My Biz: Enriching the lives of pets

MARION — On a quiet, wintry Tuesday morning, a visitor gets an enthusiastic welcome from two clients at Dog Star Enrichment Pet Care.

“You’re OK,” Chavis told Cooper, an adult silver Lab, and Grandma Tilly, a miniature Australian shepherd who, despite her name, is 10 months old. “Go play. I’ll take you on the treadmill later.”

After years of dog-walking experience — including on the streets of New York City — Chavis was seeking to expand her services when she opened Dog Star in November. Her goal for the business, state-licensed for dog and cat day care and boarding, is higher.

“It’s not just walking,” Chavis said. “We want to try to stimulate their mind and their body, so the social aspect they get, to come with their friends. We do a little bit of reinforcement training. We work with them if their owners are having a bit of an issue with, ‘He won’t sit, he won’t play,’ that sort of thing. We don’t do training itself, but we do reinforcing.”

Just like their owners, many dogs benefit from a little exercise. Cooper, the genial silver Lab, lost six pounds since starting day care, Chavis said.

“That’s due to the treadmill,” she said. “Ten minutes in the morning, 10 in the afternoon, and 10 minutes just before going home. There are different levels of enthusiasm for it. We’ve put a couple of dogs on it, and they’re just not moving. Cooper, we can’t keep him off of it.”

Moving around

Chavis, 42, worked as a corrections officer in her native North Carolina before her husband Ranjit Nair’s job took their young family to New York City.

“I wanted to do something a little part-time just to keep me busy,” she said. “I started dog walking for people in our building. It was a lot easier there — there are tons of dogs in one building, so you don’t have to go far.”

Nair’s next job brought another move, in May 2020.

“We were living in New York at the time, and we’re in the middle of COVID lockdown with two kids in an 800-square-foot apartment,” Chavis said. “It was not fun. My husband was working for Transamerica at the time, and they transferred him out.

“We bought our house (in Marion) sight unseen. We didn’t know anybody here when we moved here. We took about a year to get settled in, and then I started over,” walking dogs for their owners.

Which led eventually to Dog Star.

“We’d had the idea for a while and over the summer we just decided to pull the trigger,” Chavis said.

Services

Dog Star’s accommodations include a range of canine activities and temperaments.

There’s a large common play area, a separate boarding room with 14 kennels monitored by video cameras and two security systems, and an outdoor play area.

Cats are boarded in a separate room from the dogs, although most of Chavis’ customers book at-home visits for their cats when the owners are out of town.

The configuration and services can be adjusted for dogs’ needs.

“It’s fairly easy for most dogs, once they get used to the smell of a dog. If a dog is friendly toward other dogs, they’re just ready to play,” she said.

“If a dog doesn’t have a lot of social interaction with other dogs, it takes a little longer. Sometimes dogs just don’t like other dogs, but you figure that out pretty fast. The dogs that just don’t get along with other dogs, we don’t do day care for them, we do individual (in-home) care.”

Day care services are available Tuesdays through Thursdays. Chavis and her two part-time employees — Nair also helps out — provide in-home care and walks.

“Day care five days a week isn’t really practical,” Chavis said. “The dogs like it, but it’s not really affordable, so we offer weekday lunch visits for dogs. A lot of cats don’t like to come for boarding, so we go to the house when their owners are on vacations.”

What’s next?

Dog Star’s approach has brought results.

“I get pictures almost every day after day care,” Chavis said. “(Owners say) ‘He was so tired after day care he just relaxed all night and slept through the night.’ ”

Chavis, who also stocks pet food, treats and toys, makes Dog Star available for local rescue groups to arrange meetings between dogs and prospective adopters. She plans to add a couple of employees as the summer vacation season gears up.

“We have access to the walking trail not too far from here,” she said. “We’d like to do group walking in the spring and summer, really nice outings, and we hope to get a little pool in the back.”

Know a business that should be considered for a “My Biz” feature? Let us know by emailing mary.sharp@thegazette.com.

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