Out ‘n About Daycare for Dogs to reopen soon

ELBURN – Barb Perington started taking her dog Bella to Out 'n About Daycare for Dogs not long after it opened in the summer of 2011. Perington, whose dog Bella is an Australian shepherd, said that dogs of that breed need a lot of exercise and things to do or they're not happy. When she found out that Out 'n About's owners Neal Jacobs and Sara Smith had two Aussies of their own, she said "that clinched it for me."

Soon, Perington was taking Bella to Out ‘n About a couple of times a week. She said the result was that Bella would come home tired and happy from her time at Out ‘n About.

However, in the fall of 2017, Out'n About Daycare for Dogs had to shut down for a while. The owner of the building in which Out ‘n About was housed decided to move his own business into the building and gave Jacobs five weeks to vacate.

“It’s been miserable,” Perington said.

She said she’s taken Bella to a couple of other places, but it’s just not the same.

Jacobs has had a few possibilities for a new place fall through, but after the first of the year, he received news that a long-term lease on a building just two doors down from his former location unexpectedly opened up. Jacobs said he anticipates being open again by mid-April.

He’s been notifying his former customers, who have been very happy about the news.

“We’re just counting the days,” Marge Anderson said.

Jacobs said he is relieved to have found another home for his clients. He said they and their dogs have become like an extension to his and Sara’s family. He said they’ve received calls, texts and emails daily since October, with people asking, “When are you opening?”

Even the owners’ dogs have been wondering. Recently, a dog from a neighborhood near the old location got loose. After looking all over for their pet, the family found the dog sitting in front of the door of Out ‘n About.

“We’ve become part of the community,” Jacobs said with a laugh. "It’s what makes it enjoyable. It’s been very rewarding.”

Jacobs explained that, for he and Smith, the purpose of a dog day care is to provide an opportunity for the dogs to socialize and interact with other dogs and for them to get enough exercise.

Before Jacobs and Smith initially opened their own day care, they visited and took their own dogs to a number of different facilities before deciding what theirs would be like. He said the main goal for them was to make sure that the dogs had a good experience and that the owners could trust them.

He explained that although every dog day care does it differently, Out ‘n About has always been cage-free. He explained that while some dogs don’t interact a lot with other dogs and others are more playful, all of the dogs, large and small, have a chance to play together during the day.

“The dogs dictate what they’ll do,” he said.

Marge Anderson said she and her husband, Al, began bringing their miniature schnauzer, Allie, to Out ‘n About when they received a gift certificate from a friend.

Anderson said that, with being in her 80s, being able to take Allie to Out ‘n About ensures that her dog gets plenty of exercise. They’ve taken her there about once a week for the past six years and boarded her several times until Out'n About closed.

“It’s the best thing we could’ve done for our dog,” she said.

Anderson said that Neal has a gift with the animals, and everyone who works there is very animal-centered. She said her dog leaps out of the car and runs to the door when they come to drop her off.

“It’s clean, we know she’ll be well-cared for, the dogs all like one another and it’s a safe place for them to play,” she said.

The daycare’s business has grown significantly over the past six years, with clients from all of the neighboring towns and more, for an average of 25 to 35 dogs a day and about 10 dogs boarded at night.