p e t
t a l e s
Two
Paws
Up for
Pet Day
Care
Written by Kerry Watson Garner
Photography by Kristen Brown
Peaches loves to cool down in a pool
in the bigger dogs’ play area when
she visits Bone Voyage in Cleveland.
(above) Kaye and Katie Speer, owners of Bone
Voyage, play with the smaller dogs in their play yard.
18 August/September 2007
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Triangle East Magazine
T
“Caring for Pets Since 1995”
Tired of seeing those sad puppy eyes
from your best friend every morning when
you grab your keys and head for the door?
Can’t find time during your busy week to
take your cat to the groomer? Need someone
to give your iguana a little extra TLC around
lunchtime? Then you need to check out day
care options.
Yes, there is day care for your pets. Lots
of it, in fact.
From doggie day care to pet-sitters who
will come to your home, to even a pet taxi that
will pick up your mutt for a quick trip to the
vet, there is someone out here for all of God’s
living creatures in the Triangle East area.
Dog Day Care
Each dog knows Bone Voyage Inc. in
the Cleveland community as a different
name, but they all mean the same thing — a
fun-filled day at doggie day care.
Peaches, a Labrador Retriever, knows
it as “Puppy School,” Abbey, another lab
knows it as its official name, Bone Voyage,
and Murphy, a Cocker Spaniel, knows it as
the place where “Mrs. Katie and Mrs. Kaye”
can be found. Hearing any of these names
by their moms and dads, the dogs will be so
excited in the morning that they will not eat
breakfast in anticipation.
Mrs. Katie and Mrs. Kaye, by the way, are
the daughter and mother team who share the
last name Speer and own Bone Voyage. They
opened the day care, which is also a pet boarding and training facility, in October 2004. Since
then, they have had to add on to their day care
portion because it has become so popular.
Kaye said doggie day care is perfect for
full-time workers who don’t want to keep their
pups crated all day at home and also want
them to be socialized and not fearful of other
dogs. It is also a help for dog parents who hate
arriving home from a hard day’s work to find
their favorite tennis shoes chewed up.
Day care at Bone Voyage follows the same
schedule daily. Dogs are taken back to the play
areas around 9 a.m. and split into two groups
in two play areas. One for quiet, mostly small
dogs, who want to just “hang out and chill,”
and the other for the larger, “rowdier” dogs.
“Free play” allows all dogs to swim in
pools, play ball, run with squeaky toys in
their mouths — whatever — all while being
supervised by a human.
“We just let them be dogs,” Kaye added.
continued on page 20
Triangle East Magazine
FREE
Initial
Interview
Insured, Bonded, References Available
12 years of pet sitting experience
15 years of extensive veterinary experience
(919) 577-6552
www.yourpetsfriend.net
Servicing Hwy 42 W (40/42-Cleveland School, Willow
Springs), Clayton and areas of Garner and Raleigh.
Bone Voyage, Inc.
Boarding
• 17 Spacious Indoor/Outdoor Suites
• 22 Interior Suites
• Small Dog Private Room
• Indoor Playroom and Play Yards
• Exercise Time
• Individual Attention
• Air Conditioning/Heat
• Lite Grooming
Daycare
• Great for high-energy dogs or chewers!
• Helps dogs that are destructive
or suffering from separation anxiety
• Promotes healthy socialization in a safe environment
• Indoor and Outdoor Play Areas
• Wading Pools and Toys
• Personal Supervision and Interaction
• Small Groups promoting safety
and positive interactions
339 Shipwash Drive
Garner, NC 27529
Phone (919) 329-9892
Fax (919) 329-9894
www.bonevoyageinc.com
Special Pets Deserve Special Service
Pet Waste Removal • Natural & Holistic Pet Food Delivery
Customer Service & Sales:
[email protected]
Toll Free:
(800) 418-7613
Knightdale, NC 27545
www.paw-rific.com
Serving Raleigh, Wake Forest, Knightdale, Garner, Wendell, Zebulon, Clayton
www.TriangleEastMagazine.com
August/September 2007 19
p e t
t a l e s
continued from page 19
Then, around 11, the dogs are all
brought into the facility and given a “suite”
to stay in from noon to 2 p.m.
“We close every day from noon to 2,
and everybody naps,” Kaye said. “Then we
come back, put the day care dogs back in the
play areas and it happens all over again.”
Day care acceptance revolves around
the dog having the current vaccinations (along
with documentation for) — Rabies, Bordetella,
a fecal exam and Distemper/Parvo. Plus, they
have to pass the “meet-and-greet.”
“We take new dogs by themselves into
the play area beside where one group of dogs
is playing and we let them meet through the
fence,” Kaye said. “If the new dog acts OK
and “bows” down, like they want to play,
then we take them, on a leash, into the yard
with the group of dogs.”
If everything goes smoothly, then you
can brag to all your friends that your canine
is making his own friends at a doggie day
care called Bone Voyage (using your best
French accent, of course.)
Contact Bone Voyage at (919) 329-9892.
Pet-Sitting
Lisa Stone thought sending each of her
clients a picture of their pet with an e-mail
note letting them know how they were doing
would be a great perk to her pet-sitting business. She had no clue how much.
“My clients absolute love it when they get
a picture of their pet, no matter where they are,”
Stone, owner of Lisa’s 24 Pet Sit and Stay, said.
Stone simply snaps a quick digital photo
of their loved one, attaches it to an e-mail,
and writes in the body of the mail, ‘Dear
Mom and Dad, I’m having fun with Lisa,”
and other things like “I’m doing fine,” “I miss
you.” The letter closes with “Love, Fido” (or
whatever the animal’s name is), as if they actually logged onto the World Wide Web and
typed an e-mail with their paws.
E-mails from pets are one perk that Stone
offers in her many pet-sitting packages on her
Web site, http://lisaspetsitting.blogspot.com/.
“When deciding on what I would write
on my blog, I thought about what I’d like
to see if I was looking for a pet-sitter,” she
added about her business based out of the
Riverwood subdivision in Clayton.
The pet packages go as low as $8 (The
“Teenie Weenie” Package for birds, fish,
hamsters, gerbils and rabbits) and as high as
$50 (The “Slumber Party” package.)
“One thing I’ve learned since I started
20 August/September 2007
this business in May is that there are tons
of folks looking for overnight pet-sitters,”
Stone said. “That is why I made the slumber
party package.”
The slumber party includes tons of playtime, brushing of the pet, fresh water, food
and treats, “oodles of love and attention” and
of course, a movie — usually “Cats & Dogs”
if the owner doesn’t request a different flick
— and doggie popcorn (there really is such a
thing), if the owner OKs it.
Stone said before she agrees to sit for a
pet, she always has a 30-minute consultation
with the parents and the pet. “I like for the pet
and I to get comfortable with each other.”
to watch after God’s creatures, but she would
also drive them around — in a pet taxi.
She started Pets on the Go Taxi Service,
full time, in October of 2006. While pet-sitting, she would hear folks mention how sometimes needed extra help getting their pets to
the doctor, the groomer or even to the park.
So she looked into it, bought a Plymouth
Chrysler van for carrying around large dogs
and a Geo Spectrum for smaller dogs and
other animals. She became licensed, insured
and bonded and expanded her pet-sitting
business to also be a pet-shuttling service.
When she gets a call, for example, from
an elderly woman, who can’t get her cat to
Sherry Storrs-Casanova, owner of Pets on the Go Taxi Service, smiles at her own
dog, Fowler, who loves to pose for marketing photos in the business’ small taxi.
FYI, there are only two kinds of animals
she would say “no” to watching over —
snakes or spiders. But then again, she would
say “yes” if she didn’t have to touch them.
Pet-sitters are the most popular pet day
care options for TEM folks. Along with Lisa’s
24 Hour Pet Sit & Stay, (919) 553-7509, there
are: Two Paws Up Pet-Sitting, also in Clayton,
(919) 553-2777; and two others in Garner:
Day by Day (Home and Pet-Sitters), (919)
779-3670; and Happy Tails Pet-Sitting Service (919) 553-4181. There is also Your Pet’s
Friend Inc. in Willow Springs, (919) 5776552. Each service pet-sits in different areas.
Call to see if your area is included.
Pet Taxi
After being a pet-sitter for the past 15
years, Sherry Storrs-Casanova decided to expand her business. Not only would she drive
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the groomer, she heads to her home, places
her cat in a cat carrier (all animals ride in
either carriers or crates) and taxis it off to the
groomer, and then home again.
“We have taken care of a myriad of
God’s animals so far,” Storrs-Casanova said.
“Birds, gerbils, rabbits, iguanas, dogs. I even
had a request to clean out the cage, feed and
water a rat one time.”
The rat didn’t need a taxi, by the way,
just a pet-sitter. But if he had, the taxi would
have been right ready.
“I love what I do,” Storrs-Casanova
said. “And I have that trust factor with my
clients. I care for them like I would care for
my own babies.”
Pets on the Go Taxi also does 30-minute
consultations before taking on a new pet. For
more information, and for areas it serves, call
(919) 696-3169.
Triangle East Magazine