okabena in the form of House of Wags Pet Resort. Opened on May 23, the kennel offers boarding services and has already seen 12 dogs boarding with them only 10 days after its opening.

Owner Jodi Johnson said that she started the business both from her passion for pets and past experiences with boarding her own.

“I have a passion for dogs and I saw there was a need,” she simply said. “We have dogs of our own and it’s hard to find good quality care. We had tragedy happen with our dog and I would hate that for anybody. That’s what drove me to open my own (kennel).”

She owes her nearly-immediate success to word-of-mouth and advertising.

“I’ve done a lot of social media advertising and I’ve hung flyers at different places like the Worthington Vet Clinic, who I have a good relationship with,” Johnson said. “We have four dogs of our own, so they have recommended me to some people. I also know that there has been word-of-mouth among people.”

While there have not been any challenges yet presented before Johnson or House of Wags, there are many things that she is looking forward to with her new business, including the possibility of expansion.

Samuel Martin / The Globe

“(I’m looking forward to) just having all the dogs and being able to provide good quality care for them,” she said. “The dogs that we’ve already had and just watching them come in and settle in, play and feel at home, you can tell that they’re comfortable. We’ve had really good dogs and we’ve had really good owners. My hope would be that we would be able to expand once it gets going and possibly even build a bigger facility. But with that would come staff and all the things that you would need with that. If we would get to a point where that could happen, I would love for that to happen and have another building where we can board dogs and eventually cats and maybe even be able to separate bigger dogs from smaller dogs.”

The comfort that she’s able to provide for pets is what she is most proud of with her business.

“I will treat and care for your dogs just like they are my own,” Johnson said. “I have no problem being in contact with the owners while they are gone to let them know how they’re doing. I want to provide the best care possible for them and I want to do everything I can to make sure that they are comfortable.”

For more information, call House of Wags Pet Resort at (507) 841-0166 or visit their Facebook page.

Samuel Martin became a reporter for The Globe in September 2023. He has a bachelor’s degree in media studies from the University of Sioux Falls.