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Puppy Love, at a Price
Rebecca Kalch is the owner of Four Paws Bakery in Occoquan, Va., which makes Barkday and Bark Mitzvah cakes for dogs. (Jahi Chikwendiu -- The Post)
(Jahi Chikwendiu - Twp)
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"I think they feel guilty," said Rockx,as boxers, retrievers and pit bulls climbed up and down a child's plastic playground set, caught tennis balls and occasionally fought over a toy to the sounds of country music.
Formerly called Lake Jackson Kennels, where customers stowed their pets while on vacation, the company now provides day care to at least a dozen dogs a day.
Bristow resident Thomas Murphy and his wife take their puppy, Sir Duke Duncan, there. Murphy, 45, works as a systems engineer in Alexandria while his wife works as a technical writer in Reston.
"Me and my wife thought he needed to be social and didn't want him to stay home all by himself for eight or nine hours," said Murphy, who typically drops his golden retriever off at Waggin' Tails before boarding the train.
MaryAnn and Michael Settlemyre, who moved to a neighborhood near Manassas National Battlefield Park more than four years ago, take their chocolate Labrador to the Yappie Cuttery, a dog spa in Manassas Park.
When they adopted Bailey, they discovered he was "deathly afraid of water" -- even a puddle, said MaryAnn Settlemyre, 38. Bathing the three-year-old left the couple more soaked than their prized pooch, so they enrolled him in Yappie's canine swimming classes.
"We're the first people to take some teasing because we're taking our dog to swimming lessons," said MaryAnn Settlemyre, a Fairfax County teacher who doesn't have children.
But the couple didn't want Bailey to be terrified during a vacation to a beach or lake.
Like proud parents, they watched from behind a glass wall as obedience trainer Kim Sewell cajoled Bailey into the 40-foot-long pool during his first swim lesson.
The couple also indulge their dog with toys, expensive food and private obedience lessons. MaryAnn Settlemyre jokes that Bailey -- who was rescued from an abusive home -- is a "thousand dollar rescue dog" because they spent nearly $1,000 on an invisible fence for their back yard. Swim classes cost at least $20 a lesson. Now that Bailey has scored well on his personality evaluation, he'll start attending day care at least once a week.
"If you are going to have a dog and take care of him appropriately, it can be costly," said MaryAnn Settlemyre. "I think an animal is a luxury."
In April, Peter Perretta, owner of Yappie, transformed his grooming business into a pet resort, housing it in a fancy lodge with granite floors in the lobby. The building dwarfs the children's day care next door.
Perretta sells spa packages that include a 30-minute run on an underwater treadmill. Suites for overnight guests include beds. Yappie hosts birthday parties to which dogs can invite their closest canine pals. At the day-care center, they can watch episodes of Lassie or classic Benji movies on satellite television.
"A few years ago, I wouldn't have done it," Perretta said. "The mentality has changed in the past five years to the point where people are ready to pay the money for the service."
Of course their dogs are worth it, owners say.
"When we come home, there's nothing better," MaryAnn Settlemyre said. "He's excited to see you."
