By Elisabeth Strillacci

Every dog has his day...and spa

After spending 14 years as a small business lender arranging loans for people opening franchises, David Sportelli decided it was time to open his business.

But it required a lot of research and Sportelli was specifically looking for a business that would cater to his love of dogs.

"I absolutely love dogs," Sportelli said. "If I could have 10 dogs I would. I've been looking a long time for a franchise I could get involved in and when I discovered Dogtopia, it seemed like a perfect fit."

Dogtopia is a dog day care and spa for canines of all shapes and sizes. Founded by Amy Nichols in Maryland in 2002, the facilities provide daytime care for dogs as well as overnight stays, grooming, toys and clothing.

Sportelli said the company was thrilled that he was interested because there aren't any Dogtopias in Connecticut yet.

"They have outlined an area for me that they call the North Haven district, which includes North Haven, Hamden, New Haven, East Haven and North Branford," he said. "Ideally I hope to find a location in North Haven or Hamden."

Sportelli is a Hamden native who now lives in Guilford.

"The company has a team that helps find all available sites of 5,000 square feet in the given area, then I'll go look at them all before we choose a location," Sportelli said.

His goal is to have a Dogtopia open in the area by 2009.

The business will allow Sportelli to indulge his love of dogs and, if all goes well, could be a joint venture between him and his daughter, Sarah, another dog lover.

"Sarah will be going to UNH next fall, but she said that if I open a second franchise in Connecticut, she'd come home and run it for me," he said. "That's something I hope to do down the line. First, I have to get this one up and running, but she said she'd also help at the first one." Sportelli said his wife Cande is also on board.

The family dog, Beau, a golden retriever, hasn't said what he thinks yet, Sportelli said.

"Dogtopia was created because I felt guilty leaving my dog, Griffin, home by himself all day," Nichols said. "I would get home exhausted from another 12 hour day, and he would be ready to play. When I would have to board him, I would get the cold shoulder for days after bringing him home."

"I visited the site down in Maryland and they separate the dogs by size, which is great," Sportelli said. "There's someone supervising each area to make sure the dogs are behaving and that everyone is okay, but the dogs aren't in kennels, they have the run of the space. It's just terrific."

In addition to the daycare, Dogtopia formed a permanent charitable arm in 2005 called K-9 Support Inc. The division raises money, collects supplies and generates awareness of working dogs worldwide, including military dogs.

"For instance, they send eye protection over to the dogs in Iraq," said Sportelli. "I can't go into any project without doing a lot of research; that's the practical part of me. When I saw not only what the company provides for clients, but what they do above and beyond the business end, I knew it was the right place for me."

© The North Haven Citizen 2008