Glacier K9 offers luxury accommodations
Glacier K9 owner Christie Becker holds Prince in the boutique area at Glacier K9 Resort and Spa south of Whitefish. The facility offers dog daycare and boarding, along with retail items and grooming.
Heidi Desch / Whitefish Pilot Golden retriever Glacier plays in the yard at Glacier K9 Resort and Spa south of Whitefish. The yard includes K9Grass, an artificial grass designed specifically for dogs.
A stay at the Glacier K9 Resort and Spa is a pretty pampered affair.
Dogs can lounge in their glass-door kennels watching dog TV. They can play outside in the large yard. And they can even chase after beef-flavored bubbles.
“We have everything to make it feel like they’re at home,” Christie Becker, owner of Glacier K9 said. “A lot of people think of their pets as their kids and they don’t want to leave them in a kennel. They want to leave them in a place where they’ll feel at home.”
Glacier K9, on Highway 93 south of Whitefish, aims to be a place that caters to the needs of the dogs and cats that stay or visit for the day. They have feline boarding too, with a separate space for the cats.
Becker has been in the dog grooming business for 20 years. She began her career in Bozeman and now owns the Critter Corral in Kalispell. She’s had a lifelong love of animals.
“They’re always happy to see you,” she said. “The way they look at you is unconditional love.”
Her experience as a groomer led her to want to do more with animals. So she and her husband, Jake Becker, began learning everything they could about the dog boarding business. They attended conferences and visited boarding business to learn the latest trends in the industry.
“We knew we had to do it right,” she said. “I’m excited to offer this service to the Valley.”
They purchased the 12 acres of property and then began constructing the barn-red building, putting their knowledge right into the design of the building.
The lobby contains a check-in desk along with a boutique of animal items. There’s clothes, toys, treats and pet supplies that have been hand-picked by Becker.
Cats stay in a room just off the lobby with a large window for looking out and space for them to roam on their own.
On one end of the building is the boarding suites for the dogs. Each has glass doors instead of chain-link fence and inside there are elevated beds. Some have heated floors and some windows. Outside the suites there are TVs positioned so dogs can watch the Dog TV channel, which airs programming designed for pooches.
Near the suites is a kitchen area for preparing food and medications for the dogs, including a dishwasher to sanitize food bowls. A grooming area includes two tubs.
An indoor play area runs nearly the length of the building. This serves as an area for daycare and boarded dogs to play together.
Becker said dogs must pass a temperament test to play in the area and those that do can join in on group slumber parties. There’s even a TV for movie night.
On the opposite end of the building is the area for small dogs. Keeping the smaller breed of dogs separate and safe is a priority, says Becker.
An office with windows looking into the play area allows staff to keep an eye on the dogs and there’s a caretakers quarters so the dogs can be monitored 24 hours per day.
Much of the experience when staying at Glacier K9 is tailored to the individual needs of the dog. For a border collie there’s an agility course or for a golden retriever there’s an automatic ball launcher for playing fetch. Dogs can be taken on individual walks or their owners can sign them up for snuggle times.
“We want to make them feel special and give them extra attention,” Becker said.
Outside, K9Grass has been installed instead of standard grass. The Beckers wanted a way to have the feel of playing on grass for the dogs, but in a manner that would be easier to maintain and would keep dogs from running in mud or digging holes. There’s also agility equipment and they plan to add water features to the yard.
The synthetic grass also allows for the yard to be cleaned off with water. Inside the epoxy flooring was chosen for the ease of cleaning, and the heating and cooling system was designed to operate separately in different parts of the building along with fans that can provide fresh air.
Becker said these items were chosen specifically for the building to ensure the health and safety of the pets staying at Glacier K9.
Eventually they’d like to offer classes with trainers and expand the yard for more play area. They plan to add web cams so owners can keep an eye on their pets even while away.
Glacier K9 will hold an open house on Saturday, Nov. 12 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
For more information on Glacier K9, visit www.glacierk9.com or call 755-3647.