BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT:A vacation without a cage in sight

When the dog first came to Bob and Merlaina O’Conner, he showed signs of having been mistreated.

The rib cage stood out on his slender torso, and he tended to shy away from humans and other dogs.

The rescue agency had christened the boxer “Rolex” and the O’Conners kept him for a month last fall at their dog day care service before a family adopted him and re-dubbed him “Max.” At the Dog Park Inn in Santa Ana Heights, Max roamed freely with other dogs in a spacious house and back yard, and the couple could see a change in him. Max’s new owners still bring him in for day care on occasion, and he looks stronger and meatier all the time.

“He was just very quiet and not joining in with the pack,” Merlaina said. “He had his tail between his legs. Now, he comes in with his head up high.”

Not every dog who comes through the Dog Park Inn has as tough a history as Max, but each one gets the same privilege: to spend a day away from its owner without being confined to a cage.

The O’Conners launched their home-based business in May 2006 in part out of personal need; they owned a pair of boxers and were loath to leave them in a kennel when they went on vacation.

Since opening the Dog Park Inn, the O’Conners haven’t taken a vacation at all. But with an ever-changing menagerie to keep them busy, they haven’t minded much.

“We believe that dogs are pack animals, so to put them in a cage environment is not the way it was meant to be,” Bob said.

The inn, which offers both day and overnight care, holds up to 25 dogs at a time. The owners take most breeds except pit bulls — considered too aggressive — and deal with others case-by-case, taking only well-socialized dogs.

Day care goes for $30 Monday through Saturday, with overnight service, including day care, at $45. For rescuers who provide homeless dogs, the O’Conners offer discounts.

“Thanks, for us, is really that they get a good home,” Bob said.

For more information call (866) 591-0753 or visit thedogparkinn.com.