Paws With Inn pampers pooches

By TONIA NOELL MOLINSKI

Essex County Newspapers correspondent

BOXFORD _ She didn't have much of a plan, but Amy Wirkkala has found that her idea for Paws With Inn _ a 22 acre canine day care center _ is anything but a dog.

Set in Boxford, on secluded, forested land, Paws With Inn takes a concept that recently blossomed in big cities such as New York and Los Angeles and brings it to the country.

"It just kind of happened," Wikkala says. It was a matter of being in the right place at the right time _ and having a passion.

Wirkkala graduated from Northeastern University with a degree in biology and animal science. A year in the veterinarian program of the University of Minnesota left her feeling there must be other ways to work with animals.

But it was purely by accident that her personal passion for dogs hit the moving edge of a changing society.

It happened the day a big corporation took over a nearby family-owned kennel. "One of the clients called up asking if I'd take care of her dog because she didn't feel comfortable leaving it at the kennel anymore," recalled Wirkkala.

Wirkkala said yes.

That was four years ago _ today Wirkkala has a roster of more than 300 clients and an on-call crew of 10 to 20 dog-loving assistants.

The day care Wirkkala provides allows the dogs to socialize as a group, to play, nap, or cuddle with a human.

What distinguishes Paws With Inn is that the dogs are never left unattended _ a human is always present.

"These puppies sometimes need a `time-out' just like a kid would," said Wirkkala, "and they feel safer - they're happier _ if they know a human is there."

Wirkkala described a German shepherd that comes daily. "This dog has acute separation anxiety _ I can't go to the bathroom alone! - the minute he can't see me he starts howling, but the minute he can see you he's fine. He's a very happy dog, he just can't stand to feel like he's been abandoned, so this is perfect for him."

If this sounds like pets - dogs in particular _ are getting the kind of emotional attention that was once reserved for children, you're right, said Larry Rubino, who spends $2,500 a year sending his dog, Romeo, to Paws With Inn.

"I know he's taken care of - that he's happy," said Rubino, who makes no apology for his priorities.

Romeo has big brown eyes, a happy face, and like many `babies' Romeo has been in day care since he was born almost two years ago - and "he loves it," said Rubino.

"I spend the money sending him to day care because I want to make sure Romeo has company and playmates. I want to know he's having fun while I'm at work."

Rubino sends Romeo, a Shitzu Inu, five days a week to Paws With Inn.

"Everybody should do it. We don't think anything of blowing $50 or $60 dollars on ourselves - why not our dog?" said Rubino. "When you come home they've been alone all day and they want to play but you don't. But I come home and he's just so relaxed and happy."

Rubino says his motivation came from understanding his dog's disposition. "I was worried because this breed can get very snotty if they're not socialized - if they don't get enough attention. But Romeo is completely mellow. He doesn't tear my house apart and when he sees other dogs he doesn't right away have to fight them."

"I just love animals," Wirkkala confessed, "I was the little girl who would pick up every stray and bring it home."

"It drove her father a little crazy," said Wirkkala's mother, Sally Morse, who manages a pet supply store spawned by Paws With Inn while Wirkkala runs the day care.

Wirkkala limits her day-care groups to 14 regular dogs.

"I always have them do a trial day first to see if this is right for them, to see if they get along with the other dogs" said Wirkkala.

Some dogs love playing and socializing with others but some dogs do better quietly in their own homes, she said. For these Paws With Inn has a home-visit program of playtime, walks and feeding.

Wirkkala not only runs the day care and the store, she picks up and delivers the dogs to-and-from their homes.

"You should see them. They practically knock over their owners trying to get in the van they love it so much," reported Wirkkala. This makes some of the owners - just like the parents of children - suddenly feel sad and guilty, said Wirkkala. "But I tell them, you should be happy - it means they're happy - it doesn't mean they don't love you."

Wirkkala has found a number of kindred spirits, like Elizabeth Murphy, who feel working in a doggie day care is about the best thing they could do with their lives.

"I just love animals, there's no place else I'd rather work," said Murphy as she watched over three dogs all eagerly side-by-side carrying a stick together - three canine jaws cooperating in self-initiated play.

"You wouldn't believe the things they do if you didn't see it with your own eyes," she laughed.

Another Paws With Inn regular, Linda Reilly, recently got her son a German Shepherd puppy named Liebchen. Reilly works in Boston, she said, and her son goes to school in Boston.

"We leave at six in the morning and don't get home until six or seven at night. It didn't seem right to leave a puppy alone that long," she said.

Reilly wanted a dog for protection and "because kids are different when they grow up around dogs" but was worried about the puppy's mental health and the potential for home-alone canine mischief.

Finding day care was the perfect solution, she said.

"They even took Liebchen to see Santa - and we got a picture of it," said Reilly. "The best thing is I know she's having fun and not chewing up the furniture. I never have to come home to a mess."

Wirkkala not only chauffeurs her canine clients, she checks their food supply, restocks, and cleans up after them.

"It gives my neighbors a chuckle to see the day care van drive up," said Reilly, "but I know our puppy is happy."

When Wirkkala met her husband, Matthew - who runs a maple syrup business _ it was face to face over a squirming newborn puppy and before their first date she told him, "if you don't like a zoo, I'm not the girl for you."

They now share a fireplace with a scrum of contented canines that lounge on rugged Western horseblankets - "they're tougher" - and are likely to wake up with three guest dogs nestled cozily next to them under the covers.

The business keeps growing - it was to keep up with the dog care needs of her clients that Wirkkala recently opened Paws Pet Supplies, a store on North Main Street in Ipswich.

"When we place an order I know half of it is already sold - we were placing so many orders it seemed like we should just open a store so we would have some place to keep it all," said Wirkkala.