Mentor planners OK Inn the Doghouse pet spa, boarding facility

A building on manufacturing-zoned land in Mentor has gone to the dogs — and cats.

Mentor Planning Commission unanimously approved Inn The Doghouse — a dog and cat day care boarding and pet spa — for a vacant 7,200-square-foot structure at 7420 Tyler Blvd.

A public hearing was held May 3 on a conditional-use permit required for the use in the M-1 district.

Two members of the neighboring Fair Trade Cigar Club, 7430 Tyler, expressed concerns about noise from the facility. The private club holds outdoor activities and barbecues during the warm weather months.

“I’d like to understand how the business is going to operate day-to-day, and if it’s going to affect us or our evening hours,”club President Gary Sutt said, noting that he is a dog lover. “During the day, it’s not so much an issue, but in the evenings, on nice days, we’re going to be outside.

“These dogs are going to go crazy when we start smoking good meat.”

Business owner Whitney Callahan, who opened the original Inn The Doghouse in Lakewood 14 years ago, said noise shouldn’t be an issue.

“We are a little unique in the fact that we are a socialized facility, so we have large yards inside and some adjacent outdoor yards,” she said. “The dogs play during the day when they’re not in their enclosures, and they’re in their enclosures overnight — which are inside — and, of course, at feeding times and things like that.

“We are open 7 to 7, Monday through Friday. We also have hours on the weekends from 9 to 11 in the morning and 5 to 7 in the evenings. Dogs would not be kept outside, outside of those hours, and they would be supervised at all times.”

She added that she has never had a complaint about the Lakewood facility, despite the dog yard being 50 feet from a KFC ordering station and close to homes. She offered to provide references.

“We are good neighbors and, you know, we want to be respectful of your business as well,” she said.

A city noise ordinance also must be adhered to, said Acting Commission Chairman Joseph Sidoti.

Callahan said an 8-foot privacy fence will keep the dogs from seeing outsiders.

The business will employ six full-time employees initially and, within two years, potentially 15 people on staggered shifts. The city administration said the number of workers would require increased parking. The site plan shows 21 spaces and at least 24 spaces are required for a pet day care or kennel/boarding use, per city code.

However, Callahan said that number wouldn’t likely be needed. She asked that abutting property she is purchasing from CEI be land banked to allow for future growth.

The commission added the request as a condition of approval.

Along with “luxury pet spa services,” the Lakewood facility offers and “Doggy Cam,” enabling owners to keep an eye on their animals.

Callahan hopes to open in Mentor by the end of summer.

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