LEE, Mass. — Alexis Montgomery was disappointed on returning to the Berkshires to find the dog day-care she'd used was closing. 

 

So she started her own.

 

Hearth and Hound opened at 915 Pleasant St., which used to house Love Us and Leave Us.

 

"My dog was a customer here and so I always thought about like what would it be like to work with animals, too," Montgomery said. "So I saw a Facebook post from the owner of Love Us and Leave Us saying that she was going to be selling the building and I called up Adams Bank."

 

She decided to take the jump to start her own pet day care, closing on the building on Feb. 13.

 

Montgomery said she has always had a love for animals and grew up volunteering at the local humane society and worked at a pet store after high school.

 

"When I was a little girl I always wanted to be a veterinarian. And I've always been obsessed with animals," she said. "I used to carry around books of different dog breeds and I would memorize them and just like tell people about dogs all the time."

 

Montgomery was a nurse at Berkshire Medical Center from 2008 through 2017 before moving to the state of Florida.

 

"My thought process is if the community trusted me because I worked at BMC for so long to care for their relatives when they were sick then hopefully they will trust me to care for their animals which are members of our family," she said.

 

Hearth and Hound held a soft opening on March 24. The building is still getting some minor renovations and painting, but it opened for day care and boarding. 

 

The facility can take up to 20 dogs for overnight boarding and up to five cats unless two cats can stay in one catio with pet owners permission.

 

It has four big play areas and two small yards so that different dogs can be together or separated if needed when outside.

 

Hearth and Hound also offers wash and nail trim and Montgomery hopes to add grooming services in May once renovations are complete.

 

She has put much thought into the space, down to colors of the walls, making sure the animals can see those colors.

 

"The paint colors and everything that I picked out I put a lot of thought into what the animals like. Even the lighting, see how bright the lighting is, it's because dogs actually find daylight soothing," she explained. "The paint colors, too. We picked paint colors that dogs can see."

 

She also plans to add dog training and a puppy class and add weekends dedicated to one-on-one enrichment activities for reactive dogs.

 

"I was thinking of doing things specifically for the reactive dogs that can't be in day care," Montgomery said. "We don't offer day care on weekends, so on weekends, I would be able to have reactive dogs come in and do activities one at a time."

 

Her future goals are to partner with local businesses for events.

 

"I know someone else is opening up a Pilates studio and we are talking about doing yoga and puppies in this room," she said.

 

Pets are required to be up to date on all of their vaccinations, be on heartworm and flea preventatives, as well as a current dog license. Cats and dogs must be spayed/neutered to join day care.

 

Cats must be indoor only in response to avian flu risk.

 

Hearth and Hound's day care is open Monday through Friday 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and boarding is open seven days a week. More information and to book an appointments here.