Not your dog's kennel anymore

Webcams, toddler beds, classical music and DVDs are among the amenities that have elevated canine care in Hawaii to a new level

FIDO no longer needs to stay caged up in a kennel while you're on vacation -- or even sit at home while you're away at work.

A new range of businesses have opened up in Hawaii to cater to pet dogs, and some cats, with an approach that's more akin to a kiddie preschool than to boarding kennels.

Welcome to doggie day care, the newest trend to hit Honolulu.

The concept's already taken off on the mainland, with popular franchises such as Camp Bow Wow by Colorado-based D.O.G. Development LLC spreading across the nation. The Wag Hotel, to open next month in San Francisco, takes the business of catering to pampered pooches to a new level -- dogs staying there can go in the swimming pool and lounge in suites with sofas and high definition TV at $85 a night.

Given the state's strict quarantine laws, Honolulu's tourism industry hasn't quite reached that point of catering to the upscale canine visitor. Only the W Honolulu Diamond Head in Waikiki regularly accepts pets in hotel rooms, for an additional fee.

However, a number of entrepreneurs in Honolulu have identified a niche for canine day and overnight care.

Take the Ohana Doggie Day Care and Spa in Kakaako, for instance.

"We don't use the word kennel here," said co-owner Anna Doell. "The dogs that come here are someone's child. These dogs sleep in the bed with their parents or in the bedroom. They're not the dogs of yesteryear that slept in the backyard."

Open since May 2005, the day care on Cooke Street now has more than 1,000 registered dogs -- that is, dogs that have passed evaluation and are eligible to stay in the center.

Each dog must be accepted into the program, based on good behavior and compatibility with up to six other dogs. If there are any signs of aggression or anxiety, the dog may be rejected -- about one out of every 20.

Instead of kennels, Ohana Doggie Day Care offers the dogs an air-conditioned playpen with a slide, and a separate resting room with couches and toddler beds in a 5,000-square-foot facility. Two webcams allow "dog parents" to watch their pets playing online.

Typically, clients drop off their charge in the morning, go to work, and then pick up their pets afterward.

Pets in the City, another business on Young Street, also opened its doors in July of last year, just two months after Ohana was launched. As the name implies, it is a doggie day care targeting urban residents.

"We call it a pet spa, because we have grooming as well," said owner Starr Sutherland, who got the idea for the business from New York and San Francisco. "It's not your usual kennel because the dogs are playing all day long ... We don't refer to it as a kennel."

The space, considerably smaller, at about 1,600 square feet, accommodates between 30 to 35 dogs a day. Like Ohana, all dogs go through a screening process before being accepted.

Pets in the City's rates are comparable to Ohana Doggie Day Care's, at $15 for a half day and $25 for a full day. Depending on weight, overnight dogs cost between $25 to $35 a night.

The pooches will spend the day watching "doggie DVDs," according to the brochure, lounge on leather sofas, take naps to classical music, and get three to four walks a day.

But the business takes itself one step further by offering a Pet Taxi, which will pick up and drop off pets from Nuuanu to Hawaii Kai at a flat rate of $25 per one-way trip.

In the future, according to Sutherland, Pets in the City also will set itself apart by offering services from a pet psychic, masseuse and acupuncturist.

Ohana co-owner Michele Jim says today's pet owners -- many of them double-income couples with no children and empty nesters -- view their dogs as kid surrogates.

They're also willing to shell out dollars for their "kids."

Consumers in the United States will spend an estimated $38.4 billion on pet-related expenses this year, according to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association Inc., most of it on vet care and food, but more of it on care services and brand-name products.

Since opening up the business, Ohana Doggie Day Care has been at full capacity.

On any given weekday, there are about 50 dogs romping around in the playpen -- from dachshunds to Dalmatians, with silky terriers, cocker spaniels, golden retrievers, pit bulls and poodles in the mix. No breeds are declined, according to Doell, as long as they pass the evaluation.

When the dogs come in, they have an assigned bin with their names on it for their leashes, snacks and other belongings. The pack goes out regularly for potty breaks on a concrete lot outside.

If any of the canines act up, they get "time out" in a separate pen area, for up to five minutes. Once quarterly, Ohana prints up a report card, grading the dogs on socialization skills, obedience and willingness to share toys.

A half day of care costs $15, a full day $25 and overnight boarding begins at $30, going up according to the size of the dog. The center is open seven days a week.

Heather Manuel, a flight attendant, is also jumping into the doggie day care business -- in Waipahu.

With Tails of Hawaii Playcare & Boarding Kennel LLC, she is going to target dog owners from central Oahu to the Leeward side. The business was originally expected to open in November, but will be delayed a month because of building permit needs.

"My mission is to provide alternative provisions for pets when their owners have to be away," said Manuel, who worked for seven years at vet clinics. "Our goal is to provide pet parents peace of mind."

According to Manuel's own market research, about 56 percent of Oahu households have a pet, 40 percent of them dogs, and 19 percent of them cats.

The Hawaii Data Book indicates that the state issued about 35,600 dog licenses on Oahu last year.

Manuel received funding from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, but also used her own credit cards to launch the business.

Unlike Ohana, however, Tails of Hawaii will keep certain dogs in kennels, as needed on a case-by-case basis. But those dogs, said Manuel, will be taken out every two hours for a walk.

Manuel's most challenging task was to find a space for the business. She signed a lease for a Waipahu warehouse which, when done, will offer a 1,400-square-foot, air-conditioned playpen with a water feature, tire toys and upstairs area for smaller dogs.

There also will be a pet taxi within a five-mile radius, webcams and, later next year, a cat care center. Though the opening day has been delayed, Manuel says she's already booked up to 50 clients.

Doell of Ohana says she's not concerned about growing competition. There's plenty of room for growth in the doggie day care business on Oahu, she said.

Despite a high rent, which comprises the largest chunk of operating costs, followed by payroll and insurance, which is high for a dog day care business, Ohana has been profitable.

Ohana's goal is to one day find a space measuring 30,000 square feet or greater to expand the business and take it more upscale.

"The Wag Hotel sounds like something I would love to do," she said.