'Barks and Rec' dog play park opens its doors in Lenoir
Jul. 22—The new Lenoir business Barks and Rec, a dog enrichment center located downtown, held its grand opening on Sunday, July 14, starting at 12 p.m. at the new location on Main Street. The grand opening included the opportunity to discuss the business and coming training opportunities with the owner and staff, as well as the chance for dogs and owners to use the new facilities offered by the business.
"I have worked in the pet industry for 10+ years doing training, managing boarding facilities and pet sitting," said owner Lauren Collins, "I wanted to have something new that was my own idea." Collins went on to say that Lenoir's summer heat gave her the idea for an indoor-outdoor facility that would allow people to spend time with their own pets and build community with other pet owners.
Even early on on Sunday that community included dog and family photographer Dani Tallent, who brought her own pup and cards to share with other owners. Elizabeth Hancock from Granite Falls came by to introduce the little spaniel Cricket, and {span}Gabby Whorley{/span} of 4H brought her corgi Raleigh by to celebrate the grand opening. Upon leaving, each of the pups were given a treat by the staff to commemorate the celebration.
Guests looking to bring their dogs into the facility will first have to register their pets through the business' Barks and Rec Play Park app to create a pet profile and upload vaccination records. To ensure the safety of the pets on the premises, the business requires these records for admission into the play area.
Collins said that the facility would have a tentative capacity of 20 dogs at a time, with the dog-experienced staff remaining vigilant and attentive to the behavior of the animals to ensure their comfort and safety.
The center was put together quickly, Collins said, over the course of a few months—starting in earnest to build the business at the end of April. Collins went on to share that, although the specifics were still being worked out, she intents for there to be training courses offered through the facility in the next couple of weeks, notably basic behavioral training for pups, Canine Good Citizen training and individual classes to be offered by the instructors on a case by case basis. Eventually, Collins would like to use the business as a way to help raise money for local shelters and nonprofits to take care of the dogs in the area.
"It's a lifetime of ideas put together in a couple of weeks."
"Thank you for everyone who came out to our first day!" the business's Facebook read at the end of the opening. "We got to meet some great people and their awesome dogs. We appreciate all the community support and look forward to many fun days ahead!"