Time for School

Brinkley is a great dog. He sits. He stays. He fetches. However, about a month ago, he began getting restless during the night.

Weekends are Brinkley’s fun days. He goes on lots of car rides and hangs out on patios. He also gets to go to the dog park and go swimming. He loves the weekends and they tire him out. But by Wednesday, all the weekday time in his crate starts making him antsy. He simply doesn’t want to sleep anymore. And he makes that very clear. I would wake up constantly to this:

It makes sense. Goldens love interaction. Giving him a bone to chew on through the night couldn’t cut it anymore. So I started looking into daycare.

The problem with most daycares is that they aren’t as great as they crack them up to be. I don’t want to pay $25 for my dog to get to hang out in a “luxury suite” for 7 hours a day and get 10 minute play times every 2 hours. No thanks.

When a few people at work started talking about Benny’s Dog Resort, I tried to not get optimistic about this place being any different. I checked their website to see what Benny’s was about. FINALLY. A place where dogs get to play all day. At Benny’s the dogs arrive and immediately go outside. They play all day except from 11-1, which is lunch and naptime. At 1 pm, they go back outside until you pick them up. More perks? They have play sets specifically built for dogs. They have play pools filled with water and tennis balls. They have covered play areas for when it’s hot. They get treats called Pup Cakes.

After seeing such great things on their website, I checked their Facebook. They update it constantly with pictures of all the dogs. Some of my favorites:

I attempted to not get excited (failed) until I saw pricing. $20 a day? 10 sessions for $140? I think I can handle that. I decided I’d take Brink every Wednesday.

When I called to fill out an application for Brinkley, Benny’s let me know that each new dog has an interview. Owners bring their dogs in for a 20-minute trial to make sure a new dog isn’t overly scared or aggressive. How great.

Brinkley passed and seeing Benny’s in person made me fall even more in love with the place.

Next thing you know, it’s Brinkley’s first day of school. People at work laughed and asked if he had a new backpack. No. Did I make him a lunch? Yes.

It’s been a month of school and Brinkley loves it more and more each time. Benny’s has brought out Brinkley’s playfulness. He now goes to the dog park and is more interactive with other dogs. On school days, I can barely handle him on his leash as he runs to the door. I pick him up and he immediately collapses in the back seat. It looks something like this:

Since Benny’s, Brinkley now has a perk in the week that makes him able to get through my workweek. I now get a full night’s sleep every night and I get to know I have a happier dog. I would take him everyday if I could, but for now, I’ll continue to sacrifice a few meals out for him to enjoy his special day.

For anyone interested, here is Benny’s website: Benny's Dog Resort