The opening of a doggy daycare in Guelph is drawing near.
Dogtopia of Guelph is setting up shop in the Campus Estates Shopping Centre at 35 Harvard Rd., in the former Buffalo Wild Wings location facing Gordon Street.
The aim is to open at the beginning of June, but the opening date could be pushed to the end of the month depending on construction.
"We noticed that there was a little break in the market for doggy daycare in Guelph," said Guelph location co-owner Charlene Troubetzkoy. "And we think that Dogtopia is such an amazing franchise that we couldn't pass up the opportunity to provide care and love to Guelph dogs."
The franchise has over 225 locations across Canada and the United States, including several spots in the GTA and one in Kitchener.
It mainly offers daytime service, but the hope is to offer overnight boarding and grooming services down the line.
Think of it as an indoor dog park, complete with space to allow for dogs to socialize, learn and exercise.
And much like a child's daycare, Dogtopia offers progress reports and advice for owners, as well as a structured day. Webcams are also set up on site for owners to view the playroom during the day.
First-timers will take part in a meet and greet to determine if they're a good fit for the program.
"We definitely have that love and passion for dogs all over the world, so we're really excited," Troubetzkoy said.
Her and her business partner bring plenty of animal expertise to the fold.
Troubetzkoy is the founder of HelpAWS, an animal rescue in Saint Lucia. Renee Fleming is a veterinarian and the co-owner of Guelph Animal Hospital.
The idea for this initially came up at the end of 2019, but COVID had other plans.
"It's been in the works, and on the books, for a long time," Troubetzkoy said. "But things really just started to move once we found a location a couple months ago."
Almost 5,000 square feet of space is being used, and the franchise is expected to bring in between eight and 12 jobs, from canine coaches, cleaners, evaluators and more.
