Luxury pet boarding facility opens in Butte
Pet boarding in Butte has headed in a whole new direction.
Kirsten Martin recently launched R&R Pet Resort, a luxury boarding facility that offers patrons several ways they can pamper their pooch -- or their cat, lizard or bird.
Instead of a kennel, why not offer your furry companion his or her own private room?
Martin said R&R features various accommodations, ranging from small rooms that measure 5 feet by 8 feet to 10x10-foot family suites.
But the private rooms aren’t just a novelty. Instead, Martin said, the rooms are for the comfort of the animal and can reduce stress and anxiety while their owners are away.
“They aren’t nose-to-nose,” said Martin. “When they’re in their rest time, they actually get down time … When they eat their meals or their treats, it’s private for them – it’s not an eating competition.”
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But a stay at R&R isn’t just about solitude – it’s also about play.
The facility is equipped with a fenced, private yard where dogs are taken out every hour-and-a-half to every two hours for a 30-minute playtime with an assigned group of “like-minded dogs,” Martin said. The groups range from “senior sweethearts,” who just want to sit back, relax and get the occasional pat on the head, to energetic playful pups.
“They get a lot of interaction,” said Martin. “They are not just kenneled.”
To group the dogs, Martin said, staff gives each new client a size and behavioral assessment. The assessment involves playing with the dog to see how they interact with staff, passing the dog in front of another dog’s room to test their reaction and slowly introducing the animal to a small group of dogs.
If the animal is dog-aggressive, they get individual playtime with staff only. However, the facility does not accept human-aggressive dogs, Martin said.
The yard, meanwhile, is made of dog-safe turf, which is short-enough that the dogs don’t eat it, and hearty enough that they can’t dig holes.
Martin added that dogs are social animals and can offer each other a unique form of play that their human companions can’t quite muster. Humans don’t wrestle, she said, and they aren’t very fast when it comes to a game of chase.
“There’s things that dogs can do for other dogs that humans sometimes just can’t,” said Martin.
“It’s fun to watch them interact, it’s pretty entertaining,” she added.
In addition to overnight boarding services, R&R offers long-term boarding, daycare, nail trimming and ear flushing, and toys, bedding and bowls for clients who request them.
“We provide everything but food and treats,” said Martin, noting that staff likes to use the same food dogs eat at home.
Future plans for the facility include grooming services and an indoor playroom where Martin wants to add ramps and a ball pit for days with hot or cold weather.
Martin, a Butte native, recently moved back to the Big Sky State from Idaho, where she lived with her husband.
“I wanted to be back … I missed Montana people,” Martin said, explaining the move.
Martin, 32, said she got the idea for R&R in Idaho where she boarded her animals in a similar facility. She’s a self-described dog, horse and cat lady, and although she didn’t say it, Martin seemed to have a soft spot for R&R’s senior sweethearts.
“They like to sunbathe and just hang out and get loved on,” she said.
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