Doggy daycare coming to Barcroft Plaza
Playful Pack, a place offering dog daycare, boarding, and washing, is coming to Barcroft Plaza.
The facility is expected to open at the end of the summer or early fall, depending on when the permits are approved, said Tyler Parker, a co-owner of Playful Pack LLC, along with his wife Alyssa and his brother, Scott.
Playful Pack is moving into a 3,000-square-foot space at 6345-C Columbia Pike previously occupied by Chico’s Natural Pet Market. Chico’s moved a couple of spaces over to 6345-A.
Dog daycare will be available 13 hours a day, seven days a week, in a cage-free setting with personalized attention, fun activities, and supervised playtime. Dog owners will be able to monitor their pets on a webcam and social media.
There will be separate rooms for big and small dogs. Before dogs can be admitted, they will under go a free assessment to see how they interact with humans and other dogs.
A friendly dog, like a golden retriever, will get along fine in a room filled with other dogs, Parker says, while a rescue dog might have more trouble adjusting.
Once they pass the evaluation, dogs can be dropped off anytime without a reservation.
Reservations are required for boarding. Playful Pack offers 16-square-foot cages plus a cage-free area supervised by staff overnight.
Typically, Playful Pack facilities can board about 16 to 20 dogs per night and many more – 40 to 50 – during busy times such as Christmas and spring break.
Prices vary among locations. Parker hasn’t finalized the prices at the Playful Pack in Barcroft Plaza but expects daycare will be $39-$44 a day, boarding will be $69-$74 a night including daycare, and dog washing will be $25. A sign on the building says the first two days of daycare are free.
The first Playful Pack opened in Maryland in 2016. There are now five locations in Virginia, three in Maryland, and one is under construction in D.C. There is also one in Charleston, S.C., operated by a franchisee; another franchise location is coming to Kansas City, Mo.
Tyler Parker’s family has three dogs, two cats, and two daughters.
Thank you so much for this terrific article.
What I liked best about it was the last sentence which listed the two daughters after the three dogs and two cats, which seems to emphasize how much Tyler and his family love dogs.
I’m thinking I will need to adopt my own dog for my family to utilize the services of this wonderful small, and growing, business.