December 9, 2002 (Mokena, Ill.) — Spa treatment is going to the dogs this January when the first canine pool and day-care center is scheduled to open in Chicago's southern suburbs.
Laura Niekula, a professional dog sitter from Stickney, has tentative approval to open Splash K-9 Fitness Center in a Mokena business park.
The fitness center will feature a heated, indoor swimming pool for dogs who could benefit from hydrotherapy, merely love water, or need to lose weight, she said.
"The dogs will wear life vests," she said. "There will be recreational swimming, too."
The center will also offer a variety of other dog pampering services, including an outdoor exercise area, do-it-yourself dog washing stations, professional dog grooming, dog health food and day-care services.
"The idea is that an owner can drop off their dog for a swim. The dog can go to day care, play outside and then go home and be tired," Niekula said.
"I already have 25 to 30 people on the waiting list."
Niekula has been in the animal care business for seven years as the owner of Pet Pals Unlimited Inc., a pet sitting and walking service.
The nine people on her staff visit nearly 30 homes a day in the communities of Oak Park, Downers grove, Frankfort, and Evergreen Park. They walk, play with and feed dogs, cats, horses, reptiles, birds and exotic pets while their owners are at work or on vacation.
"It's more humane than a kennel," Niekula said of the service.
Swim therapy became part of Niekula's routine when Chloe, her 6-year-old golden retriever, was diagnosed with hip dysplasia.
Niekula trained in hydrotherapy with Merry Black, a now-retired therapy consultant at the Carolina Canine Center in Greensboro, N.C.
Black spent two days showing Niekula how to move dog limbs underwater to build muscles. The movements are adapted from hydrotherapy techniques used on horses.
Hydrotherapy has been used for decades on horses and humans to heal muscles and joints. Doctors say it strengthens muscles with little or no pressure on the joints. Heated water increases flexibility and mobility of the muscles, as well as increasing circulation.
"Dogs get all the same benefits that people get out of swimming," said veterinarian Jay Whittle of the Mill Creek Animal Clinic in Palos Park.
No formal certification process exists for canine physical therapy in the U.S., said Tom McCauley of TOPS Vet Rehab in Grayslake.
"The field is gaining a huge amount of momentum," McCauley said, adding that physicians and educators are now developing certification criteria.
TOPS may currently be the only hydrotherapy clinic in the Chicago suburbs. It has offered underwater treadmill therapy for four years.
But getting to Grayslake takes more than an hour from the southern suburbs, so Niekula decided to open her own fitness and therapy center to serve dogs in her area.
She says the Splash K-9 Fitness Center will be located in a 3,300-square-foot warehouse that has never been used.
She says the heated and lighted pool will have therapeutic water jets and will be 12 feet long, 16 feet wide and four feet deep. People will be able to use windows in the reception and retail areas to watch their dogs swim.
Lucky dogs!
Laura Niekula, a professional dog sitter from Stickney, has tentative approval to open Splash K-9 Fitness Center in a Mokena business park.
The fitness center will feature a heated, indoor swimming pool for dogs who could benefit from hydrotherapy, merely love water, or need to lose weight, she said.
"The dogs will wear life vests," she said. "There will be recreational swimming, too."
The center will also offer a variety of other dog pampering services, including an outdoor exercise area, do-it-yourself dog washing stations, professional dog grooming, dog health food and day-care services.
"The idea is that an owner can drop off their dog for a swim. The dog can go to day care, play outside and then go home and be tired," Niekula said.
"I already have 25 to 30 people on the waiting list."
Niekula has been in the animal care business for seven years as the owner of Pet Pals Unlimited Inc., a pet sitting and walking service.
The nine people on her staff visit nearly 30 homes a day in the communities of Oak Park, Downers grove, Frankfort, and Evergreen Park. They walk, play with and feed dogs, cats, horses, reptiles, birds and exotic pets while their owners are at work or on vacation.
"It's more humane than a kennel," Niekula said of the service.
Swim therapy became part of Niekula's routine when Chloe, her 6-year-old golden retriever, was diagnosed with hip dysplasia.
Niekula trained in hydrotherapy with Merry Black, a now-retired therapy consultant at the Carolina Canine Center in Greensboro, N.C.
Black spent two days showing Niekula how to move dog limbs underwater to build muscles. The movements are adapted from hydrotherapy techniques used on horses.
Hydrotherapy has been used for decades on horses and humans to heal muscles and joints. Doctors say it strengthens muscles with little or no pressure on the joints. Heated water increases flexibility and mobility of the muscles, as well as increasing circulation.
"Dogs get all the same benefits that people get out of swimming," said veterinarian Jay Whittle of the Mill Creek Animal Clinic in Palos Park.
No formal certification process exists for canine physical therapy in the U.S., said Tom McCauley of TOPS Vet Rehab in Grayslake.
"The field is gaining a huge amount of momentum," McCauley said, adding that physicians and educators are now developing certification criteria.
TOPS may currently be the only hydrotherapy clinic in the Chicago suburbs. It has offered underwater treadmill therapy for four years.
But getting to Grayslake takes more than an hour from the southern suburbs, so Niekula decided to open her own fitness and therapy center to serve dogs in her area.
She says the Splash K-9 Fitness Center will be located in a 3,300-square-foot warehouse that has never been used.
She says the heated and lighted pool will have therapeutic water jets and will be 12 feet long, 16 feet wide and four feet deep. People will be able to use windows in the reception and retail areas to watch their dogs swim.
Lucky dogs!