Dogs happily piled on Mellow Fellow owner Jared Hoston last Friday — begging for pets, sniffing other dogs or running around and enjoying the sunny day.
Mellow Fellow, a new doggy daycare in Spring Hill, soft launched their opening a few weeks ago with plans for a grand opening in March. Hoston and his mother, Courtney Ford, own the business together.
“My mom came up with this idea in 2020,” Hoston said. “She’s been working on it for quite some time now. It’s just our love for pets, and Spring Hill has really nothing close for people to just bring their dogs to play.
“There’s a lot of dogs out here,” he added. “A lot of new housing developments, and we thought we could just help the city of Spring Hill.”
Mellow Fellow provides:
- doggy daycare with supervised play and socialization,
- overnight boarding,
- professional grooming services, which includes nail trims, ear cleaning, skunk baths, full grooms, baths, gland expressions and more,
- self-wash stations,
- and personalized care from trained staff.
The business also plans to add a retail area in the lobby, stocked with various canine-geared supplies such as food, treats, leashes and toys.
“This is great,” said Jewel Blume of Spring Hill, who brought in her dog, Cece, and her daughter’s dog, Scout, for grooming services. “This is great because we’ve been going to the west side of Gardner. They (Ford and Hoston) will do a great job.”
The facility has three playrooms — dogs are divided by size and activity level — as well as an outdoor play area, rooms for grooming and washing, and 98 kennels ranging from 3 feet by 2 feet to 6 feet by 6 feet.
Mellow Fellow doesn’t charge by size; instead it’s a flat fee based on timing:
- $45 for overnight boarding, which includes doggy daycare,
- $30 for full day daycare, up to 12 hours,
- and $18 for half day daycare, up to five hours.
As the business settles in, and the weather gets warmer, Hoston said he plans to host adoption events, puppy pilates and dog training courses.
“[Customers] always leave with a smile, and their dogs are always worn out,” said Hoston, talking about his favorite part of the job.
