A daycare that loves your dog as much as you do

All About Pets

Wednesday, March 17, 2021 |

PHOTO PROVIDED BY LOVE US AND LEAVE US

Bass gets the full birthday treatment at Love Us and Leave Us dog day care.

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Pet moms and dads, it’s OK to leave your babies here

Your precious furry friends are treated like family at Love Us and Leave Us

BY NOAH HOFFENBERG Eagle sponsored content editor

PITTSFIELD — Restaurants have just returned to full capacity.

Airlines are booking more and more fl ights.

And reservations are now being accepted for spa treatments and overnight lodging at a Berkshire business that’s expanding to a second site in Lee.

Unfortunately, it’s not for you, silly human.

It’s for your pets, says Renee Dodds, owner of Love Us and Leave Us.

First opening in 2006 as a homebased business, Love Us and Leave Us now has grown into a two-location operation. It has helped owners and their friends at its original location at 1525 West Housatonic St. since 2012, and now does so at its latest venture at 915 Pleasant St. in Lee; the latter just opened Feb. 1.

Each site offers dog day care, as well as a dog “spaw” and overnight accommodations.

The Lee site also includes dog groupings based on their size, with two different play rooms and outside areas; it also offers kennel suites, “beautiful glass-front little rooms for the dogs,” says Dodds. “They seem to get better sleep when they’re separate.”

Dog pile available

But, some dogs do better in a pile, with fellow canines or with their Love Us and Leave Us human companion. For these kinds of social beasts, Dodd’s Pittsfi eld location has freerange boarding, in which an overnight staffer stays with the dogs; these pups don’t get crated or kenneled, she says.

The overnight site is outfi tted with a bed, couches and more; Dodds says the dogs sleep where they want.

“We had to get a futon for the end of the person-bed to make an extra-large bed,” she says. This was to fi t seven dogs.

Co-sleeping isn’t for all dogs, she notes, because of dog temperament; it also costs more than traditional kenneling, because of the sitter. For others, it’s preferred.

“Some people don’t like the thought of their dog in a suite. The good side to having someone overnight is that they're always with a person. The downside is that the dog is not separated. You could have a younger dog that wants to stay up all night. They might not get a good night’s sleep,” notes Dodds.

These days, overnight business isn’t booming. But, by summer, Dodds expects to hire three or more seasonal employees to meet the demand she expects is around the corner.

All dogs do a trial day

All dogs do a trial day at Love Us and Leave Us before they start coming regularly to any programs.

“Day care is not for every dog, and there are a lot of dogs that fi nd it too overwhelming and too overstimulating, or just they absolutely hate it. My Lab hates it. She wants to go with me, but will sit in the corner and then growl,” Dodds says of Tilly, 11, a yellow Labrador.

Dodds has two other pets, Fergus, 8, a Shiba Inu, and an adopted cat named Schmi, almost 13.

Day care is for social animals, and Dodds says it straight: It’s not a normal or natural scenario to put a dog into, which is why it isn’t a good fi t for some.

“Even though we say dogs are pack animals, they’re not used to being around 30 or 40 other dogs. We introduce them slowly, at their own speed. Some dogs are ready to roll and go right in,” says Dodds.

Getting them plenty of exercise

She says many of her dog clients are in the middle of “their teenage phase.” The play regimen at Love us

and Leave Us helps even dogs like these to have heavy rest and sleep periods, especially good for rambunctious types.

“You can almost solve any dog behavior with just making them run it out and tired. A tired dog is a good dog,” says Dodds.

Her staff is equipped to handle skittish or anxious dogs, but aggressive or prey-focused dogs are better served by specialists, she notes.

Small pets, too

Another amenity at the new Lee site is a separate fl oor and boarding space for cats and small animals, such as rabbits, ferrets, hamsters, snakes and lizards.

“We want it all, kind of a menagerie,” says Dodds.

Because the animals stay on different fl oors, they don’t interact. The cats have a room with two sizes of catios, with the biggest fi tting a “family of cats,” and there’s also a countertop for pet tanks and a wall to separate should the need arise.

“With catios, the cats have all this extra space. They can be jumping around and moving,” notes Dodds.

The cats have water fountains, as well as bird feeders just outside the windows for entertainment. Coming soon for the felines: “We’re going to set up a fi sh tank, so they can watch the fi sh.”

For small animal boarding and visits, customers bring their own enclosures. For reptiles, that means lights and temperature regulation gear. In addition to being animal lovers, Dodds says a few of her staff members are also small animal experts, with one also serving as the animal caretaker at Berkshire Community College.

Pet fi rst-aid certifi ed staff

Dodds’ staff of 10 are pet fi rst-aid certifi ed, a comfort if any animals get some scratches, bumps or worse.

“They’re learning how to deal with choking, signs of bloat, generally taking care of wounds, small cuts and scratches, things you probably don’t need to go to the vet and spend $350 on, if you can take care of it properly,” says Dodds. She refers customers with pet medical issues back to their veterinarian of choice.

She says, fortunately, the fi rst aid hasn’t been used much at all, and staff do a refresher every couple of years. At the new Lee site, Love Us and Leave Us has an extra room and might be offering these kinds of classes, such as on dog food or puppy yoga, to the public soon, as long as COVID-19 numbers continue trendSPONSORED CONTENT

ing downward.

“Or if cat boarding picks up, it’ll be a big cattery,” says Dodds.

If pets need more intense care while visiting Love Us and Leave Us, Dodds’ team will either take your pet to its own vet or to nearby vets, if the situation demands it. Both sites have nearby vets available for emergencies. A bump in reservations

Dodds is seeing an increase in reservations for March and April, and people are also starting to book for summer.

“I think it might be crazy this year for all the boarding facilities. People are so ready to do stuff. I know I’m itching to get out,” says Dodds.

The past year was an interruption in Dodds’ normally busy Pittsfi eld business.

“When the COVID lockdown hit, we lost business at fi rst, with everybody not working. We still had a little bit of day care and operated with a skeleton crew,” says Dodds.

The day care side of the business remained extremely busy, almost full, especially during the summer months, while boarding took a dive, notes Dodds.

“After the summer, it almost went to nothing, and we had to close on weekends,” says Dodds.

Meanwhile, there was a building that Dodds had been eyeing for some time in Lee, and she had proceeds from a recent home sale. The seed money helped realize her dream of opening a second site.

“With COVID, because we were doing less in Pittsfi eld, it gave me time to concentrate on getting a loan and opening a new place,” says Dodds.

A dream fulfi lled

As a child, Dodds had a dog until age 3; she was allergic to them, and her parents nixed it for the remainder of her early years.

“I was never allowed. That’s all I wanted my whole life. I blame my parents for this,” she jokes.

As soon as she moved out, Dodds immediately got a dog and got working with them, too, full time. She moved to the Northeast Kingdom in upstate Vermont, working in Stowe at the former Two Dog Lodge. There, people were allowed to stay with their dogs, and Dodds was their dog sitter at dog day care in one of the cabins.

“I would hang out with 12 dogs all day while people were skiing. I thought, ‘I could probably do this,’” Dodds recalls.

Returning to the Berkshires, she got a restaurant job, and started doing dog day care on the side.

She used to gather up dogs for the day, and take them hiking in the Berkshire woods.

Welcomed home like family

“Some would stay the whole day, some would stay at my house overnight,” Dodds says.

One thing led to another, and Dodds had more pups than she could handle alone. She hired a dog walker, and her business was off and running.

Since establishing her business, Dodds is always saying how Love Us and Leave Us is a place where your dog can be a dog.

Pet guests receive homey accommodations, friends and adoring fans, she says.

“We do see them as our little babies and buddies,” says Dodds.

For Dodds, having and expanding a business that revolves around animals is a dream come true, which she’s eager to share with you and your pets.

To learn more, or set up an appointment for a day, spa or overnight stay, visit loveusandleaveus.com. Or, for the Pittsfi eld location, email luludogdaycare@gmail.com or call 413464-9200; for Lee, email luludoglee@ gmail.com or call 413-394-5823.

PHOTO PROVIDED BY LOVE US AND LEAVE US

Playmates enjoy an outdoor romp at Love Us and Leave Us, a pet boarding company with facilities in Pittsfi eld and Lee.

All About Pets

| Wednesday, March 17, 2021

The Berkshire Eagle | BerkshireEagle.com

11