When entering Joey’s Bed and Bones, located off Pendleton Run Road, it is immediately apparent that dogs feel at home there.
Maggie Brown is the owner and operator of the boarding, training, and doggie day care business. Brown is no stranger to the workings of dog management: she owned and operated Red’s Boarding in Davis, before she moved away from the area for a time.
After personal tragedy struck, Brown came back to Davis to reinitiate what she does best: working with dogs. “As a person that loves dogs, even when I was a little girl, I always had this list of all the dogs I wanted to have in my head, and one of the ways I get to do that is fostering, but also this gives me a way to pretend own all of these dogs,” Brown said.
At some kennels, dogs will spend much of their time in a crate. “A lot of people come here, because there is half an acre that is fenced, and we do a lot of walks,” she said. When the dogs are not outside wrestling and running, they are allowed to roam her house, depending on the temperament of the specific dog.
New dogs to Joey’s Bed and Bones are slowly integrated into the larger pack. If she boards a dog at the house that is known to be unfriendly toward other dogs, Brown is comfortable keeping that dog separate from the others. “I call it musical dogs, I’m constantly shifting dogs around,” she said.
The rates at Joey’s Bed and Bones are $20 per day for daycare, $10 per hour for dog walking, and overnight boarding is $30 per day. Brown also offers dog training lessons for $30 an hour. “I think it’s something that will be great for the area,” she said. “Being in a rural area there aren’t a lot of options, but a lot of dogs here.” She will hold her first group obedience classes on January 11 at the Davis Gym.
The number of dogs coming in and out was slow when the business first opened, but Brown reported that July was her busiest month. She anticipates the winter will bring more visitors to the area. Weekends are certainly busy for Joey’s Bed and Bones, but Brown also makes home visits during the week to let dogs out while their owners are at work. She even boarded a dog for a month over the summer.
She estimated that at this point, her customers are 70 percent local dog owners to 30 percent visiting dog owners. Since dogs are not allowed in the lodge itself, “It seems like the Canaan Valley Resort sends clients my way, which is awesome,” Brown said.
Her passion and dedication to animal well-being goes beyond her business; she started the non-profit Animal Friends of Doggy Sods that rescues and tends to a diverse set of animals in the area. She also fosters dogs from local animal shelters.
From the sound of it, owning a dog boarding business is a dream come true for Brown. “I don’t know if everyone knows how much I love their dogs,” Brown admitted.
