Copyright Hartford Courant
A $5 million luxury resort and spa opened this weekend in Connecticut with suites that feature relaxing music, flat-screen televisions and gourmet treats — all for dogs. Mother-son owners Laura and Craig Laaman unveiled their third and largest location of Wiggles Pet Resort in Middlebury on Saturday, and the resort spares no expense for their four-legged guests, including climate-controlled suites, raised beds and plush bedding. The suites include relaxing music and flat-screen TVs, which with either be showing Animal Planet or dog-themed movies. The facility also has five indoor-outdoor play yards for group or private play as well as healthy gourmet treats. The bank of suites also has “individual potty areas.” “We saw a void in this area for amazing pet care,” said Laura Laaman, a Southbury resident who has been in the premium pet care field for more than 30 years. “This is a wonderful pet community, and it was a tough market to get into. Craig, my 36-year-old-son, and myself, have separate homes in Southbury and we have six dogs between our families. We saw a need for this, and we decided to venture in.” Each location has 20-plus employees and is set in a countryside picturesque area with multiple acres. Laura Laaman said that was intentional to make it seem the dogs were going to camp. “It’s set up that they get to get up and have their breakfast, housekeeping and room service is delivered to them with their own custom meals. Then they are able to go outside, go potty, then they play with their friends, then they can have snack. It’s just a fabulous day. Then they get a rest break, then they go play some more,” Laura Laaman said. The mother-son duo opened their first location in Mahopac, New York three and a half years ago. The second location in Durham opened in February and was previously a kennel. Mahopac and Durham both had $1.5M investments for remodeling and upgrades. The Middlebury location, at 1082 Southford Road, is a $5 million investment and is double the size of the initial two Wiggles. The building, built from the ground up, has air filtration and purification systems and an advanced security system. “We don’t know of any pet resort in our state and probably in the greater tri-state area that has the amenities and the details that we offer,” Laura Laaman said. “We took our 30 years of expertise of watching the best of the best pet care facilities and we took that into their knowledge base and created really the best of everything that we could. “Pet parents want a place where their pets can come and enjoy themselves. And that’s why we named it Wiggles. We want them so happy they wiggle. The pet parents need a sense of relief that they have a partner that when they need to go away,” she added. Laura Laaman said the cost starts as low as $59 a night and amenities are added on top of that. “They get to choose what’s right for their dog. We don’t want to just warehouse dogs. We’re not a kennel. We’re about having fun and being engaged and enriched and lots of exercise or lots of pampering,” Laura Laaman said. “We give the full choice of what’s right for their own pet. Everything is customized to the individual pet.” Other offerings for dog owners to consider for overnight lodging or doggie daycare include positive dog training with overnight and day training options and full-service grooming and spa services from haircuts and nail trims to doggie facials. There is also a “nursery” for puppies. She said over the years clients have sent her videos about their dogs being excited about going to Wiggles. “We’ve had clients send us videos where all they have to say to their dog is, ‘Do you want to go to Wiggles?’ And the dog truly starts to wiggle,” Laura Laaman said. “Nothing makes me happier than to see those wiggles just by saying our name. We like that positive, happy association with our name.” Laura Laaman likened the business to taking young children to a trusting babysitter. “If you have young children you’ve got to get a great babysitter or go to grandma’s house, but we are the facility totally designed and renovated just for dogs,” she said. “They’re all suites with the best flooring and the best air quality. “If you think about your dog being in a place they don’t necessarily love, that creates potential negative emotions. … If you take me in my favorite spa, I’m really happy. That’s the association. If you think, I’m going to be pampered and cared for, that’s what this is all about,” she added. Adrienne Sharon of North Madison has dropped off her 8-month-old German Shepard mix Kosmos at the Durham location two or three days a week since the summer. She said the cost is about $40 a day, and it’s well worth the money. The first thing that she noticed is how clean it was. “He loves it,” Sharon said. “From the second he got there, I couldn’t believe it because I have never had a dog or a child that wanted to go to preschool and be away from mommy. But he is literally a different animal. He knows the word Wiggles when I tell him. He gets excited and gets into the car. … Mostly, he goes because he loves it.” Sharon works part time and going to dog day care isn’t a necessity, but she said Kosmos needs that interaction with other dogs and likes everyone that works there. “He doesn’t want to leave,” Sharon said. “The hardest part is getting him into the car when it’s time to go home. I just know he’s happy and cared for and gets tons of exercise. They make sure he eats his lunch every day and gets his rest time and he has a girlfriend and best friends there. “I know he’s safe there and I would recommend this to all dog owners,” she added. Mollie, a 4-year-old Plott Hound/Mountain Cur rescue dog, has been going to the Durham location since it opened in February. She is the service dog for Cheryl Dargento of Northford. Dargento said she disabled and unable to take Mollie for walks. Mollie goes to Wiggles three times a week for daycare and to run around with other dogs in a safe environment. “The biggest thing is to have her go and socialize, that’s huge,” Dargento said. “It’s difficult for me to get out, and we found Wiggles and it has been great. “When I tell her its Wiggles days, she jumps up and goes and sits by her leash,” she added. “She’s gone to other places, and I’ve never had that reaction from her before.”
