A Newcastle business offers boarding for dogs in a “family-style” atmosphere with opportunities to go for hikes or play with people and other canine guests.
The dogs go for on- and off-leash walks, enjoy wintertime expeditions on the nearby cross-country skiing trails, and play in the large meadows on the property.
Robin Beavis owns the business, Meadowsweet Inn for Dogs.
“We have a lot of land around us,” Beavis said. “We’re 600 feet away from a dead-end road, so we don’t have to worry about traffic, which is nice.”
The dogs can also play outdoors in a fenced-in yard. The inn plans to fence in another area next spring to provide more room for the dogs to run and play, especially those who cannot go for off-leash walks.
The “free-range” life, as the business website describes it, and the opportunities for outdoor activity mean more exercise and important time to socialize.
Meadowsweet guests can stay during the day while their families go to school and work, or board at the inn when their owners go out of town. Beavis and her part-time staff even bathe the dogs upon request.
The customers who bring their dogs to the inn appreciate the cozy, home-like feeling. “These owners wouldn’t typically board their dogs in a kennel, so they like knowing that it’s like staying in somebody’s house,” Beavis said.
Beavis lives upstairs with her husband, 5-year-old twin sons and their 6-year-old Labrador retriever, Bailey. Their guests “are in the house with us,” she said. “They’re under the same roof as us, so we can hear them 24 hours a day.”
“If someone’s having a hard night, I can come down and comfort them and see what’s going on, or if someone decides they need to go to the bathroom at 4 in the morning, I can take care of that,” Beavis said. The dogs “sleep very well at night; they’re not noisy.”
The inn usually has around eight guests and never more than 10.
“They have to be friendly, good-natured, family dogs to make this work,” Beavis said. The inn welcomes puppies, for whom the atmosphere can provide a valuable education.
Lucy, an 11-month-old puppy and current guest at Meadowsweet, was “a little bit fear-aggressive” when she came to the inn, Beavis said. Today, “she’s very social and outgoing and appropriate with other dogs.”
“For the young, fearful puppy, it’s a good introduction to socialization,” Beavis said. She plans to add a “puppy social” service in the spring.
Beavis has a Bachelor of Arts degree in elementary education and psychology. A lifelong dog lover, she worked with rescue dogs in New York City after college. Later, she apprenticed at Willow Run, an “open-concept” dog-boarding facility in Belgrade.
She soon began to develop a vision for a similar, home-based program. First, she started a dog-sitting business. She would stay at people’s houses with their animals or take dogs on off-leash hikes and walks.
Beavis and her husband built their home in Newcastle in 2008 and established Meadowsweet Inn for Dogs the same year.
Meadowsweet Inn for Dogs is at 154 West Old County Rd., about 3/4-mile east of Sheepscot village. For more information, call 586-5600, like Meadowsweet Inn for Dogs on Facebook or visit http://www.meadowsweetinnfordogs.com.
November is “referral month” at the inn, which means all guests who bring a new friend to the inn will receive $20 off their next stay per friend.
Also for November, a share of boarding fees will benefit Underhound Railroad. The organization works to rescue dogs from “kill shelters” around New England with the help of a network of foster families in the region.
