Off the leash

At some daycare facilities, dogs have free rein outdoors and can sleep inside where they wish

04:10 PM PDT on Saturday, October 23, 2004

Laurie Lucas The Press-Enterprise

Come on, campers, let's play! Run your tail off with Mick, Sydney, Zeus and the other regulars, cool off in the wading pool, break for lunch, nap and chase balls like crazy. Your mommies and daddies have left your favorite toys and treats in your cubbies, so let's go, gang! For you overnighters, lights out at 10 p.m.

And so goes a typical scenario at Camp Ilene near Corona, where a dog's life means the head counselor is at the canine campers' bark and call. That's because Ilene Robbins owns one of the few cage-free kennels in Southern California. Set on 1.23 acres at her home on unincorporated rolling hills near Interstate 15, Camp Ilene offers outdoor doggie day care and another unusual perk: uncrated, uncaged boarding in her house.

"Ilene's is very different from every other kennel, which is why I recommend her to my clients," said Elizabeth Girard, a dog trainer in Irvine. "She interacts and runs around with the dogs, who come home tired. Some even sleep in her bedroom."

Ilene's very patient and tolerant husband Mike Casados, 51, an RTA driver, has awaken to a strange pooch's nose poked in his face.

"I've given up," he said with a laugh. "I love dogs, but Ilene has a special connection with animals. She can't bear the thought of putting them in cages."

Robbins, 52, who started as a pet sitter in 1991, has a distinctive niche in the booming pet-services industry. The veterinary and grooming, boarding and training segment grew to $16.1 billion in 2003 and expects to reach $22 billion by 2008, according to Packaged Facts. The market-research publisher reports that pet day care is the hottest growth area. It's increasingly offered at "camps" and "ranches," upscale pet "resorts," "hotels" and "spas," and 10 PetSmart stores (including one in La Jolla), but it still occurs mostly in traditional boarding kennels.

Robbins charges $15 for daycare, $30 a night and $25 a night per dog for more than one pet. All campers must be spayed, neutered and inoculated. Their owners must bring a copy of their rabies shot certificate, food and enough treats for the gang. Overnighters should pack a bed or crate (if they're used to sleeping in one); otherwise, they can flop wherever they please.

Robbins' devotion to her campers has helped build a loyal clientele. Ruthanna Bridges began bringing Turbo, her ornery Jack Russell "terrorist," to acclimate him to other dogs. "Ilene worked wonders," she said. Now he's got pooch pals, plays with the big alpha dogs and sleeps on Robbins' bed when he stays overnight.

"She's got an innate sense that comes from her heart," said Bridges, 46, a horse trainer in Irvine. "She speaks dog."

Robin Varnet owns the licensed Animal Companions, another unusual environment that gives dogs free rein inside and outside her Temecula home.

"I'm very particular whom I take," she said. "I screen the owners carefully, and I only take little and medium-sized dogs."

Boarders sack out on beds or sofas. Because she's also busy with pet sitting and house sitting, day care is limited to Wednesdays. "For some," said Varnet, "it's like dropping off their kids to be supervised and entertained."

At the year-old Grand Paw in Vista Santa Rosa, between Indio and La Quinta, 20 to 25 doggie campers, separated by size, frolic in fenced grassy yards, paddle in the pool or romp in an air-conditioned room called the Barkalounger.

"Some of the owners are gone all day working or golfing," said owner Jennifer Hamilton. "Others want their dogs to learn to socialize or release energy."

Samantha Korshin, who manages the 5-year-old Dog Ranch Bed and Biscuit in Laguna Beach, said most doggie day cares are indoors because it's hard to find land to accommodate the critters. "The day-care demand started about 10 years ago," she said.

"First it was dog walkers, then doggie parks, then pet sitters, then this."

After selling Luv Ur Pets, her successful pet-sitting business in Huntington Beach, Robbins worked with a dog behaviorist, then opened the original Camp Ilene in 1995 in Mission Viejo. She moved to Corona 1½ years ago.

"These are my kids," she said, introducing her campers. On this day they included Luna, a pit bull puppy; Zeus, a tail-wagging white German shepherd who has overcome "separation anxiety"; Amber and Jet, two Labrador retrievers; Lucy, a mutt; and Bruiser, a pampered miniature pinscher.

Robbins relies on her own trio - Zeus, an Akita; Mick, a sheltie; and Sydney, a terrier mix - to help teach new dogs old tricks to blend in comfortably.

"Fleur is so happy," said Patricia Levin, who drops off her rescue dog two or three days a week. Levin, an art history professor at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, admits she moved to Corona because of Camp Ilene.

"I don't like the idea of leaving Fleur at home alone for 12 hours. She's got a best friend there," she said. "I never have any guilty or negative feelings leaving her with someone as compassionate or as loving as Ilene."

Because there's no permit per se for doggie day care, Camp Ilene is classified as a kennel and licensed under the Riverside County Department of Animal Services. Robbins screens prospective clients, weeding out mean, aggressive dogs.

"Fighting is rare," she said. Occasionally, they'll snap and snarl at one another when people are there, vying for attention. Robbins separates the big and little dogs, plays ball with them and keeps in constant touch via e-mail and phone with their humans. Bridges said Robbins once called her asking if she should take Turbo to the vet after he broke a toenail.

Rosalyn Dack of Corona can't even mention "Camp Ilene" without her puppy Chewie going berserk. "He whines, jumps up and down, whacks me with his paws and high-fives me," said Dack, 33, who works for Nextel in Irvine and Mira Loma.

"I wouldn't be doing this if Zena weren't my baby," said Christi Batyi of Brea, a construction inspector in Riverside. The 9-year-old white shepherd, Fleur's best bud, no longer has problems leaving her owner. "Camp Ilene has made her a better dog."

Reach Laurie Lucas at (951) 368-9569 or llucas@pe.com