Pampered pooches are barking about the benefits. Ray Schneider perks up as he talks about his new pet care facility, with extras ranging from an indoor swimming pool to a day care and styling and massage services. Schneider is investing more than $3 million to open Red Dog Pet Resort & Spa, a 27,000-square-foot facility, on Tuesday (along Madison Road at the former Oakley Drive-In site. The business includes 44 “themed suites” for dogs with flat-screen TVs equipped with DVDs and furniture ranging from cherry-wood beds to custom-made beds with special fabrics. It also offers 32 condos for cats.
“I’ve built a place where the owners themselves would go and stay,” says Schneider, 57. The newly built facility on 6 acres boasts plenty of natural light, a special system to recirculate air every 10 minutes, a 3-acre walking park and a Nuvu sound system that pumps music throughout rooms, hallways, the lobby and even a covered outdoor canopy.
Schneider says Red Dog offers “unique” services mainly for dogs that start at $24 per day and $16 a day for cats. He said it also will take extra steps to meet pets’ dietary needs. “My goal is to make sure people feel comfortable knowing their pets are being taken care of and they have someone they can rely on when they leave town,” he says. Good demographics also prodded Schneider to build the facility. He said there are more than 100,000 homes within a 5-mile radius of Red Dog.
Red Dog’s opening comes as more Americans own pets and are spending more on them. Schneider says pet ownership in Cincinnati is on par with the U.S. average. The number of U.S. households with pets grew to 68.7 million in 2006, up 12.4 percent from 2001, the American Veterinary Medical Association said last week. The trade group said Americans spent $24.5 billion on veterinary care for pets last year, up from $21.6 billion six years ago in inflated-adjusted dollars.
Schneider owns Red Dog Pet Resort & Spa with his wife, Patti. He hopes to attract pet owners from Hyde Park, Oakley, Kenwood, Madeira and other areas. “The essence of my business is to take care and serve that unconditional love that both the pets and pet owners give to each other,” Schneider says.
