LMDDC COVID-19 RESPONSE PAGE
Love My Doggy Day Care Update
June 26, 2021
June 26, 2021
On behalf of all the staff at Love My Doggy Day Care (LMDDC), we would really like to thank you for your continued support, loyalty, and cooperation as we navigated through this pandemic. This feels like the day I’ve been waiting for, for so long! We would like to welcome you back inside the lobby! We love seeing your pups every day and nothing makes us happier knowing that we are a trusted partner in your pets' journeys. I am excited to see your faces and hopefully hear about your fun plans for the summer.
We will continue to follow state and local guidelines for businesses and CDC guidelines for disease control. We have lifted the mask mandate inside Love My Doggy Day Care, but of course you are welcome to wear a mask if you are more comfortable doing so, and we request that you do so if you are not fully vaccinated. As always, safety first at LMDDC!
You will notice the "No Parking" signs in our parking lot have been removed, the red gate at the front door has been taken down, the traffic cones are gone, and so is the line of cars. We hope this is a welcome change for you! We do understand that some of you may have enjoyed the convenience of the curbside drop-off/pick-up. While we strive to make your experience positive in every way, for those that will miss it, we appreciate your understanding that we are unable to sustain the curbside service without perpetuating a disruption to the other business in the building. Also, we would like to thank everyone in advance for your patience while we re-acclimate back to our previous procedures.
As a reminder, Day Care drop-off time is between 7:00 AM – 9:00 AM, Monday – Friday. This allows us to establish appropriate play groups with the least disruption to the dynamics of the group.
Please keep in mind that there will be lots of people and dogs trying to move through the lobby in a short amount of time. It’s important that everyone remain diligent when handling their dogs. Your dogs must be on leash and under your control at all times. Please practice good dog etiquette and avoid dogs greeting in the lobby, or even while walking up or down the walkway to the front door. Our dog handlers will do their best to move your pup quickly back to the day care space.
Love My Doggy Day Care Leash & Lobby Etiquette
Use a leash – your dog should always be leashed while on LMDDC property. Even dogs with excellent recall can be spooked or upset by another dog, animal, or person. A leash gives you and us the control needed to keep your dog and others safe. The best leashes are sturdy, 4-6 feet in length – reconsider the use of retractable leashes.
Be respectful – The importance of respecting other people and other dog's space cannot be understated. Don’t allow your dog to interact with other individuals or other dogs. Some dogs can be leash-reactive or protective while on leash.
Pay attention – Ultimately, you are responsible for your dog’s behavior and actions. Your dog should stay by your side at all times, don’t allow them to wander off-leash in the parking lot, and make sure they aren’t approaching other dogs on our walkway.
As always, if you are not feeling well, or your dog is not feeling well, please stay home. But otherwise, we look forward to seeing you & your pup!
One last note – I hope this is the last of our “COVID-19 Update” series of alerts. But whatever the future brings, if nothing else, these 16 months have demonstrated the amazing fortitude of this community, and your friends and family here at LMDDC deeply appreciate all you have done to support us through the worst of it. We are proud to be here to serve your pet-related needs. Thank you for choosing Love My Doggy Day Care!
As always, please reach out with any questions.
September 1st, 2020
A date for re-opening our lobby to clients is still unclear. We will continue to follow state and local guidelines for businesses and CDC guidelines for disease control. We will continue all our social distancing practices at LMDDC.
- Curbside pick-up & drop-off only.
- No clients permitted to enter the building.
- Please wear a mask when interacting with staff.
We are starting to rebuild and regain a sense of normalcy at LMDDC. We are making improvements to our protocols and infrastructure to make LMDDC even safer for all our staff, customers, and furry friends. Hopefully we can all get to a better place soon.
Now that our daily day care check-in volume has begun to increase, we are returning to our RESERVATIONS-ONLY policy. Please NO WALK-INS. Moving forward we are requesting that you make reservations for all day care services in advance.
This policy is effective immediately.
Day Care and Boarding reservation requests can be made 3 ways:
- at our website MAKE YOUR PLAYDATE NOW
- by phone call 844-705-LOVE (5683) or
- send us an email directly ([email protected])
If you have a current package plan, you are welcome to make auto-recurring reservations. Please email or call to book auto-recurring day care reservations. IMPORTANT: If you previously had a recurring day care schedule set-up with the front desk we still need you to rebook your desired recurring days.
Packages offered:
- Half day (10) day package
- Half day (15) day package
- Full day (10) day package
- Full day (15) day package
- Full day (30) day package
As a reminder, Day Care drop-off time is between 7:00 AM – 9:00 AM, Monday – Friday. This allows us to establish appropriate play groups with the least disruption to the dynamics of the group. Day Care is also offered Saturday, 8 AM – 5 PM.
June 5th, 2020 -
I hope you are all enjoying the turn in the weather, and finding ways to take advantage of the sunshine! I know this is the week that you have come to expect the announcement of our Extended Summer Sunday hours. But this is sure a year unlike any other. At this time, due to the sustained lock-down situation, we are still not open for regular hours on Sundays. The boarding demand has been near zero for these many weeks, and while we are monitoring closely and expecting that some folks will venture out with the unofficial start of Summer upon us, the uptick is yet to be realized. When/if this comes to fruition, we will most likely start with our “standard” 9 AM – 1 PM Sunday hours, and perhaps phase into our Extended Summer Sunday Hours later in the season. We can still accommodate pick-up’s and drop-off’s on Sundays, so please don’t worry if you do have a boarding reservation that requires a pick-up or drop-off on a Sunday – but we are generally doing this by appointment, and will reach out to confirm a time in advance. Please stay safe and healthy, and feel free to reach out with questions of course. Thank you!
#BarkOutLoud
May 8th, 2020 -
We hope this email finds you all safe and healthy! We have been getting some questions regarding pets and COVID-19. There is so much information “out there” that it is easy to get concerned or confused. The management team at LMDDC has been participating in every available webinar we can, hosted by elite experts ranging from disinfecting/air purification engineers, to veterinarians, to animal lab supervisors, to pet industry advisors, and more, who specialize in these sort of things. Additionally, we are staying very, very close to any updated guidance from sources such as the CDC and the AVMA (American Veterinary Medical Association), and the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE). The large bulk of the guidance is focused on protocols to follow with dogs from COVID-19 positive households. (As you know, we are not allowing in dogs from any households with infected members.) So, to help answer the questions related to the more recent news around pets, we wanted to summarize and share What We Know Today.At this time, there is no evidence that companion animals, including pets, can spread COVID-19.
The scientific community is aligned that the current spread of COVID-19 is a result of person-to-person transmissions. Pets have not been associated with the spread to humans anywhere in the world.The scientific community is of course still learning about this virus, but it does appear as if there are some situations in which it can spread from people to animals. There have been some rare reports of virus detection in companion animals you may be aware of. There were two dogs from separate households in China, but in North America, there were two cats from separate households in NY, and there has been one recent report of a dog (a pug) in North Carolina. In each of these cases, the animals presented mild-to-moderate symptoms and fully recovered, and in each of these cases, they were exposed with close contact to humans who were positive for the virus. Even the large animals you may have heard about (the tigers in the zoo in the Bronx) are reported to have been exposed to humans (zoo staff/animal handlers) who were positive for the virus. These have been very rare, and again, there is no evidence of the animal being a source of spread of the virus. By far, the greatest risk of COVID-19 exposure comes from person-to-person. (We are of course following all CDC guidelines / protocols for our staff and clients!)We hope this helps, and we thank you for your continued support and entrusting us with the care of your precious pet family members. We continue to operate and care for our pups with all mitigation protocols in place and our confidence is as high as ever that your pups, and your family, are safe with us. If you have any further questions please do let us know. Thank you!
April 27th, 2020 -
Dear LMDDC Friends & Family, We did it! GoFundMe has awarded Love My Doggy Day Care a $500 grant for a successful small business relief campaign. Thank you all again - and thank you to GoFundMe - for the amazing support. #DogPeopleRule #BarkOutLoud #ForTheLoveOfDogs #LMDDC #smallbusinessrelief
It hasn’t been easy for any of us. Like so many, we are struggling, but we remain open for business, and that is a blessing. Thank you for your ongoing support! Getting to take care of the pups is our therapy! And, thank you for asking for this. We have set up a *strictly voluntary* donation campaign to help support LMDDC during this crisis. GoFundMe has initiated a small business relief program where it will provide a matching donation of $500, so we are hoping to be able to take advantage of this opportunity. Thank you for your generosity. Here is the link if you would contribute.
On March 20th, 2020, we received Governor-approved guidance from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement. Businesses such as Love My Doggy Day Care *ARE* considered essential, and may stay open.
“The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania recognizes the critical role boarding kennels, doggie daycares, shelters, sanctuaries, and rescues play in ensuring essential workers and at risk individuals have a safe place to house dogs and in protecting their currently housed dogs, staff and volunteers, and the community they serve, during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The guidance literally encourages doggy day care facilities to continue operations, but the decision is a business-by-business decision.
You may find the guidance here if you would like to it.
As always, please do not bring your dog if s/he is sick, or if s/he is in a COVID-19 positive household. Thank you.
Changes you can expect:
- We will be doing “curbside” drop-off and pick-up only during normal check-in and check-out hours. This includes 7 – 9 AM and 5 – 7 PM. This will reduce the number of people in the lobby at once. We will continue to practice the social distancing protocols already put in practice.
- In order to eliminate reasons for you to need to come inside, we are going to temporarily require you purchase a package. We will temporarily have 3-day packages available, and we will continue to offer our 10, 15, and 30-day packages. When it is time to re-up your package, we will send you an electronic invoice that you can pay from your personal device. We understand you may have to come inside to purchase your initial package. Please note that special “stimulus” promotional rates will be offered for these packages. There will not be a limit on how many you can buy, but they will be non-refundable except under very extreme circumstances (the death of a pet, for example).
- Because we are expecting a reduced quantity of dogs in the building, and people’s schedules are not “normal” right now, we are temporarily waiving the “reservations only” policy. If you need services and are an existing client, you are welcome to bring your fur baby in without a reservation.
- If you have friends or family who need help with dog care, and are not existing clients, provided they can supply the necessary vaccination documentation, they are welcome to bring their dog to us. Please understand these pups may not be integrated into the play groups, but we are able to help make sure people who need care for their pets can get it.
- We will be closed on Sundays. Due to the travel restrictions and other mitigation approaches in place, our boarding demand has been extremely low. Given that we offer no other services other than boarding pick-up’s & drop-off’s, we will temporarily suspend our Sunday business hours. You can absolutely make boarding pick-up and drop-off appointments for specific times on Sundays directly with Lisa or Bryl (managed through the Front Desk staff), but we will not keep regular hours or staffing levels for the time being, until the demand returns.
