by Mike Salmon

Dogtopia daycare branches out in Alexandria

Gone are the days when master would go to work and the family dog would wait patiently, chained to a dog house in the backyard, with a bowl of dog chow and water. Enter the realm of doggy daycare. Now, some dogs pass the work day downing breakfast, lunch and dinner with other dogs, while barking, pawing and rolling around "playing," until the owners arrive ­ a dog utopia of some sorts.

That was the mindset of Amy Nichols, the founder of Dogtopia, an upscale, full-service dog daycare that is branching out in Alexandria in June.

"They're not lonely, sitting all alone," Nichols said.

Jeff Lutton is the franchise owner in Alexandria. He decided to embark on this business venture after enrolling his own golden retriever in the Tysons Corner Dogtopia. Lutton and his wife were working in the telecommunications field and wanted a dog but did not like leaving the dog alone for hours during the week.

"It's not fair to leave it alone for so long," he said.

After enrolling their dog in Nichol's Dogtopia, Lutton noticed a change for the better in his dog's enthusiasm. "It's very obvious," he said.

Now Lutton is giving up his telecommunications career and going full time for the dogs. Lutton recently finished getting permits from the City of Alexandria and is starting to gut the building at 3121 Colvin St. in the Eisenhower Valley. Lutton thought Alexandria was a good location because of the "large amount of dog people there," he said.

Dog Day Afternoon
The daily routine around Dogtopia goes like this: owners and dogs start arriving around 7 a.m., enjoy a hearty canine breakfast, and then are introduced to playtime with balls, toys and other dogs. Through the day, they are taken outside for walks, chase bubbles at bubble time, and practice being social, canine style. "In general, the dogs pretty much entertain themselves," Nichols said.

Dogs will be dogs though, and, when one gets too aggressive, the Dogtopia staff steps in. "We use 'time-outs' very much like children," Nichols said.

The price of all this dog fun works out to be about $30 a day, and each location can care for about 50 to 80 dogs per day.

The interior in Alexandria will fit a similar pattern of the Tysons location with walls of bright yellow, green and blue, though dogs are thought to be color blind to some extent. "The colors are more to appeal to the owner," Nichols said.

The first room will have toys for little dogs, the gym room is for active dogs, and then there is the lounge room with couches and a television for "less active dogs," Lutton said. The floors are rubber, which is easy to clean and easy on the dogs' paws. There is also a dog wash area where dogs can be shampooed and groomed for an extra charge.

Nichols opened the first facility of the franchise under the name "Dog Daycare" in the Tysons Corner area in 2002 and has since changed the name to Dogtopia under the "Happy To Be Here," franchise corporation. Other Dogtopia franchises recently opened in Bethesda, Md., and Houston, Texas.

Dogtopia is active with charitable activities, including several dog rescue groups and "K9 Support," for dogs working with the military in Iraq.

© The Alexandria Times 2007