Fido has it really good at day care

Demand prompts council to propose changes in zoning

Lou Kilzer, Rocky Mountain News

Published October 7, 2006 at midnight

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Business is booming in Denver's doggie day-care trade.

Denver has 22 small specialized dog day-care centers, up from about half a dozen five years ago.

Some facilities sport swimming pools, Jungle Gym-type play equipment and - for $51 for a full day and night - private suites with closed-circuit, flat-screen televisions featuring, yes, doggie movies.

The growth has not gone unnoticed by City Hall, where the Denver City Council is proposing zoning changes that would allow more of the playgrounds for Fido.

Centers also are popping up in Boulder, Castle Rock, Fort Collins, Frisco, Greeley, Parker and elsewhere.

Terri Desnica, owner of Hounds on the Hill, near downtown at 960 Lincoln St., says it's no mistake that Denver is frequently voted among the most pet-friendly cities in America.

Many of her customers are empty nesters whose dogs have taken a central place in their lives, she says. "They don't want their dogs to just sit at home," she said. Others customers are young couples with a dog but no kids.

Then there are dogs that have emotional issues such as thunderstorm phobia. If an owner sees a forecast of stormy weather, he can drop Rover at a day-care center where the distraction of other dogs and plenty of play can take his mind off the booms.

Nicole Delmoro, who quit her job as a CPA four years ago to pursue a business that was mostly unchartered, now has her third day-care center, two in Denver and one in Englewood.

"I left a very good job," she said during a tour of City Bark LoDo. "And we were in a recession."

But it worked out, not the least because of what she calls her "overwhelming love for dogs."

Unlike Hounds on the Hill, City Bark LoDo offers overnight boarding for owners who, for instance, take vacations.

To satisfy owner desire to keep an eye on things, City Bark uses Webcams. She said that it is not unusual for couples in Paris to go to an Internet café to check in on Little Princess.

Space is limited. To get your dog "accepted," he must pass an "interview." Bullies, for instance, are not allowed, she said.

City Bark, which had 43 dogs on hand Friday afternoon, has a waiting list of otherwise qualified dogs waiting for admittance.

The problem the demand is causing is that the Denver zoning code does not specifically deal with small doggie day-care businesses.

And not only commercial day care is affected. Many vets operate overnight boarding facilities that are also in the gray area.

And then there are the big operators, such as PetSmart, that are eyeing the business. Last year, the City Council gave PetSmart the right to board pets overnight in business zones - something that zoning officials have ruled is generally not allowed.

The ordinance, which mandated a certain percentage of square feet that cannot be exceeded for boarding, cut small operators out.

So those operators got together and lobbied for some new rules that would let them do the same as the big boys.

Councilwoman Carol Boigon began discussion with members of the Colorado Association of Dog Day Care members during the summer.

On Monday, a bill she is sponsoring to clarify that day care and boarding can continue in industrial zones, and would allow boarding in certain high-density business zones.

The dogs will have to be enclosed from 9 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. and the rules say they cannot be heard or smelled during those hours. No day-care facilities can be licensed unless the majority of nearby residents and property owners agree, according to city rules.

Councilwoman Marcia Johnson says she will propose an amendment to Boigon's bill that would require any outside dog presence to be at least 50 feet from any residences.

But other than that, the bill appears to have dogged support.

Boigon says she got involved because, "I'm a client. I use doggie day care."

Her dog - Cleopatra of the Platte, also known as Cleo - visits Mile High Mutts about once a week.

Like many consumers, she got Cleo, a small Siberian Husky, after the kids cleared out of her home about three years ago.

Before Cleo, "The house got empty."

"Between single adult households and empty nesters, people are having dogs and working and looking for different kinds of supports because the pets are such a big part of their lives," she said.

At City Bark LoDo, the standard rate is $26 a day, which is lowered to $21 a day for a 20-day package.

Add another $10 for a standard overnight stay where dogs sleep in kennels.

If you want a private suite for your dog - there are five - add another $15.

If you go on a vacation for two weeks and give your dog the treatment - closed-circuit TV and all - add $714 to the vacation cost.

City Bark partner Delmoro says any dogs getting overly rowdy are put in a "time out" kennel for a few moments. They get the point, she says.

Other doggie day-care centers use a squirt gun to get an uppity dog's attention.

That doesn't always work.

Said Delmoro: "Some dogs think the squirt gun is a great game."

kilzerl@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2644

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