When the owners are away, the pets still play

Pet City Resort wants animals to have purrrrfect vacations, too.

Nick Daggy/Staff photographer A cat relaxes at Pet City Resort off Princeton Glendale Road in West Chester Twp.

ENLARGE PHOTO

Photos: Pet City Resort pet kennel

Thanksgiving tips to make the holiday meal easy and delicious
11/20/09
Are you willing to watch your children fail?
11/20/09
Animal clinic collecting food to feed hungry family pets
11/20/09
When it comes to health, Michigan tops Ohio
11/20/09
Dad goes into overdrive with daughter at the wheel
11/19/09
> More lifestyle headlines

By Lindsey Hilty, Staff Writer Updated 7:31 AM Thursday, July 9, 2009

The economic situation may have many families shortening vacations or staying home, but Alisha Burns of Pet City Resort in West Chester Twp. said one area they don’t scrimp on is their pets.

The facility, owned by she and her husband Robert Burns and business partner Brian Starner, was packed to capacity with dogs and cats for the holiday weekend.

She said they took in 54 dogs on Thursday, July 2 and 39 dogs July 3.

“That’s typical in the summer on a holiday,” she said.

The facility has 100 hotel suites, but she said that means dozens more remain on waiting lists.

“People are calling like crazy yesterday and today, but we’re full,” she said.

Pet owners have the choice of added amenities during the stay, which include televisions tuned to animal planet, toddler beds and even Web camera monitoring. Each pet goes home with a vacation photo.

“We try to make it a vacation for them too, and people feel better leaving them known that they get a vacation too and are not stuck in cage all day,” she said.

While the number of boarders hasn’t declined, she said the economy shift has lead some owners to get smaller suites for their dogs. Still, the added extras remain popular, including extra play time, an ice cream social and spa treatments. “Sometimes people’s (dog) activities are more expensive than the stay,” she said.

Pat Dehm of Liberty Twp. said she typically travels with her pets or keeps them at home, but each day she takes her three dogs Aggie, KC and Archie to the day care facility Dog Day Everyday attached to the resort.

“When we went looking for a place to put our two little ones, I did my homework,” she said. “It was so clean. They were so professional. They were polite, courteous. They were just absolutely over the top — like an extension of my home. I come to work every day with the total comfort that they are well taken care of. I don’t think of Pet City Resort as a business that takes care of our little ones. I think of them as extended family.”

Burns said individualized care is the goal. She has grown up around animals and said she wanted a place she would take her own dog.

“We’re able to give a lot of that attention,” she said.

Pet City Resort

Where: 9474 Princeton-Glendale Road, West Chester Twp.

Contact: (513) 898-9631

Web site: www.petcity resort.com

Share this article

ADD COMMENT

Comments feed

I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don't know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.

Patricia

http://largepet.info

Patricia
1:13 AM, 7/25/2009

REPORT ABUSE

BO'S DOG DAYCARE, 829-DAWG, would be happy to help with overflow, we also treat your pets like our family.

Doug Beyer
9:14 AM, 7/10/2009

REPORT ABUSE

We welcome your comments. Please remember this is a public forum and behave appropriately. Your comments must conform to our visitor's agreement.