Update on Closure due to COVID-19 and "Safer at Home"

We wanted to reach out to address the "Safer at Home" orders and our decision to close.  It was our understanding based on the original release that we fall under non-essential because we do not do boarding and therefore, that we do not qualify.  Today, we did find out that we do qualify as essential.  With that said, the essential vs non-essential was not our only reason for choosing to close our doors temporarily.  The order may not directly impact our ability to operate, but it has impacted many of you, which ultimately impacts us.  In the last 10 days, we have dropped to below 50% of our usual capacity with a considerable number of no shows.  This effects our ability to plan our payroll appropriately, which is our biggest expense, and therefore, we have been operating at a loss for several days in a row.  With the "Safer at Home" orders, we anticipate an even lower attendance for the duration of the directive, which makes us unable to operate.  Long term, this would have a great impact on our ability to recover.      Could we try to combine all our locations into one to try to minimize costs?  While is a possibility, it comes at a dangerous cost to the well-being of your pup.  One of the things we pride ourselves in is the behavioral health of your dog while they are with us.  We try to minimize stress while maximizing enjoyment.  New environments and new packs can be very hard on some of our dogs. We always take it very slow when introducing a new dog to a new pack and we would not be able to do this with multiple new dogs every day.  We aren’t willing to put their well being at risk.  It’s just not something we feel comfortable with.    But that’s not even the most important reason for us in closing at this time.  We feel an amazing sense of pride in our clients and in our community.  We don’t feel that we can safely serve you, our community, and each other when we are operating with the risk of spreading COVID-19.  We feel a great sense of obligation to do our part to prevent the spread.      We are so grateful to have such wonderful clients, and we miss each and every one of you so much right now! We have been asked what you can do to support us and the best way is to plan to utilize us as soon as we can safely open our doors.  Visit us on social media, plan to take a class with us when we open, up your daycare days when we can hold daycare, and just continue to be the wonderful people you are. We will get through this together!   Stay safe and healthy and we will all come out of this stronger!    With much love and many tail wags,  Laura and The Dog Den & The Puppy Den Team