A new dog day care and boarding spot opened in Chantilly this summer, and to celebrate, its owners are inviting locals and their four-legged friends to have a paw-some time at a Halloween-themed grand opening party this weekend.
After opening its doors July 31, Camp Bow Wow Dulles South (13893 Willard Road) will throw a grand opening “Howl-O-Ween” party on Saturday (Oct. 17) from noon to 4 p.m.
The celebration will include a dog and family costume contest, grand opening special pricing, face painting, a Paw Patrol inflatable bounce house, raffles, tours of the facility, a cheesesteak food truck, and vendors.
Categories for the contest include best dog costume, best dog and human group costumes, and most creative, funniest and spookiest costumes. The grand champion winner will take home a prize package valued at more than $300, including five full days of day care, and a gift basket.
“We just want to make sure that everybody knows … that this is a free event,” co-owner Harry Samuelson told FFXnow. “It’s family and dog-friendly. It’s Halloween-themed. It’s going to feature the rescue organizations that we’re partnering with.”
Samuelson and his co-owner, Michael “Jay” Mollett, both Navy veterans, met years ago, while working at the Reston-based contractor Leidos.
After Mollett brought up the idea of starting a dog daycare and boarding facility, Samuelson says they “decided to jump ship and try this out.” The two traveled to Denver, Colorado, to the Camp Bow Wow headquarters.
“We walked in the back behind double doors, and we did not smell dog at all … So, that was striking,” Samuelson said. “They’re doing something right. The cleaning processes — and since I was a quality auditor, I’m big on process, procedure, streamlining, things like that — that was the first step in the right direction for me personally.”
While they were committed to the franchise, it ultimately took two years of looking at different areas in Virginia to find just the right spot. Ultimately, the company was able to offer them a slot in Chantilly that opened up unexpectedly.
“We saw the need, and we thought we had a little bit different a model we could offer to the customers there,” Samuelson said. “So, we jumped on it.”
Owning a business isn’t just about the business, Samuelson added.
“We do want to really give back to the community,” he said. “We really do want to help out dogs in need.”
As a part of that effort, the business is offering free boarding for a few dogs from the animal rescue groups Mutt Love Rescue and Homeward Trails.
In addition to serving as the dog day care’s official introduction to the community, tomorrow’s festivities will give Samuelson an anticipated opportunity to show guests around the facility.
“We don’t want to hide anything,” he said. “We allow customers to see the whole facility, everything we’re doing.”
