OWINGS MILLS, Md. — After the COVID-19 pandemic, Heather Davis decided to become a franchise owner of a Dogtopia in Baltimore County.
She opened the first location in Towson.
After the success of that, she is expanding, realizing there is a high demand for reliable dog care.
"So when you have that daycare ability, you're able to really just kind of depend that you know that you're a pup is gonna get that much needed exercise to keep that obesity away to help reduce those vet bills because whenever a dog puts on weight, you know, that's gonna add on later in life," says Heather Davis.
She says having a daycare option for pets is really helpful, especially for working pet owners who may not have the extra time to spend with their pets each and every day.
"But it really is important no matter if you come to a daycare or find some other avenue whether it not be here that that dog does get that consistent exercise it's just we're really providing that ability to have that consistency," she says.
Davis says her own experiences as a working mother led her to want to take on this kind of business.
"My husband and I were in the city, we had our dog, they went to dog daycare, we had children, I worked in childcare, so I kind of understood how dog daycare and childcare kind of worked and when we had our our dog we just realized that it's really hard to find a place where there's boarding and daycare and ability to take care of your pups," says Davis.
And she says not having the extra time or ability to learn all of a pet's needs can sometimes lead to a pet owner taking their dog to a shelter.
"We find that pups are being surrendered back to the shelters, it's because of they needed help with understanding their pup, their behaviors," she says.
Dogtopia helps with training dogs during their daycare stays.
Davis says exposing them to other dogs and people and having them learn new behaviors and tricks can help dog owners at home.
"We work so hard to make sure that pet parents get everything they need so that dog doesn't get returned back to the shelter, that's like one of our main, main goals here."
Open houses at the Owings Mills location will take place on:
Wednesday, July 16 from 4:30-6:00pm
Saturday, July 19 from 10:00am-12:00pm
WHERE:
Dogtopia of Owings Mills
10989 Red Run Blvd
Owings Mills, MD 21117
