Adventure Awaits

hen owners are away, it’s time for pups to play.Dog owners in Northwest Arkansas have long wanted a place to leave their dogs where they know their pups will be in the best hands and will have the most fun. Dog Party USA, an award-winning dog boarding, daycare, and grooming facility, has become just such a place.
Beginning in 2005 by Chaddie Platt, a charismatic and enthusiastic dog lover, Dog Party was a dream made real. “I have been absolutely crazy about dogs my entire life,” Platt said.
 

When Chaddie was in elementary school, there was an annual project requiring her to detail “what I want to be when I grow up” and her answer was always: “I wanted to have a dog farm with two of every kind of dog.” As she grew up, the dream began to take shape into something more practical. “I wanted to build a place where dogs could have fun when they were away from their families,” Platt said. “(I wanted) a place they could look forward to going.” After careers in banking, environmental conservation, human resources and fundraising respectively, Chaddie was ready to make her dream a reality.
 

Obviously, Dog Party USA is locally owned, but it’s also a state-of-the-art boarding and daycare facility specializing in supervised off-leash play all day, every day. The business also offers professional grooming
and training for all pups.
 

“We have 4.5 acres located centrally to Northwest Arkansas, with plenty of room to run,” Platt said. Additionally, the facility has 11 outdoor yards, many of which are covered in K-9 Grass (artificial turf) so that the dogs can run and play all day, even in the water without getting dirty. When the weather does not permit dogs running and playing outside, Dog Party has indoor climate-controlled play areas.
 

All the staff of Dog Party, a few of which are members of Chaddie’s family, receives extensive and continuous training on canine group play management, interpreting dog body language, and first aid, which is necessary and helpful when wrangling so many furry friends. A lot of dogs enter the gates of Dog Party USA daily so there needs to be a lot of employees who are passionate about pups and their needs.
 

Working alongside her family: brothers, Ron, Nick, her mother, Priscilla, and her nephews Matthew and Tristan; Chaddie has been able to fulfill her dream while also working with her family. It has been a rewarding experience as well as beneficial to the business.
 

“We have always been fortunate to enjoy each other’s company as well as to respect each other’s abilities,” Platt said. Dog Party thrives by bringing different strengths to the table through its dedicated, long-term staff, which the business is fortunate to have.
 

Chaddie Platt, Manager and Owner, Matthew Kumpe, Manager, and Tristan Kumpe, Manager, are Certified Professional Animal Care Providers (PCACP). This is a certification from an independent board of professionals known as PACCC, Professional Animal Care Certification Council and requires intensive study and testing that must be renewed periodically. Currently, they are the only CPACP’s in the state of Arkansas. Chaddie is also a certified Pet Tech First Aid Instructor and as such is qualified to teach other animal care professionals’ pet first aid.
 

Dog Party USA is a place with love, family, fun, and passion running through it. Without their love for dogs, Chaddie and her staff would not be where they are today. What keeps the business going, is, “In a word, passion,” Platt said, “A passion for dogs and their wellbeing and as they say, “for the love of dogs …”