At Hollywood Pets in Danville, it's the red-carpet treatment

If Rover gets bored and eats the couch while you’re at work, or Fluffy repays you for heading out of town without her by leaving gifts in your shoes, a new Danville business says it can help.
From the red-carpet entrance through its pet “suites” and spacious indoor and outdoor play areas, Hollywood Pets is carefully planned to cater to its guests, whether they are shy and prefer privacy, or are very social and enjoy romping with other animals.
Owners Derek and Mary Beth Holley house dogs and cats who visit them in large, comfortable caged areas, but let them out into the play areas for long periods of personal attention and playtime every day.
The floors are covered in rubberized non-stick flooring to protect the animals’ paws, the walls are mold-, mildew, stain- and odor-resistant and everything is kept spotlessly clean.
“We sanitize the entire kennel every other day, and the floors every day,” Derek said. “We use the same sanitizer they use in a lot of hospitals; it kills 99.8 percent of all bacteria.
“We keep it clean and smelling good.”
There are privacy partitions separating the suites so the more timid pets won’t be tormented by a friendlier guest poking its nose, paw or tongue into their territory. To give the kennel a truly homey feel, music and television offer sounds the pets are used to.
“It’s all about the dogs, letting them play, letting them have a nice place to stay,” Mary Beth said.
She said there was one short period of time when it looked like the business might not be able to open.
The Holleys had gotten approval from the Planning Commission for the zoning variance they needed, and all that was left was the final OK from City Council. Council member E. Stokes Daniels argued that dog boarding in a partially residential neighborhood would irritate homeowners who would hear the dogs barking when they are outside.
“I just saw my dream disappearing,” Mary Beth said. She said all of the dogs don’t go out at the same time, and barking hasn’t been an issue, and she was relieved when the other council members voted to give the business permission to open.
Hollywood Pets just opened its doors May 1, but the Holleys already are planning to expand their services.
Training classes will be offered on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, and the Holleys expect to begin offering grooming services soon.
Janette Gibson, Hollywood Pets’ pet coordinator, will teach the training classes, and hopes to offer agility training, K9 Good Citizen testing and doggie yoga classes in the near future.
Day care can be used on an occasional, daily basis for $12. There also is a weekly rate of $50 and monthly $175 rate. Dog boarding rates range from $15 to $28 daily, depending on the size of the suite needed (there are reduced rates for adding a sibling to the same suite).
A separate room houses the kitty condos, which go for $10 a day. They, too, get one-on-one attention and playtime out of their condos every day.
Hollywood Pets is located at 274 Hairston St. For information about hours or to have questions answered, visit www.hollywood-pets.com or call (434) 792-7387.
Contact Denice Thibodeau at dthibodeau@registerbee.com or (434) 791-7985.