We're on our second and third dogs with PlayNPup now, and that alone should tell you a lot…read more
It's not just the clean and well-maintained facilities. It's not just the supervised play time that gives dogs the socialization they so badly need while keeping them safe. It's not just the fact that they have separate areas for dogs of different sizes or temperaments.
All those things are there and they all matter, but they're not why we keep coming back.
We keep coming back because of the obvious love and care that the owners and staff have for every dog who comes through the door. You can see the effort they put forth to understand every dog and their devotion to making sure that they give each dog what it needs.
We've had three very different dogs attend play groups at PlayNPup.
Our first was a middle-aged boxer we'd had since she was 12 weeks old. She was opinionated and a bit bossy at times, as boxers can be, but the staff knew just how to work with her and she absolutely loved her days at PlayNPup. She knew which days were her daycare days, and if I wasn't ready to be out the door at 7:30 sharp on those days to drop her off she would give me the look, then look at the door, then look at me until I got the hint.
We lost her to cancer and it was more than a year before we were ready to move on. Earlier this year we got our two current dogs. They could not be more different from our previous dog, nor from each other. They're half-boxer mixes, closely bonded sisters who were born on the street and lived for at least two years as part of a pack of street dogs in Texas before they were rescued, sent to New England, and became part of our family.
They've lived with humans for a small fraction of their lives, and they're still very much a work in progress. Despite being sisters, they're also very different from each other.
Daria and the staff at PlayNPup very quickly figured out who these dogs are and have been amazing with them from the very first day.
We started out bringing them in separately because we wanted them to develop some independence from each other. To be honest, that wasn't working out as well as we'd hoped.
It was Daria who suggested that we try bringing them in together instead, because maybe they just needed each other around for reassurance. After all, they've been together every day of their lives.
Well, she was right. From the first day we brought them in together everything was different. They entered the building with tails wagging. The staff told us they were confident and comfortable, playing with other dogs, relaxed and happy. Daria and the staff saw something in those dogs and knew exactly what they needed, better than we did.
You could not ask for more careful, skillful, devoted, and loving care for your dogs.
This isn't just a place that watches dogs. It's a place that understands them, and a place that loves them whole-heartedly.
We'll be customers for life.
