The full-time residents of For the Love of Dog are, left to right: Kaylee (recently passed) Tilly, Granby is the little one, and Spaghetti is the big girl. Courtesy Photo

Local doggy care made easy

Living with a dog has endless rewards.

Your dog becomes part of your human family, recognizing thousands of years of an evolving dog-human relationship.

Often loving, a dog can be easier to love than another person and one of the thrills of living with any kind of dog is the affection they bring out in us.

For the Love of Dog is a dog boarding and walking business located in Crysler and is owned and operated by Nate Dumoulin and his wife Janet.

Our dogs go everywhere with us and from time to time we have to leave them behind for a short period.

Leaving your best friend and family member with someone else can be stressful unless you are very comfortable with the person and place where your dog will be staying while you are away.

Those rare moments are what help inspire Dumoulin to start up his home-based business.

The business offers a unique environment for a dog that needs to be left behind with a sitter for a day or two. There are no cages, and the dog spends its time in a home environment.

“I started it in April 2019,” said Dumoulin.

His love of animals had always been a part of his life.

He said, “This was an opportunity to do what I liked best, and I wanted to provide an in-home solution for people with dogs.”

He explained, “At the time when I started this, we had four dogs at home and anytime we wanted to travel or go away for a weekend, we could never find any place to leave our dogs in a home setting. Back then, the closest place to leave our dogs was in Barrhaven. So, I thought why not start something up here.”

He started up For the Love of Dog with simply offering to walk dogs for people.

“I started from the ground up by just walking dogs. Then Covid hit and we were shut down entirely and people did not want people in their homes, so I had to start to shift my business toward something that was going to be more friendly for those people who did not want people in their home.”

At that point, Dumoulin started up his doggy day care including overnight and full-time services.

“It is cage free. It is not a kennel setting. When a dog comes here for day care or for overnights, they are never locked up in a cage, ever. The dogs can sleep whenever they want even in bed with us. It is important for us to have a place for our own dogs where they are comfortable, and I wanted to offer the same situation to others.

I would never want to go somewhere for a week to enjoy myself knowing that my dog was in a cage for that same time.”

Overnight clients are restricted to a maximum of five dogs at one time.

“Usually there have been three dogs for overnights. For day care I cap myself at 10.”

Dumoulin has split his back yard so that there is a fenced in area for the dogs to exercise and play in.

“People are happy with an environment where their dog is safe and gets to interact with other dogs during the day.

Dumoulin does interview with a prospective dog and its human partner.

“I do an interview before I take a customer on. I go to the person’s home and meet their dog, or they come here and meet my dogs and play and run around a bit.

I look at what their dog is doing and look for any form of aggression from them.

It does not always work out.”

He wants to see what their dog is like and if they feel comfortable being with him.

Looking after his clients enables him to love his work.

“If I get to hang out with dogs every day, I am in heaven.”

You can connect with For the Love of Dog through their Facebook page, or you can book a spot on their web page at www.ftlod.ca.

For the Love of Dog is located at 25 Station Road in Crysler.

If you would like to have a light shined on your business, please contact us at: editor@etceterapublications.ca or call us at 613-448-2321.