WOODSTOCK – A specialty doggy day care could be coming to Woodstock.
Certified dog trainer and longtime kennel owner Connie Ashley plans to move her Huntley-based business, The Master Suite, to Woodstock and has requested a lot setback variance from the McHenry County Zoning Board of Appeals to allow her to do so. The board will consider the request at its Aug. 24 meeting.
Ashley has run the business for the past 12 years in a Huntley subdivision but wants to move to Woodstock to a property that is appropriately zoned for kennel use, where there will be more room and privacy for the dogs she boards.
The Woodstock location would be at 3720 Gee Road, on a 5-acre property.
“We never want to run into a situation where a neighbor decided they didn’t like what we were doing,” she said. “Right now we board 15, and the goal is to grow the business and average 30 a day.”
The environment at The Master Suite isn’t like a traditional kennel, Ashley said. Ashley runs the business with her husband and sister, who both live in the home with her.
The housing area for the dogs is in the 2,000-square-foot basement where each dog has its own 5-foot- by -5-foot stall, and there is a family room area where the dogs can play freely as well, according to planning documents.
“We want to provide people a safe, stress-free place for a dog to stay while their owners are away,” she said. “Kennels are very stressful for dogs. I want to provide a place where clients have a different option. We never close, because it’s our home. The employees are family. We all live here.”