Pet Projects: The growing, growling industry of animal care.

• Author: Orr, Vanessa
• Position: SMALL BUSINESS

Chelsea Coartney, owner of Unleashed Alaska, decided to open her dog daycare, boarding, and indoor dog park in 2021 as the result of her own experiences as a dog owner.

"I have six dogs, and I wasn't hugely impressed with the places in town that offer boarding or the places where families can go with their pets," she explains. "It can be very slushy at dog parks--not to mention cold--and I thought it would be cool to have an indoor don park where people could come hang out in a temperature-controlled environment and socialize with their friends and their pets at the same time."

At Unleashed Alaska, members have access to the dog park on weekdays after the doggie daycare closes at 6 pm and on weekends. A key card allows members to enter anytime the need arises. "If your dog likes to do zoomies' at 2 am, you can bring them here to burn some energy and socialize in a safe place," Coartney says.

Even before her doggy daycare and boarding options opened last August, Coartney says interest was high. "We were pretty booked before we opened," she says. "But we do require a temperament test, so not everyone makes it past that requirement."

Enough do make it in, though. "We are almost at max capacity now," she adds.

According to the American Pet Products Association's 2021-2022 National Pet Owners Survey, approximately 70 percent of US households, or about 90.5 million families, own a pet. These must be very good boys and girls--in 2021 alone, Americans spent $123.6 billion on everything from pet food and treats to supplies and over-the-counter medications, veterinary visits, grooming, training, and more.

These expenditures have increased year after year, growing almost $7 billion from 2018 to 2019, $16 billion from 2019 to 2020, and $20 billion from 2020 to 2021.

Coartney charges between $350 and $500 per month, using a membership model instead of a drop-off service. "It's like a gym membership for your dog and you," she says. Unleashed Alaska has three membership levels, which include the Wag Plan, the Bark Plan, and the premier Peanut Butter Plan, which allows unlimited dog park access, twenty doggie daycare visits a month, and a percentage off boarding fees. The dog also gets his or her picture in the lobby.

Dogs that attend daycare are treated to training days, relaxed movie days where they can watch Animal Planet or videos on flat-screen TVs, and individualized lunches during early afternoon quiet time. "I'm crazy about dogs and I spoil them; they are treated like...