Convinced concerns addressed, Palatine approves doggy day care

Confident that neighbors' concerns over noise, smell, waste and loose animals running amok had been adequately addressed following an hourlong discussion, Palatine officials Monday gave the go-ahead to a proposed doggy day care along Northwest Highway.

Hounds Abound Dog Day Care and Boarding will open in the shuttered

Strictly Pet Supplies storefront at 546 E. Northwest Highway, providing a “fun filled day of physical and mental stimulation,” its owners said.

“I think they're going to be bringing a new business to Palatine and filling an empty storefront on one of our major corridors,” Councilman Aaron Del Mar said. “I think they're going to be conscious about the adjacent property owners and residents there.”

Hounds Abound also will include dog temperament testing services and a small retail area with dog merchandise.

Owners Steve and Karen Coakley, who hope to open by Jan. 1 if not earlier, agreed to several measures aimed at relieving surrounding residents' worries, including installing a rubber material with an 18-inch border on the outdoor fenced play area in order to prevent any runoff into area yards.

They promised waste would be picked up within seconds, garbage pickup to take place two to three times weekly, and no more than three dogs outside at a time. A six- or eight-foot fence will also be built to serve as a sight and sound barrier between the facility and its neighbors.

Hounds Abound, which will employ one full-time and three part-time employees, won't be permitted to house more than 10 dogs overnight. Nor will dogs be walked off-site or allowed outside between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.

And should one of the canine customers disruptively bark outside, the police department's animal warden can go to the scene and write a citation, Police Chief John Koziol said.