John is a Minnesota native whose career took him across the Midwest for many years before settling back close to home. Late in his travels, he rescued Dakotah. (Or maybe it was the other way around). A year later, Zeus, a charismatic Alaskan Malamute joined the pack. He’s stepped away from his career as a bank executive for a new adventure serving our community’s pets and their families.

After years of boarding his dogs at facilities across the country, John returned to his roots in Elk River and decided to open the facility he always wished he could find for his dogs, Dakotah and Zeus.

To build his ‘dream facility”, he had some very specific requirements, which he integrated into Dakotah’s Doggy Daycare Hotel and Salon:

• A great location that is easy to visit before and after work.
• A full-service facility, including daycare, boarding, and grooming.
  • You can drop your dog off for daycare, and we’ll take care of their grooming needs while they are here.
  • Every dog that stays overnight gets to play in the daycare.
• All inclusive pricing – no add-on fees!
  • Daycare is included with boarding, it’s not an extra charge like other places.
  • No extra charge for larger kennels. We ensure your pet gets a comfortable kennel, no matter how big they are, or if you want to board more than one dog in a kennel.
  • Because a sudden change in your dog’s diet can upset their stomach, we encourage you to bring your dog’s food for overnight stays. But we won’t let any dog go hungry, and we won’t charge extra if we provide their food.
  • If your dog needs to take medicine, we don’t charge extra to give it to them.
• Convenient drop-off and pick-up hours. Each overnight stay includes a half day of daycare after drop-off (after 1 PM) and a half day of daycare the day of pickup (until 1 PM.)
• The cleanest facility possible.
  • We utilized epoxy flooring and hospital grade vinyl flooring to ensure that germs and bacteria can’t penetrate the floors. Most facilities use concrete and a sealer, which once scratched can harbor bacteria.
  • We provide clean bedding, but if pet parents wish to bring their own bedding, we will steam-clean it before it’s used. That way we keep the other pets safe from pests and germs that might be brought into the facility.
  • All of our dog dishes are machine washed to ensure that they are sanitary.
  • Our cleaning products are all dog-friendly and non-toxic.
• John and his pack live in the building, so your dog has 24×7 care. On those rare occasions when John and his boys are away, another staff member will stay overnight. Even on those very rare occasions when we can't provide an overnight person on-site, our General Manager lives right next door and monitors the facility during the overnight hours with video cameras, smoke detectors, and other electronic monitoring devices. Many facilities lock their doors and send their employees home overnight, leaving your dog alone.  At Dakotah’s, there is always a caring staff member available to see to your dog’s safety and comfort.
• Professional staff. Each Dakotah’s Doggy Daycare employee completes a full training program before working with our furry guests and receives recurrent training throughout the year.
• A fun, stimulating environment. Dakotah’s Doggy Daycare offers a great environment for your dog, including:
  • Bright, large, well lit indoor play areas
  • Separate areas for puppies, older dogs, and dogs that are less social
  • A large outdoor play area that includes agility play equipment and two wading pools!
• You are provided with a daily report card so you’ll know how your dog’s day went
• Our live video PlayCams in our play areas allow you to check up on your dogs from our website