Hello, Doggie Daycare

Hello, Doggie Daycare We are a dog daycare, boarding and training facility devoted to providing your four-legged family me

Permanently closed.

We are a dog daycare and training facility devoted to providing your four-legged family members with a fun, safe, healthy and enriching environment!

12/29/2023

Hello, Doggie Lovers

What should their band name be??🎼🎤🎸Happy Almost Autumn from Nigel, Sadie, and Lucky! These two boys make the best role m...
08/31/2023

What should their band name be??🎼🎤🎸

Happy Almost Autumn from Nigel, Sadie, and Lucky! These two boys make the best role models! ❤️🐾

07/28/2023

Hello, Doggie Lovers.

Yesterday I received an update of our ongoing battle with the town that was a shock to myself and my lawyer. After many weeks spent working on a legal agreement to keep our issue out of court, give us a deadline to collect the final petition signatures needed without penalty, and overall receive a tiny guarantee of safety from now until the ordinance matter would go to a vote (likely early next year), the town’s Selectboard voted against the agreement this week.

The town of Casco began this process with the first Notice of Violation in October of 2022. We filed for a Zoning Administrative Appeal which did not happen until March 2023. At the time of the Appeal Meeting, the town successfully convinced myself and my lawyer to DROP the Appeal (we would later discover the real reason why) and file instead for a Zoning Variance. Concurrently, we decided to put together a petition to update the definition of “kennel” within the town’s code.

The Zoning Variance application went in front of the Planning Board in May, where they voted to “discuss the matter at a later date.” At the following selectboard meeting, a vote passed to “pursue legal action” against Hello Doggie and me.
This pursuit of legal action ended up involving the landlords here, Migis Lodge Realty, as well—as the landowners they could be found liable for violations just as myself.

We closed in on the preliminary hearing to the court date, with only a few days beforehand, the town’s lawyer reached out to my lawyer and said that the Town would be willing to put together a legal agreement that could help all parties and avoid court. So that week, in court, all three lawyers involved told the judge that we were actively working on this agreement.

The agreement, over a month later, was signed by myself on Monday after weeks of deliberation, editing and discussion by all three parties. For the Selectboard to DENY the agreement this week throws light on the fact that though we have been acting in good faith, the town has not kept their word on a single part of this matter. For us to work this hard just for them to pull the rug out from under us, again—well, I truly cannot describe what I feel at this time.

It became obvious while working on this agreement that, had we ignored the town’s last minute suggestion and went forward with the Zoning Appeal in March, we would have had a case to sue the town under Rule 80-B. Of course, they knew this at the time and we unfortunately did not.

At this moment, however, it is up in the air if the landlords will show further support. Regardless that they are partially at fault for this issue in the first place (not knowing the zoning of the property, falsely advertising the property as commercial, not completing an official Site Plan Review with the Code Enforcement Officer) they do not want to risk potentially being fined if/when this issue goes to court. I get that, because the town would be looking for over $20k in FINES from each of us! I’m sorry, what? Yup. Even though the town is the one who gave me a permit to operate, somehow I could be found liable, as well as Migis, for the town’s mistake. So, does that mean that town officials can purposefully neglect or mislead business owners, just to turn around and collect fines from them?

There is a technicality in our lease agreement that they may accelerate the eviction process if I am “engaged in criminal activity”—and apparently continuing to operate Hello Doggie could be viewed as such. Thus, I do not know at this hour if the landlords WILL take that route. There is also the truth of the matter that, since denying so many new clients since this drama began and losing so many due to having an uncertain future, we have barely been scraping by and have been playing catch up on rent. While at first the landlords were understanding of the situation at hand, it appears that could change with the possibility they may be found liable for fines if this goes to court and a judge decides I am at fault.

Now, with all the details and facts present here, I do not know how a judge would look at us as being at fault. I have jumped through every hoop, completed everything asked of me, and have actively taken every possible avenue to solve this issue since October. The town has not relented, though.

There is another “illegal kennel” in Casco that has legitimate noise complaints against it. The complaints were presented to the town, weeks and weeks ago, and they have yet to take any action. A longterm dog care and grooming business in Casco Village has no complaints, and is a lovely organization, but is breaking the same ordinance that the town claims I am. So, out of state neighbors can make unfounded noise complaints (that they have yet to provide evidence of) and when no action is taken, send a letter to the town to share that they’ve discovered Hello Doggie’s operation at this location is against town code, and the town will immediately take action?

I would have expected more honorable and honest behavior on part of the town. Who does the town care more about—its local businesses and residents, or its part time residents? At this point, they are continuing to selectively enforce this ordinance. There are easily dozens of people in Casco who personally own enough animals to be defined as a “kennel”.

At the time of my Hello Doggie Facebook post about the issue, earlier this year, when I asked for support at the Zoning Appeal, I nearly lost my job with the Town of Casco as their backup ACO. The town Manager was livid that I was “making the town look bad” with my post and made claims that I broke some “social media policy” which I have STILL not been offered to look at or sign. My lawyer and I put too much faith and trust in the town and its procedures, while the town officials made many false claims they “wanted to help” and “wanted to see Hello Doggie stay”, while I could have been searching for another space this entire time. Instead of staying true to their word there have been games, manipulation of procedures and policies, false promises, and the sad and pathetic fact that the town still refuses to admit (even though I have the proof) that they ever granted me a permit to begin with. All of this has taken the most incredible toll on myself and Hello Doggie. And should the Town decide to fire me at this point, they are only going to hurt themselves with the retaliation and hurt their full time ACO—who has fought for years and years for an extra set of hands. I have remained in this position despite my disgust with the town only to support her as much as possible in the important, underappreciated, and incredible work that she does.

One of the saddest facts here is that the town could have elected to give me permission to operate just for the remainder of the lease I had already signed. That would have saved everyone so much time, effort, money, and sanity. Who or what has scared the town into taking the hardest possible, and most harmful route, instead of the easiest and most just one?

Now I have of course been looking for alternative spaces. I have been looking at all possible avenues for me not to sink with this ship. Because I do not know at this hour what is coming next, I must make some immediate decisions to help the situation.
-No new packages will be sold to clients for daycare or boarding. I would of course refund any partial packages in your accounts if I were to be forced to close without desirable notice.
-No new boarding reservations can be made at this time.

I am sure there is more. I have been typing for a few hours straight now. I have assured you all that I would keep you updated, and though this is not the update anyone wanted, I will always be honest and upfront. I am so tired.

Please, if you have ideas, thoughts, concerns—I want to hear them. I value each and every one of you and cannot express how important your support has been through this incredibly unfair time. With so many unknowns, please know that I am still fighting. I am feverishly angry. I am full of despair and have no faith in this town. But I won’t let any one of these people get away with this as long as it’s in my power to hold them accountable. I won’t stop at local media. Every small business owner, especially female owned, needs to be warned that there is nothing to protect them from absolute destruction on the part and at the total fault of their small town.

The petition is still active, and only needs a few dozen more Casco resident signatures. I do not know if this is even helpful to us at this time—but a push for those final signatures might help someone else if not Hello Doggie.

Sending all the love, and grateful for dogs especially on these dark days—both yours and mine. I wouldn’t have survived this long without the love of so many amazing pups!

Shannon

Tomorrow begins the second weekend of this colorful, hilarious, sweet, silly, murder-mystery of a show!Please come and e...
03/30/2023

Tomorrow begins the second weekend of this colorful, hilarious, sweet, silly, murder-mystery of a show!
Please come and enjoy the incredible dance numbers, a stage overflowing with talent, fantastic comedic timing by all, and possibly Shannon's one and only chance at ever playing the sweet, feminine, romantic-lead type!
Tickets are available at https://lyricmusictheater.org/box-office/
Photo credit goes to Linwood Leland ❤
Lyric Music Theater

03/17/2023

Our Zoning Appeal Board meeting is at 6:30PM
On Monday 3/20 at:

Casco Community Center
940 Meadow Rd

If you are not able to attend, not able to speak (non-taxpayer or non-resident), or if they do not open up the floor at all for comments, you can always email or mail a letter ahead of time voicing your opinion to either/both:

Selectboard and/or Zoning Board of Appeals
625 Meadow Rd
Casco, ME 04015

Selectboard Chair Robert Macdonald
[email protected]

Letters can include any and all information you feel shares your opinion and feelings!

If at any time if is helpful to view specific documents in relation to this Appeal, just send us a message and we can share.

Thank you for your outstanding support ❤️

03/06/2023

Hello, Doggie Lovers!

If you are able to attend our Zoning Appeal Board meeting on 3/20/2023, at 6:30PM, at the Casco Town Hall, it could potentially help us immensely.
After all of our hard work in getting this space ready, and a year of operating, I am stunned by the behavior of parties involved.
**Edited: It is most likely the Platt’s lawyer pressuring the town to act one way or another with threat of lawsuit. Town official names have been omitted, though they can be found online.**

Here is our story:

Late summer of 2021, I toured this property (90 Roosevelt Trail, Casco) with Larry Eliason (Butts Commercial Brokers) and property owners to see if it could be a new dog daycare space. The property owners had the Town Code Enforcement Officer walk through the property and "okay" it for use as a dog daycare, boarding, and training facility as well as a residence for myself. This walk through with the CEO occurred mid September of 2021. The property was listed as commercial by the brokers and Mr. Eliason spent many weeks crossing all t’s and dotting all I’s to be sure the property could be used the way we planned.

I signed a 5 year lease in early November 2021 and moved in by the end of the month. After months of work on the building, I completed all the paperwork Code Enforcement asked me to in order to open and operate Hello Doggie. All was seemingly well. Essentially, they asked for details about my business over email and had me apply for a sign permit. That was all. I reopened Hello Doggie by the end of February 2022.

Tom and Nancy Platt have a seasonal home at the end of Cape Rd in Casco. They began making complaints of excessive dog barking to my landlords as well as to the town manager and Code Enfrocement Officer. The town manager sent the Animal Control Officer multiple times and Code Enforcement came to observe any noise levels. They came up with nothing. As of this date, 3/6/2023, not a single complaint of noise has been proven. Also, the Platt's are not even in their home enough to make the claims they have about "24/7 constant noise"--but alas, who am I to judge.

It took an entire year of the Platt's harassment of myself, my landlords, and the town before they started going through the proper channels to report dog noise, The ACO. The ACO even set up a camera to record noise and came up with nothing significant. Although they had yet to prove their complaints were rightfully founded, the Platts did not stop.

Because the Platts were not getting the answer or reaction they wanted, they hired a lawyer in the fall of 2022. Their lawyer discovered that Hello Doggie is, in fact, against code. Per Casco code, a "kennel" is only allowed on commercially zoned property. 90 Roosevelt Trail is village and residential zoning, which Code Enfrocement was aware of when I moved in. The town then sent me a "Notice of Violation" to stop operations or incur fines. At that point, I got a lawyer involved and filed for a Zoning Board Appeal.

I am still stumped as to the legality and ethics of this entire situation.

I understand the town did not properly interpret ordinances and/or zoning when permitting my business to be at 90 Roosevelt Trail. However, I fail to see how it is legal for them to take back their permission over a year later, after I have reopened business, and after signing a lengthy lease. It took five months of renovations and a hefty penny on my end as well as the landlord’s in order to get this property ready. The laws and ordinances have not changed in the last year, and thus it was an error on the Code Enforcement team, not myself.

It does not seem like a legal or ethical practice to tell me that I cannot operate Hello Doggie any longer because Code Enforcement made a mistake in 2021--especially since the claims of noise and nuisance have yet to be proven and do not even appear applicable. It appears the town is so disturbed or threatened by these out of staters that they are going through the motions as needed.

As a small business owner and director of a 501(c)3 animal rescue, we will be harmed to an extreme amount if not granted a variance to continue residing at 90 Roosevelt Trail as both a resident and as Hello Doggie LLC. You all know very well how hard it was for us to get here. My business (whose 5 year anniversary was February of this year) and my non-profit rescue (All Ears Animal Rescue and Sanctuary, incorporated in 2020) may not survive. That would be two gigantic losses to the local Casco community and beyond, and because of reasons outside of my control or cause.

Finally, if the Town of Casco wants to enforce its "no kennels on any property other than commercial" ordinance, it will affect every Casco resident with 5 or more dogs and/or 6 or more cats--as that is how they currently define a "kennel." So far, they are only selectively enforcing that ordinance.

If they do not grant us the variance, I am not sure what timeline we will be given. We are all in the dark together on that front, unfortunately.

While I certainly feel like the drama has been inescapable in the last 18 months, I am fighting tooth and nail for Hello Doggie, my rescue, and to get my peace back.

Thank you always for your support and kindness, and for sharing your incredible dogs with me.

With love,

Shannon

01/30/2023

Hello, Doggie Lovers!

We wanted to keep you informed as to the slight change in hours we've had to adopt over the past weeks.

While we were hopeful it would be a very temporary modification, we will need to retain a closing time of 5:30PM Monday-Thursday. If we are not able to fill our open evening staff position, these hours will be in effect until mid March. We will always choose to do what is safest for dogs and staff at the end of the day--and at this time, closing at 5:30PM is the best way to assure this.

There are some sporadic nights that Shannon may be able to stay later, and if you need such, she will always retain an open line of communication with you.

As always, thank you for trusting us to love and play with your pups! Our lives would not be as full without each and every one of them 🐾

With gratitude,

Hello Doggie Management

01/06/2023

We currently have TWELVE adoptable dogs in our care through All Ears Animal Rescue and Sanctuary!

With out of state rescues as well as local surrenders, All Ears Animal Rescue and Sanctuary could use all the support for food and medical care they can get.

All but one of their adoptable pups are large breeds--
5 German Shepherds, 1 Blue Tick Coonhound, 1 Redbone Coonhound, 1 Rottie/Lab, 1 American Bully, 1 Shepherd/Dane, and 1 Cattle Dog/Catahoula!

https://www.petfinder.com/search/pets-for-adoption/?shelter_id%5B0%5D=ME172&sort%5B0%5D=recently_added

Please share the adoptable dogs and/or fundraising page!!

12/22/2022

Hello, Doggie Lovers!

We wanted to extend a hello to you for two reasons:

The first is to say Happy Holidays to you and your amazing dogs!! This year was full of so many changes for us, and for many of you, and we could not be more grateful for all of the support and love we have received from you and the pups! Please be safe while traveling for the holidays and give all your dogs kisses from us under any mistletoes!

Secondly, it is an unfortunate reality in our world that viruses, like kennel cough, exist--and the more social your dog is, or the more places your dog visits, the more likely they are to pick up a bug. As you all know, we have strict policies in place to help prevent the arrival of bugs into our facility. While this is of course not foolproof, we have not seen kennel cough (bordetella) in the facility for at least two years now. This is also because of your diligence with your dogs when following our policies of not bringing them to dog parks, to other facilities in addition to ours, to crowded, unregulated dog beaches, etc. Though we require all dogs to have current bordetella vaccinations, it is the equivalent of the flu shot--it only protects against specific strains and thus vaccinated dogs can still be affected.

We are asking for everyone to thoroughly recheck our policies and to be cautious, especially over this holiday season. This is not something we can pinpoint to a precise location of origin (actually, we suspected a few local groomers in the past that do not check vaccinations...)--however, what we can do is send out warnings the second it is noticed in our area or facility.

We keep a close relationship with First Choice Animal Care and Surgery Center in Windham to be notified of any possible viruses they see going around, and vice versa. MVMC has seen a rampant number of cases of coughs and pneumonia the last couple of weeks, per a good friend of ours that works there.

This means that either through human foot traffic (local pet food stores) or dog paw traffic (stores, parks, beaches, family dogs, neighbor's dogs, etc.) it is very possible that dogs may start showing symptoms at this time of year. Because kennel cough is transmitted BEFORE we see symptoms, when we hear coughing or sneezing, it is usually too late.

We will always notify you if we have any confirmed cases or suspect a virus going around--and if we see sicknesses in Shannon's dogs, that don't leave the facility, it means it was brought in by human or dog traffic, and we are trying our best to mitigate that. We disinfect with KennelSol, which is designed for use against ALL dog or cat transmissible diseases or protozoas, and do so diligently throughout the day.

As of 3:30pm today, one of Shannon's fosters (who already lives separately and is quarantined) is coughing and one confirmed daycare pup (last here on Monday 12/19) is at home with symptoms of sickness as well.

Please let us know if you observe symptoms of sickness in your dogs and please keep them home if you do!

We are here to answer any questions, but we also encourage you to speak with your veterinarians if you have concerns or questions, too.

Sending love and health to everyone!

Shannon

11/10/2022

Hello, Doggie Lovers!

We have done our best to manage the immense changes in the last few years economically. Since our relocation, remodeling, and reopening, we have been operating at a lower capacity. While this is great for many reasons, the hardest part has been keeping up with all the other changes. In order to keep improving our facility, to maintain happy and well–paid staff, and to ensure we can continue business in the best way for the welfare of all dogs here, we are looking at a price increase.

Though this is the first price change since our incorporation as Hello Doggie, LLC in 2018, we do not take it lightly. We know that daycare is a luxury service to many and that has been the main reason behind our hesitation for this change.

Starting Monday December 12th, the following price changes will occur:

Daycare
Service Price Per Day 5 Days 10 Days 20 Days
Half Day $ 30.00 $ 142.50 $ 264.00 $ 450.00
Full Day $ 37.00 $ 175.75 $ 325.60 $ 555.00
Half Day 2 Dogs $ 50.00 $ 237.50 $ 440.00 $ 750.00
Full Day 2 Dogs $ 60.00 $ 285.00 $ 528.00 $ 900.00

Boarding
Service Per Day 5 Days 10 Days 20 Days
1 Dog $ 50.00 $ 237.50 $ 440.00 $ 750.00
2 Dogs $ 90.00 $ 427.50 $ 792.00 $ 1,350.00
3 Dogs $ 130.00 $ 617.50 $ 1,144.00 $ 1,950.00

We know that many of you have had specific pricing over the last handful of years, and we will do our best to have a discussion on what is fair moving forward. The last thing that we want is to lose the opportunity to continue caring for and loving any of your dogs! However, without this change, we may have a harder time staying around to do just that.

Any packages purchased prior to today, and between now and 12/12, will not be affected! However, as a reminder—if we have not seen your pup nor heard from you in 4-8 weeks (other than our seasonal friends!), any packages sitting idle in accounts are considered forfeited per our policy.

Please reach out to us with any questions!

As always, thank you for letting us love your dogs—we couldn't be more proud and more honored to have done so for so many years!

Shannon and Hello Doggie Staff

Hello, Doggie Lovers!This morning we experienced a lot of stress mixed with much gratitude. All dogs and staff are okay!...
11/01/2022

Hello, Doggie Lovers!

This morning we experienced a lot of stress mixed with much gratitude.

All dogs and staff are okay! The driver of the vehicle is also okay!

We had taken the group inside for our 10:30 lock down/lunch time/nap time when, shortly after, a driver experiencing a medical emergency on 302 lost control and struck our fencing.

While we work on repairs this afternoon, we ask for space and caution—please do not attempt to help move anything, climb over, investigate, etc.! We have all dogs safely inside and while we may experience a few potty accidents, we are rushing for our yard to be secure and usable before this evening.

Thank you for your support and kindness, as always!

Shannon

Say hello this week's Star of the Show, Khaleesi! Khaleesi is a Rottweiler, a great family dog and who once served as se...
09/29/2022

Say hello this week's Star of the Show, Khaleesi! Khaleesi is a Rottweiler, a great family dog and who once served as search and rescue dogs after 9/11. The Rottweiler was bred from ancient herding dogs in Rome, records state the breed dates back to 74 AD. Rotties were herding dogs in the early 1800's but with the industrialization of the railroad, which made moving herds easier, there was less of a need for these dogs. This almost resulted in the extinction of the breed! Luckily, Rottweiler's survived the change of times and today we enjoy having sweet Khaleesi at daycare. Khaleesi is the most popular dog that has ever been at the daycare since she was 9 weeks old! She is everyone's friend, dogs and people alike!

We have ten incredible dogs with us though All Ears Animal Rescue and Sanctuary!Almost all of these dogs were saved from...
09/29/2022

We have ten incredible dogs with us though All Ears Animal Rescue and Sanctuary!

Almost all of these dogs were saved from euthanasia from various parts of Maine, quite a few from our immediate local community.

We are looking for help towards their food costs and neuter surgeries! Please donate if you can or share this link! Word of mouth that these incredible dogs are looking for homes wouldn't hurt, either

We currently have TEN adoptable dogs in our care! They are ALL large breeds (5 German Shepherds, 1 Newfoundland, 1 Saint Bernard, 1 Blue Tick Coonhound, 1 Redbone Coonhound, and 1 Rottie/Lab!).We are looking for donations toward food costs as well...

This week's Star of the Show is the fantastic Tolkien! Named after the famous Lord of the Ring's author, Tolkien is a bl...
09/22/2022

This week's Star of the Show is the fantastic Tolkien! Named after the famous Lord of the Ring's author, Tolkien is a blue merle Australian Shepherd. Australian Shepherds are herding and companion dogs. The breed was made popular by a rodeo star, Jay Lister, who used Australian Shepherds in his shows to do all kinds of tricks. They are very athletic and intelligent dogs! Tolkien is a lover of playing chase with his friends, he is a quick little guy! Our previous Star of the Show, Iris, is enamored by Tolkien and the two of them are feisty best friends!

Mondays are for Mutts! We here at Hello, Doggie love our mixed breed buds and all their beautiful personalities and colo...
09/19/2022

Mondays are for Mutts! We here at Hello, Doggie love our mixed breed buds and all their beautiful personalities and colors! Mixed breed dogs were excluded from obedience and dog sport competitions until the 1980's. We can't fathom why as mutts are generally very healthy and extremely intelligent! Some famous mutts are Spike from Old Yeller, Higgins from Benji, and Balto the sled dog! Here are a few of our lovely mutts in our daycare!

We have NINE adoptable dogs with us currently! If you are able to help in any way, it is so appreciated 💕🐾
09/16/2022

We have NINE adoptable dogs with us currently! If you are able to help in any way, it is so appreciated 💕🐾

We currently have NINE adoptable dogs in our care! They are ALL large breeds (5 German Shepherds, 1 Newfoundland, 1 Saint Bernard, 1 Blue Tick Coonhound, and 1 Rottie/Lab!).We are looking for donations toward food costs as well as a few neuter sur...

Hello, Doggie Lovers and welcome back to Star of the Show! This week's star is the adorable Seamus! Seamus is a mixed br...
09/07/2022

Hello, Doggie Lovers and welcome back to Star of the Show! This week's star is the adorable Seamus! Seamus is a mixed breed of Wheaten Terrier and Chow Chow. The Wheaten Terrier is an Irish dog originally bred for farming purposes whose duties included protecting livestock and herding. The Chow Chow is a Chinese breed of dog that originated in first China and then Mongolia about 2,000 years ago. They were first known as Chinese war dogs but are now kept mainly as pets. In his prime, Seamus embodied both of his ancestors by being the ruler of this daycare and was often the referee for any dogs playing. Every new dog had to meet and be assessed by this king. Seamus has been a staple at Hello, Doggie since incorporation! He spends his retirement napping and getting belly rubs.

Training Tip Tuesday! No Butts About It! Did you know dogs are supposed to greet one another nose to butt? Leashes inhib...
08/30/2022

Training Tip Tuesday!
No Butts About It! Did you know dogs are supposed to greet one another nose to butt? Leashes inhibit dogs from greeting in this manner and getting vital information about other dogs they meet. By sniffing another dog's b***y, a dog can determine the mood, age, and diet of their pal. Stopping two dogs from greeting in this way can cause the dogs to misinterpret signals and create an unsafe situation for both dogs. This can develop into leash reactivity. Proper, controlled greetings are crucial to a dog's health, well-being and security. So let your dogs sniff butts!

Hello, Doggie Lovers! We are doing a Back to School Daycare Sale from now until September 1st! Buy one daycare package a...
08/25/2022

Hello, Doggie Lovers! We are doing a Back to School Daycare Sale from now until September 1st!
Buy one daycare package and get 10% off!
Buy two or more daycare packages and get 20% off total!
Buying two or more daycare packages qualifies you for one free daycare day!

You might be getting your kids ready for school, but take some time to get ready for these savings!

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