One thing I have noticed when talking with new customers about our doggy daycare is their surprise when we talk about how nice out outside area is. Outside we have about 3000 SQFT of space for dogs to run and play, all made up of recycled sports turf. The turf we used is from an old sports stadium in Arizona! We love the turf and we are able to keep it much cleaner than traditional grass (which gets muddy), woodchips (that always smell) and gravel (that flies everywhere when dogs run). We really did put much thought into what makes an AMAZING outside play area that can hold up to a Minneapolis winter. Now that the weather is warmer we have also turned out the outside webcam so you can check out all the fun. We take the dogs outside about every hour and they all love getting the fresh air! When we were looking for buildings, finding one that could handle a large outside play area was very important to us. I am so glad that we were able to create such an amazing space!
Have a great day!
Keith
We were proud to be chosen for the cover of the St Louis Park Magazine – Pet edition. Below you can read the article that featured Pampered Pooch Playground and Bubbly Paws.
Pampered Pooch Playground
Owners: Trycia and Keith Miller
Services: Dog day care, boarding
The tale:
Trycia and Keith Miller launched their dog day-care center five years ago. They initially opened it for their beloved Bernese mountain dog named Roxy. Today the Millers manage about 95 dogs per day at the Pampered Pooch Playground. They have three separate rooms for canine frolicking, including 11,000 square feet of climate-controlled indoor space and a 3,500-square-foot outdoor area. There are also luxury suites for the extremely pampered pooch.
“Minnesota is unregulated for doggie day care, so it’s a point of concern for dog owners,” Keith Miller says. “Someone could rent any old garage and put 60 dogs in it.” The Millers do everything they can to alleviate worry. Pampered Pooch is the first dog day care in the country to have iPhone, Android and Blackberry apps so owners can watch their pups at play, day and night. There are 11 live webcams streaming from the three playrooms and regular Facebook posts and tweets. The outside play area is made with recycled sports turf, which is ecologically appropriate and, unlike gravel or Astroturf, easy to clean.
“The St. Louis Park pet business network is really supportive,” Keith Miller says. “If someone had a fire or got sick, they could bring their dogs to us or I would go work at their place to help out.” Miller stays current on developments in the doggie care world and is a fan of the “busman’s holiday”: Whenever he travels, he stops by other pet care facilities to take notes on what they’re doing right and what he would like to avoid in his own establishment. “There’s a real difference in big-city day cares,” he notes, adding many have a less than fragrant smell. 7020 Walker St.; 952.922.8183; pamperedpoochplayground.com
Bubbly Paws
Owners: Trycia and Keith Miller
Services: Self-serve or full-service dog washing, grooming
Hangers-on: Roxy the Bernese mountain dog
The tale:
Bubbly Paws is the Millers’ laidback little brother to their high-maintenance big baby, the Pampered Pooch Playground. The Millers opened Bubbly Paws two years ago, mainly as place to wash their own Roxy, a 100-pound Bernese whose bulk and thick hair demand an elaborate bathing process. They nabbed a light and airy space in the busy Excelsior/Grand complex and outfitted it with five elevated step-in tubs with shower hoses, a grooming room and a drying room. Customers can bathe their dogs themselves or pay a bit more for a house shampoo.
The Millers are dedicated to the St. Louis Park community and even use a locally made shampoo, which is actually a reformulated horse shampoo. “I like it because it doesn’t smell fake or overpowering,” Keith says. “I mean, I’m a guy, so I couldn’t care less about smelling like flowers.” Nevertheless Bubbly Paws’ grooming services offer plenty of bling for their canine clients, including toenail polish and in one unusual case, a pink polka-dot dye job.
The couple loves the tight-knit animal owning community in St. Louis Park. “People know each others’ dog’s names. Everyone goes to the Dakota dog park and people recognize each other [from the dog park],” Keith Miller says. “I’ve seen love connections happen here. Seriously, if you were a single guy, why wouldn’t you get a dog?” Miller dreams about opening a pet rental business for hopeful single guys hanging around the dog park. In the meantime, “we just have fun here,” he says. “C’mon, it’s a dog wash!” Each month Bubbly Paws gives back to support a different pet rescue organization, donating $5 from each bath, and hosting creatively awesome occasions like doggie yoga and doggie happy hour. 3730 Grand Way; 952.657.5300; bubblypaws.com
Pet Friendly SLP
We also provided St Louis Park Magazine a list of some of the pet friendly businesses in St Louis Park:
Primp
Hosts fundraisers for a local pet rescue
1628 West End Blvd.; 952.303.3791; primpyourself.com
Lululemon
Stop in with your dog and get a treat
1639 West End Blvd.; 763.545.9069; lululemon.com
McCoy’s Public House
Dogs can hang out and get treats on the patio
3801 Grand Way; 952.224.9494; mccoyspublichouse.com
Yum!
Free house-made doggie treats
4000 Minnetonka Blvd.; 952.922.4000; yumkitchen.com
The Four Firkins
Browse the local beer selection with your discerning pooch
5630 W. 36th St.; 952.938.2847; thefourfirkins.com
Galaxy Drive-In
Bring your pooch while you enjoy a superb burger
3712 Quebec Ave S.; 952.277.7777; galaxy-drivein.com
Frattallone’s Ace Hardware
Great nosing around for dog and man (or woman)
5025 Excelsior Blvd.; 952.456.6630; frattallones.com
Filament Lighting
This business provided the lighting for Bubbly Paws
5007 Excelsior Blvd.; 952.926.5007; filamentlighting.com
Trycia was featured talking about Pampered Pooch Playground and Bubbly Paws Dog Wash in the latest edition of Pet Age magazine (an industry publication). You can read the story below (click the image to make it bigger).
Fox 9 stopped out to Pampered Pooch Playground to talk about a new canine cancer study.
Have you checked out the new painting in our lobby by the super talented Adam Turman? We love this new artwork and think it dresses up the entry way featuring the Stone Arch Bridge. We also have some of Adam’s work hanging up in our house. Adam’s work is featured all around town, like outside Butcher and The Boar in Minneapolis. Once we found out that Adam’s dog, Jack, came to play, Trycia quickly send an email to him and the process started.
Hope everyone has a good day!
Keith
My photography skills might not be quite as good as Tiko’s mom’s, but I tried!
During the holidays our we always have lots of doggy hotel guests staying over and it is always a busy time for all of our employees, and I can’t thank them enough for all of their hard work.
Last night one of our night cleaners was sick, so I decided I would pick up the slack, rather than have everyone else pitch in and help out. Cleaning at the PPP is actually a pretty good workout with the vacuums, hoses, scrubbers, etc… One of our good friends dogs, Tiko, was staying over and the minute he saw me he made it known he wanted to help me clean. So Tiko walked alongside everything I did, it was almost like he was inspecting my work! HA! Tiko’s mom is a good friends of Trycia’s and just started her own photography business. She takes some great pictures that you can see on her website…
Hope everyone had a great holiday!
Keith
While I was learning about blogging, the pugs were having their own meeting at doggy daycare!
I don’t know if I consider myself a professional blogger, but i attended the Minnesota Bloggers Conference yesterday and I had lots of fun and learned some great new things. When I first walked in, it was like the first day of school all over! Where do you sit? Who are your friends? I was amazed with how many bloggers there are in the Twin Cities and the wide range of blogs!
As you might have guessed, social media plays a huge part in our businesses and in our personal life. All of the speakers were great, but I was talking to a guy that owned a small business and he was asking how we value our Facebook fans, and what the ROI was for each fan. This is when I realized that he did not understand social media one bit. My eyes started to glaze over when he was asking how to make money on Facebook for his business. I responded with “We will never put a price tag on our fans or customers, people fan us because they like us”. You could tell he was just so confused. Oh well..
There were so many great sessions and I actually learned lots! You might start to see a few changes on our website soon!
Have a good weekend!
Keith
George the beagle hanging out in the Canine Cove at doggy daycare!
One of my favorite things about owning the doggy daycare is getting to know all of our wonderful customers and talking with them in the lobby. As some of you might know (or not know) the new iOS 6 software was released last night for the iPhone and there really are some cool new features like much better maps and the panoramic pictures (I still cant get it to work in the play rooms because the dogs just don’t stay still). This morning George the beagle’s dad dropped him off for doggy daycare and he asked what I thought about the new software. I like talking to him because he is a great app designer! He also asked if we could cancel George’s reservation for doggy daycare on Friday because he no longer needs to stand in line at the Apple Store to pick up the new phone! He pre-ordered the new iPhone 5 online and the delivery date was changed so he receives it tomorrow. So what does all this have to do with Pampered Pooch Playground? Honestly I am not sure, but it was a fun story!
Have a great day!
Keith
A few weeks ago I received an email from the new St Louis Park Magazine asking if I would sit on their advisory board. I was so honored to be asked and it makes me feel like we are a true leader in the community. Today we had our first meeting and it was lots of fun getting to know all the other community leaders and I learned lots about the history of St Louis Park. Yes there was talk about what a dog friendly community St Louis Park is (not everyone is aware of this). The St Louis Park Magazine is a new publication that just started in September and will be a great addition to the area! I will give you more details as they happen, but I hope to bring all the dog fun to the magazine! If you live in the area, you can subscribe for FREE by clicking here!
Have a good night!
Keith
