Canine Campout: Camp Bow Wow

Magers owns the Springfield location of Camp Bow Wow, a national franchise dog day care, where she cares for dogs during business hours and overnight while their owners are not at home or are unavailable.

Her approximately 5,000-square-foot facility in Kansas Plaza, at Kansas Expressway and Sunset Street, offers dogs shelter, and her eight employees provide pampering, including baths and treats. The dogs, or as Magers calls them, “campers,” stay in climate-controlled dog houses, known at Camp Bow Wow as “cabins.” And the campers have 2,500 square feet to roam outside.

Since opening in November 2005, Magers has built the business to between 15 and 20 dogs per weekday and more on weekends. She points to client referrals as the No. 1 source of new business while also relying on recommendations from area veterinarians and pet stores.

Even with all the catchy names and fun with dogs, Magers takes her job seriously, starting with a lengthy interview process.

“When prospective clients come in with their pets for their interview, we ask the owners 10 to 15 minutes of questions,” Magers says. “After they leave, their pet is observed for at least three hours. We observe their pet to watch interaction and socialization. Compatibility is crucial – we are always dog over dollar.”

Successful trail

A concern for animals began at an early age, Magers says, leading her down the path to veterinarian for a short time.

“I hung out with my papa at the stockyards; he was a cattle rancher,” she recalls. “I had a pony as a child, and started work at a pet shop in high school, cleaning cages – starting at the bottom.”

She chose not to attend college and worked two years for a vet hospital in Tulsa.

Magers then went to work for her family’s business. Father Jim Magers owns Springfield’s Panera Bread franchise.

“I was with them 11 years, starting as a third-shift baker,” Danielle Magers says. “I performed various jobs, then became their regional training manager. That’s where I learned many management tools and people skills.”

In 2000, she talked with her father about her dreams of doing something on her own. “He said he would assist me,” she recalls.

“We were very fortunate in our business to be able to help her get established,” Jim Magers says, noting that he supported the Camp Bow Wow franchise model after critically applying his franchising knowledge from years with Panera. “I wanted her to do what she wanted to do.”

Before venturing out, Danielle Magers took an entry-level job at Happy Tails, a dog day care center on South Enterprise, to learn the trade.

“I fell in love with doggy day care, even including mopping and cleaning up,” she says of her work at Happy Tails, now a competitor.

Magers’ next step was online research on dog day care and boarding businesses, where she found Camp Bow Wow. Magers visited Camp Bow Wow headquarters in Denver and met with its development team and corporate managers. They toured various Denver area camps.

Camp Bow Wow has about 25 locations nationally, with more than 100 franchises sold. Magers bought her franchise rights for $30,000 in 2005. They’re now selling for $50,000, she says. Franchisees pay 5 percent royalties.

Doggy Web cams

A popular feature at Magers’ facility – Camp Bow Wow’s only location in Missouri – is the Web camera. Many people check on their dogs online while at work, Magers says.

“We love to watch Bogie on the Web cams,” says Dan Chilton, referring to his dog, Bogart. Chilton and his wife, Nicole, moved to Springfield from St. Louis a couple of years ago to open the downtown theater The Moxie.

“We used to take (Bogart) to a place in St. Louis, Kennelwood. After we moved to Springfield, Camp Bow Wow opened, and we found it was equally nice,” Chilton said. “And the prices are reasonable.”

A full day camp of eight to 12 hours is $20, and the overnight camp is $28.

Janeen Carter, another Camp Bow Wow client, brings in her dog, Chloe, on a regular basis.

“My chocolate brown Lab literally drags me in there in the mornings,” Carter says, “and she is exhausted when she gets out at night.”

Camp Bow Wow

Owner: Danielle Magers

Address: 1900 W. Sunset, Ste. 120-B, Springfield, MO 65807

Founded: November 2005

Phone: (417) 882-9247

Fax: (417) 882-8033

Web site: www.campbowwowusa.com

Services: Dog day care, overnight boarding, socialization and bathing

Employees: 9[[In-content Ad]]