Hoss, a Great Pyrenees-Lab mix, wouldn’t enter the doors of the Stay and Play Pet Resort on his first visit.
He hated doors. He was scared to death of them, manager Heidi Simpson said.
Each time Hoss attended day camp, one of SPPR’s most popular boarding services, the staff would have to walk him around the building to the back door, straight to the dog day-camp area.
Now, Hoss enters the doors enthusiastically, pulling his owner to the dog room.
“Every dog that has started out that way, once they’ve been here at least two to three times, have started pulling us through the back,” Simpson said. “I get goosebumps, only for the fact of that dog very loudly telling you ‘I’m happy,’ to their owner, too.”
The doors were scary to Hoss, but that is not the only thing that deters dogs like him. The building, located outside of Stillwater on Brush Creek Road, smells of other dogs, cats and sterile cleaning supplies, which reminds dogs and cats of a vet’s office.
Simpson said Zora, a big black poodle, was just like Hoss. She refused to come inside. Now, she runs off-leash straight to day camp.
“(Dogs are) supposed to be on leash, but I’m not arguing,” Simpson said. “The dog is happy, so let her go. And so, when they come in for day camp and they’re scared because it smells like a vet, it smells like other dogs; they think we’re a vet, and then they learn ‘Whoa, nothing is the same.’”
Zora and Hoss’ stories are similar to almost all the dogs Simpson has seen in her 3.5 years working at the resort, but once the dog gets past the scariness of a new environment, their experiences can be life-changing.
Each dog attending day camp must be spayed or neutered and undergo a temperament test. During the test, a camp counselor will take the new dog out on a slip lead, and other camp counselors will also slip lead the most high-energy dogs in the play pin. Then, the body language presented by the new pup will determine if they can interact well with other dogs.
Once a dog passes the test, they get to experience play areas inside and outside, sometimes with 10 or more other furry friends, all separated by the size of the breed. From a ball pit to a small pool of water, the dogs experience new sensations, socialization and exercise.
Stillwater resident Kristen Sample has a 5-year-old miniature Australian Shepherd who visits day camp often. Kristen said Lippy felt at home and safe immediately.
“They play outside and in the summer, have pools to cool off in and play with other dogs their size and with the people who work there,” Sample said. “Lippy is queen of the pool and likes to try to get her friends to play with her.”’
Lippy is one of the day campers that had a fun and bubbly personality, making humans around her smile even on the worst days, Sample said. But not every dog fits the descriptions of a “spayed and neutered” dog that “behaves well with people and other dogs.”
But SPPR does not discriminate. Accommodations are made on a case-by-case basis. OSU linebacker Kendal Daniels houses his rottweiler at SPPR, and he is fully intact and aggressive toward other dogs. He is boarded in a special kennel, for first-class lodging, with outside access.
“Kenai… he has dragged one of our camp counselors across the field, and he is very strong,” Simpson said. “I moved him in here because he can’t be anywhere else. The owner, he does great for, (Kendal Daniels), it’s just in here (the kennel).
For OSU fans who are rushing to Boone Pickens Stadium to watch Daniels play, SPPR offers a game day boarding service. For $37, a cat or dog can experience a full day of day camp and stay until one hour after the game ends, instead of 6 p.m., when SPPR typically closes.
Even if the animal needs accommodations like Kenai, they can experience the same love they get from their owners during SPPR services, regardless of the circumstances. One service in particular used often for those confined in the kennel — the kennels often supplied with TVs, blankets, beds and their own personal toys — is the Touch-Love-Cuddle program. For an additional $18, the dog will be showered with attention for an entire hour.
“For TLCs, you want those cuddlers, those nervous Nellies, those old ladies, those old men, the little bitty nervous systems,” Simpson said. “You go in there and you just love them and hug them, and you come out covered in dog hair, but that dog is happy and ready for napping.”
Lippy has experienced the loving treatment of not only the TLC, but also the luxury suite when boarding. When Sample has gone out of town, Lippy has lived it up.
Her suite came with a kennel decorated as a house, with a fireplace, tiny sofa and TV. “Santa Buddies” is one of the popular movies among the SPPR residents, and Lippy is more than familiar with the tale.
“For their boarding, she was in a suite that had a TV, which they play movies and a video cam I can watch 24/7,” Sample said. “They also have different packages like if you want your dog to have special cuddle time.”
For parents like Sample who want to check in with their pets, the webcam access is 24/7 in the luxury suites. Parents of cats staying in Kitty City, the feline room, also have welcome access. Cats each get to lodge in their separate condos, with a rotation for each cat to roam the room.
One cat in particular in Kitty City was quarantined because she did not yet have the feline leukemia vaccine, but it did not keep her from being able to be boarded. Exceptions like this are made to adhere to the need and safety of each animal.
The air duct system is one way the resort keeps illness contained when it does arise. The Kitty City air duct and the maternal ward, an area designated only for Dr. Joseph McCann, one of the owners of Baker Animal Clinic, the vet which owns SPPR. The dog room has its own air duct equipped with an air scrubber to combat respiratory illness. If any illness does occur, everything is pulled to be sanitized, which also happens on a daily basis.
“We don’t play around,” Simpson said. ”We are very, very thorough on cleaning. The kennels are cleaned every single morning, and we provide all stainless steel (bowls). They’re all hand-washed, then they’re allowed to go in the dishwasher, then they’re allowed to be done and sanitized.”
SPPR is not only good enough for OSU football players and Stillwater residents, it also becomes a vacation spot for dogs in Pete’s Pet Posse, OSU’s pet therapy program. Howard, a 2-year-old Bluie Fluffy Pembrooke Welsh Corgi, attends day camp every week with his dog-sibling Chai, a Lab Staffordshire Terrier mix.
Chai is a rescue puppy, who is nervous when he is not around Howard.
“Maybe six or seven weeks ago, we started taking him (Howard) and his neurotic brother once a week, and Howard loves it,” said Rebecca Brienen, Howard’s mom and handler. “He (Howard) is like the emotional support dog for Chai. He (Howard) has to go with him (Chai), and stay in the littles area, even though he’s bigger.”
As a dog with a nervous nature, Chai is allowed to stay with his sibling. The day camp allows him to socialize and get out of his shell, but safely in an environment he can handle.
In cases like Chai’s, his safety, health and wellbeing is prioritized. Each dog and cat gets this treatment, whether they are day campers or boarding overnight.
“Your dog should be treated as you expect, behind closed doors, as you would want your dog (or cat) treated, ” Simpson said. “That’s our goal.”
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