Hyde Bark Canine Strolling And Puppy Care Now Provides Domestic dog Day Care At New Play Park
HYDE PARK — After a number of years of managing a dog-walking operation out in their domestic, two South Facet citizens have moved the thriving trade right into a Hyde Park retailer and expanded it to incorporate a “boutique” canine day care provider and play park.
Hyde Bark had its comfortable opening within the historic Deco Arts Development, 5508 S. Lake Park Ave., in early January. Homeowners LeAnna Quartuccio and Brandon Elkins, who’re married and reside in North Kenwood, had been ramping as much as complete capability within the weeks since.
Canine walks and cat sitting value $15-$40 in step with hour. In a single day canine sitting is $75 in step with night time, or $95 in step with night time for in-home care.
Canine day care is $40 for a half-day and $50 for a complete day. All canine visiting Hyde Bark’s day maintain the primary time, and all canine who haven’t attended for 3 months or extra, will have to whole a loose trial consultation to gauge the canine’s talent to play with others.
For the reason that facility opened, canine “are excited to come back in; they’re satisfied to be right here and satisfied to play with their pals,” Quartuccio stated. “As a result of we’re so small, we principally have the similar canine at all times, in order that they know every different. They’re best possible pals.”
Quartuccio began Hyde Bark in fall 2015 after years of strolling canine for more than a few corporations at the North Facet. Inside of six months, Hyde Bark used to be a success sufficient for Elkins to hand over his company task and decide to the project full-time.
“We went from one canine and simply [Quartuccio] to 4 staff and me in six months,” Elkins stated. “We stepped into this now not having any concept what the hell we have been doing, and we’ve realized on our toes the entire time.”
Hyde Bark, which now has 24 staff throughout its operations, walks about 150 canine in step with day. Hyde Bark’s 3,000-square-foot play park can host as much as 55 canine in step with day; about half of that many have been being cared for Tuesday.
Credit score: Maxwell Evans/Block Membership ChicagoCanine walkers’ pay begins at about $20 an hour, whilst full-time staff obtain well being advantages, Quartuccio stated. The couple objectives to pay “over the business same old” and retain staff, as their talent units are simply as an important to the trade because the house owners’, Elkins stated.
Increasing Hyde Bark into an afternoon care facility has simplest made staff’ enter extra an important, Elkins stated.
“I all the time inform people who canine strolling is like being a nanny,” Elkins stated. The day care operation “is like being a kindergarten instructor.”
Hyde Bark’s provider obstacles duvet Hyde Park, Woodlawn and Bronzeville, because the South Facet “is such an overpassed space” for puppy care and different services and products, Quartuccio stated. Whilst she’s targeted for now on maxing out the brand new day care facility’s capability, she’s open to enlargement down the road.
“If extra retail house opens up within the construction, we’re interested by increasing this location somewhat bit,” stated Quartuccio, who lives with Elkins in North Kenwood. “However our final function can be to open a pair extra of those smaller ones, like one in Woodlawn [and] one in Bronzeville, [to create] somewhat community.”
The trade used to be licensed for town grant investment in 2020 to revive a big storage at 4534 S. Cottage Grove Ave. in Grand Side road, however plans for the gap fell via over zoning problems and the grant used to be by no means awarded, Quartuccio stated.
“We in the end simply threw within the towel and made up our minds to take a look at a smaller, extra private method” with the Hyde Park retailer, she stated. The storage on Cottage Grove used to be “nearly 3 times the scale of this, so we made up our minds to as an alternative cross with a boutique puppy day care.”
Quartuccio and Elkins put about $300,000 of their very own cash into renovating the Hyde Park house, which they hire within the historic Deco Arts Development.
They revamped a former insurance coverage place of business and parts of Maravillas, the neighboring Mexican eating place which downsized, Elkins stated.
“It’s all the time been us simply going out and caring for animals — we cross to other people,” she stated. “It’s other to have them come to our house and feature one thing skilled for them to come back into.”
Hyde Bark Play Park is open 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Friday.
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