doggie day care Archives - i Still Love Dogs

Golden Retriever Runs Away to Doggie Daycare

Riley, a 5-year-old Golden Retriever from Belmont, N.C., was determined to go to his doggie daycare center — even if his dog mom, Tonia Mosteller, didn’t take him there herself.

When Mosteller drove Riley past the Happy Dog Cafe and Daycare last Saturday, Riley started whimpering when he saw a group of dogs being walked by a staff member. Mosteller told him it wasn’t his day to visit the daycare he’s been going to most of his life.

After dropping Riley off at home before she took off to run errands, Mosteller told WBTV that as he lay on the backyard deck, the dog “was watching me carefully as I left, but I didn’t think too much about it.”

Within an hour, Riley managed to escape from the yard and walk more than a mile to the front door of Happy Dog.

“I walked outside to see if Tonia was right behind him, and she wasn’t,” the daycare’s owner, Teresa McCarter, told WBTV. “He knows the way up here because they walk him all the time, and he just decided to put himself in daycare that day.”

Riley ran inside and went directly to the area where his pals were playing.

McCarter called Mosteller to let her know of Riley’s whereabouts — and told her he could spend the day there.

“He got a free day of daycare and he worked really hard for that day,” McCarter told WBTV.

Mosteller plans to make her fence escape-proof and take Riley to Happy Dog Cafe and Daycare more often. She told WBTV his escape was “a true testimony to how much he loves Happy Dog and the staff there.”

A post on its Facebook page says the daycare “is extremely grateful that Riley made his adventure safely to your Happy Dog Cafe. We LOVE dogs and Riley’s story is proof.”

The clever WBTV news report shows Riley’s escape from a dog’s-eye view.

Photo via Facebook

Dogs Found Safe after Carjacking of Doggie Day Care Minivan

Several pet parents who’d left their dogs at a Chicago doggie day care facility yesterday could breathe huge sighs of relief this morning. The minivan transporting their dogs home late yesterday afternoon was carjacked at gunpoint, with seven dogs inside it. This morning the van was finally found, with the dogs still inside it, apparently safe and sound.

Around 4 p.m. yesterday, two armed men stole the unmarked Urban Out Sitters’ minivan as the driver was loading up the dogs, according to the Chicago Sun Times. One of the men pointed a gun at a witness who tried to stop them.

“Fifteen years in business and this is probably the most devastating thing I’ve had to deal with,” Joseph Giannini, owner of the doggie day care, told the Sun Times.

Giannini said that because his facility’s name is not on the minivan, he did not think the carjackers intended to steal the dogs.

As temperatures dropped to below zero overnight, Giannini and worried pet parents drove around Chicago, searching for the minivan.

This morning a woman in the River West neighborhood noticed a dog sitting inside a minivan outside her house for more than an hour. Worried about the dog’s safety, she called the police. Officers arrived and found that the license plates matched those of the stolen minivan.

The case is under investigation by the Chicago Police Department. In the meantime, the dogs have been reunited with their happy pet parents.

Tad Tomita, dog dad of Mochi, a 3-year-old Miniature Schnauzer who was in the minivan, told ABC News that when his wife told him yesterday their dog had been stolen, “I couldn’t comprehend what was going on. It’s so surreal.”

Tomita and his wife picked up Mochi this morning from where the minivan was found.

“She was cold but extremely happy to see us,” he told ABC News.

Photos via Facebook, Facebook

Happy Day Care Dog Puts ‘Snoopy Dance’ to Shame (VIDEO)

Until now, Snoopy was pretty much the king of the happy dog dance.

But a little pooch in a doggie day care may have just snatched Snoopy’s crown. A video of the dancing pup has gone viral after being posted on Facebook and other social media, with nearly 64 million views as of this morning.

Kevin Clancy posted the 30-second video on YouTube Saturday, with the understated title, “Excited puppy spots its owner.”

Try not to smile as this little guy hops back and forth on his rear legs as he moves his front paws up and down (a lot like a sped-up version of the ’60s dance, the “Jerk”), then starts bouncing up and down.

And just try not to re-watch it two or 20 times!