Tina Schneider wants dogs to have a good day.

She plans to see that happen when she opens her dog grooming and boarding business in Keizer this summer.

Pet Play House will open in a former boxing gym in Allen Plaza at 4122 River Rd. N. That is the complex that is home to the Keizer Chamber of Commerce and Friends of Felines.

Timing depends on permits and some remodeling but Schneider is aiming for a June launch.

‘It’s the perfect location,” said Schneider.

Pet Play House will provide doggie day care and overnight boarding. Grooming services will be available as will dog bathing. Customers can wash their dogs or pay Pet Play House to handle the chore.

She said she will have open play areas, divided to sort dogs by size. She plans “more homey” boarding spaces that don’t rely on chain-link fencing.

Schneider, a 1984 graduate of McNary High School, started down the trail of animal care after breeding dogs while raising her children.

She needed a job and started with dog care.

“I cleaned a lot of poop and got bit a lot,” she jokes.

She entered the veterinary field in 1993 and in 2010 became a certified veterinary technician. The Oregon Veterinary Medical Examiner Board confirms the licensing.

For the past six years, she has worked at Salem Veterinary Emergency Clinic but is approaching what she calls “retirement age.”

She said she has long wanted to be in the doggie day care business.

“I don’t want to punch a clock at clinics anymore,” she said. “I want to have fun and enjoy the animals.”

The dog business is “a perfect fit for me,” she said.

When she mused about the idea earlier this year, her son Cody encouraged her. He graduated with a business degree, she said. He has formed his own businesses and “is doing very well.”

The two worked to develop a business plan, researching competition in the area and assessing the demand.

Schneider found that while there are dog day cares in the Salem area, none are staffed with a veterinary technician. Wait lists for some services are long, she said.

She has a website up and running – petplayhousesalemkeizer.com – and staff hired. She is advertising a special already to build her client list – three days of day care, a bath and nail trim for $99.

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