“It’s definitely a market that isn’t saturated yet,” said Cody Osborne of Camp Bow Wow, which opened a franchise on Austell Place a little over a year ago.
Steve Neagus, Bow Wow’s owner, and Luis Martinez, who runs City Dog Lounge on Vernon Boulevard, both said the two facilities that opened in the last four months near the waterfront haven’t drawn customers away.
Most attribute the success of pet-care facilities to the Queens West development, which has brought several skyscrapers to LIC in recent years. As the new waterfront apartments fill up, the dog population is burgeoning, causing some to dub the neighborhood “Dog Island City.”
There are an estimated 1,000 canines in the Queens West complex alone, and developers are going out of their way to welcome more. AvalonBay, the company that runs the Avalon Riverview tower, set aside a prime piece of real estate — a corner unit with sweeping views of the Manhattan skyline — for a pet-care facility and signed a 10-year contract with an entrepreneur named Bruce Barlin.
Barlin, who previously ran a pet-care business in Jackson Heights, opened Pooches Sport & Spa in late 2009 and said the new facility is a big draw for prospective residents.
“[Avalon] realized they had to get dog-friendly in order to be competitive,” he said.
Daycare costs can add up quickly — the going neighborhood rate is $25 or more per day — but that isn’t dissuading people from sending their pups to the sitter.
Those who run the centers say the service is popular because people want their dogs to socialize and exercise.
“Dogs come home exhausted,” Barlin said — which means their humans can come home at night and relax.
The daycare centers in LIC all feature cage-less “playpens,” where dogs can romp about together. Dog Island City, which opened four months ago on 50th Avenue, even has a miniature treadmill for dogs.
“They know the concept: You have to run, and the more you run, the more cookies you get,” said owner Lidia Lozovsky.
Fran Cimino, who has lived in the City Lights building for four years, said she has noticed a change in her dog, Bodhi, since he started going to daycare.
“For the first couple of years, I would just have him walked,” Cimino said. “Now he’s much more sociable. For his 11 years, he acts pretty spry.”
Some pet owners also say their dogs suffer from separation anxiety, which is eased by being around other canines and people.
In case personalized care and all-day stimulation isn’t enough to draw customers, LIC’s dog facilities seem to be one-upping each other when it comes to fancy amenities.
Camp Bow Wow has webcams situated around the doggie playpens, so owners can watch their pals from the office or the Caribbean. And for dogs who spend the night, the lights are turned down low and classical music is played.
Pooches, in contrast, claims fame with its “Pet-a-potty” — a fake fire hydrant atop a patch of artificial turf, which drains directly into the sewer. Read Entire Article

Tori Spelling love’s PETaPOTTY-Thank you Tori and Stephanie Pratt uses it too!

Animal Planet's latest and greatest in products for your pet

From an airline catering exclusively to pets, to GPS tracking units for your dog and robotic litter boxes for your cat, “Your Pet Wants This” showcases the latest and greatest in products for your pet.

T.J. Simers
February 8, 2009
Los Angeles Times

From New York — Page 2 here at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, which begins Monday, but first the PETaPOTTY party.

Try saying that three times in a row while having a drink and watching the floor to avoid stepping on a Shih Tzu.

The Celtics are playing across the street in Madison Square Garden, while here at the Fashion Show on the 18th floor of the Hotel Pennsylvania, hundreds of guests and dogs are dressed alike, Eli the Chihuahua wearing a wonderful silver satin fabric shirt, full vest, of course, with black and clear rhinestones.

Eli the Chihuahua, by the way, is better dressed than Myung J. Chun, The Times’ videographer, who is here to document the next few days. Chun, told he’d be shooting video of the dogs in New York, initially thinks he’s going to a Clippers game.

AIRFARE TO New York, cab ride, hotel room, expensive restaurants and there is no prize money at Westminster. Yet there are more than 2,400 dogs here representing 170 breeds competing for ribbons and an ego boost — Choking Dogs for some reason not recognized as an official breed, but still California with 265 entrants to lead all states.

A beagle, Uno, won last year. A Brussels griffon, Lincoln, is favored this year. A writer, Charlotte Reed, quotes Uno extensively in something called “the blue boo,” and people think Uno is special.

There are 1,000 dogs staying in the Pennsylvania, and while I wonder who is checking into these rooms next week, there’s no containing the excitement of Jerry Grymek, who is wearing a name tag that identifies him as hotel “doggie concierge.”

“We welcome you with open paws, ha, ha,” Jerry says, obviously wanting to be a doggie concierge ever since he was a little pup.

“Oh, let me show you our doggie spaw — ha, ha,” he says, “where everyone is considered a VIP, ha, ha, very important pooch.”

There isn’t a blade of grass or a tree within miles of here, “but we have a loo downstairs for our guests with separate his and her areas because everyone gets their privacy,” says the concierge.

"Great news everyone. On the CSN Blog, They’ve been HUGE advocates of the

Pet-a-Potty Named Top Pet Product of the Year on About.com’s ‘Weird News’

“We’re big proponents of items that serve a purpose and also have a sense of humor and that’s we’re excited that About.com’s ‘Weird News’ named the Pet-a-Potty ‘the top pet product of the year.’ Author Buck Wolf included this in his ‘Weird Gift Wish List,’ a gift guide in which two other blog favorites also appeared – an Aquarium End Table and a Giant Croc Pet Bed. It’s important to chuckle more than ever these days, so it’s great when silly products like these get recognized. Great work Buck and your ‘Weird News’ Team. Also, be sure to check out this past Tuesday’s Top Ten for Ten Great Silly Gifts.” -CSN