Sophie Sonnenfeld photos
Paw Haven, now open for furry friends.
A large inflatable pup helps celebrate the grand opening.
There’s a new place in town for pets from “all wags of life” to stay and play while their human owners are at work or out of town.
That new doggy daycare is called Paw Haven, which celebrated a grand opening with a ribbon cutting on Thursday evening.
Located at 1175 State St. just off of I‑95 in the U‑Haul building across from DISTRICT, Paw Haven brought together over 80 people and their furry friends for free food, drinks, and tours of the facility during the grand opening bash..
Since receiving city permission from the Board of Zoning Appeals to open the animal care service last June, co-founders John McFadyen, Jackie McFadyen, and Kevin Rocco have spent a year recreating and designing the pet friendly space.
“I hope everyone has had a minute to take a look around and see what a beautiful job that you can do with some creativity and imagination in an old building like 1175 State Street,” said city Economic Development Administrator Michael Piscitelli at the ribbon cutting.
As he addressed the crowd, Piscitelli had his dog Franny at his side.
“What’s really important beyond the business, you’re making an opportunity for families to live in New Haven and create a quality of life that makes New Haven not just a business and economic center, but a great neighborhood for everyone.”
Mayor Justin Elicker.
“There’s a lot going on right now, I’m sure you’ve all seen, and this is probably, I think it’s fair to say, in the last month the most celebratory event that I’ve been at,” said Mayor Justin Elicker, whose dog Captain missed out on the grand opening. “I wish that we could have a ribbon cutting at Paw Haven every day. I’m not sure if you can organize that…?” he joked.
He commended the Paw Haven co-founders and staff on successfully creating the doggy daycare through the Covid-19 pandemic.
“New Haven is a place where we obviously have many, many challenges, but we’re also incredibly resilient. For anyone to be able to accomplish what you’ve accomplished during a pandemic and during the economic crisis that we’re in is amazing.”
“New Haven is a growing city,” he added. “It’s a vibrant city and your effort to help do that even more is something that we’re so grateful for.”
“Dogs Are Better Than People”
Rocco’s dog, Maya.
None of the three Paw Haven co-founders had any background in pet care, but were inspired to create Paw Haven while taking care of Rocco’s dog Maya in East Rock.
The McFadyens, who are neighbors with Rocco, encouraged him to get Maya when he was on the fence about adopting a puppy. “I was like ‘Do it! If you do it, I will take care of it!’” said Jackie.
Kevin Rocco (left) and Jon Nisula.
Rocco, who is the CEO of a New Haven-based biotech company called Biorez, often had the McFadyens take care of Maya while he was at work.
Rocco said he drove up and down the shoreline in search of a nice facility, but couldn’t find one less than a 40 minute-plus round trip from New Haven. That was when Rocco and the McFadyens saw the need for a high quality pet care facility in the area and decided to get to work on creating one.
“We figured, ‘Hey, let’s do it right here!’ We love New Haven. We love East Rock. We’re home owners here. John has been a real estate developer here. Kevin’s office is over at DISTRICT. We have deep roots here and why not keep all of our pets local?” Jackie added.
Dallas Davis (right) with friend Tom Tang.
Dallas Davis, who is friends with Rocco, went with him to help pick out Maya three and a half years ago. Davis is currently looking to adopt a Miniature Bernedoodle and said he’s very happy to have Paw Haven as a resource in New Haven.
“It’s so exciting because it’s something that has been needed for a very long time in New Haven for students, faculty, and New Haven residents to bring their pets to.”
John Lopez with Yezline Gonzalez, Taz (left) and Mary Jane (right).
New Haveners John Lopez and Yezline Gonzalez brought along their furry friends Mary Jane and Tazmanian (Taz) to the grand opening celebration.
Lopez lives right around the corner from Paw Haven and said there are a lot of dogs in the area. “Dogs are better than people and they bring out the best in people, I really believe that,” he said.
Gonzalez also said many dog owners in the neighborhood were looking for a place like Paw Haven. “A lot of people need it” she said.
Lopez and Gonzalez both said they would like to bring Mary Jane and Taz by Paw Haven again in the future. “Just because we social distance doesn’t mean they have to!” Lopez quipped.
The grand opening guests were all gathered on the grass turf area where the dogs who are boarding or in daycare play during the day.
Jackie McFadyen.
Jackie McFadyen said they used the K9Grass turf because it’s antimicrobial and easy on the dogs’ paws. McFadyen said they have also installed a drainage system below the grass.
One side of the turf area has views overlooking the downtown New Haven skyline while the other side runs parallel with a line of train tracks. A series of white fences and one tall black fence protects dogs from getting near the trains that whooshed by a few times during the evening. Some dogs howled or yapped as the train passed, but McFadyen said the trains don’t typically run much during the day and don’t upset the dogs.
Paw Haven staff use fences in the outdoor area and four indoor play yards to group dogs by temperament and size.
“Dogs are like humans, there are certain humans that just don’t get along. There’s no rhyme or reason, they’re both nice people. It’s the same thing for dogs,” said McFadyen.
“Cat Condos” And Dog Gurus
The outdoor play area opens up into the indoor play pens and boarding spaces where the dogs come in for meals and sleep at night.
Although Paw Haven’s salmon pink floors are striking to humans, McFadyen and Paw Haven’s general manager and “dog guru” Jon Nisula said the pastel and lighter colors help calm dogs.
McFadyen said they were also sure to install a very strong HVAC system to prevent nasty smells, bacteria, and viruses that cling to most pet care facilities.
In total, their 15,000 square foot space can hold over 150 dogs for daycare and boarding at a time. Paw Haven also has a designated cat space with 23 “cat condos.”
“We’re going to grow into the space, in a good way, with a lot of furry friends” Rocco said. “I think the biggest thing for us right now is just getting awareness and getting the word out that this business now exists in New Haven.”
The cat space has a large cat tower, wheel, and scratch pads and posts for cats to play with. During the day, staff keep a rotating schedule to let out one cat at a time to roam the room so every cat has a chance to play safely.
Nisula said they also don’t keep toys in the play yards for the dogs since most don’t share well. They do allow toys for the dogs in the luxury suites and also offer one on one frisbee and tug of war play sessions with staff.
For boarding dogs, Paw Haven has four foot-by-four fout cages for medium dogs, and five-by-five cages for larger dogs. They encourage owners to bring blankets, beds, or other comfort items for their dogs to have at night.
Owners can also place their pups in luxury rooms which are much larger and include memory foam beds and camera surveillance so owners can check in on their dogs online.
The facility also includes cameras in play yards and the regular boarding rooms so owners can watch their pets during the day as well.
“We really try to bring all those aspects in to make the pet owner a little bit more comfortable dropping off their fur baby here. I know, before I had kids, the dog is it!” McFadyen said.
Paw Haven had a soft opening a few weeks ago and had 17 dog customers, four cat customers, and even a few grooming customers before the grand opening.
The facility is now open seven days a week from 6:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.
McFadyen said when they were doing market research, healthcare professionals in the area said they needed to drop their animals off early in the morning. “If we opened at eight, they wouldn’t use us. Or if we were closed on a Sunday, they didn’t want to use us.”
The facility had over 15 dogs last Sunday in daycare and so far they have already had 150 owners sign up on their system and 400 individual dog visits.
Before dogs are allowed into the Paw Haven pack, owners are interviewed and the dogs have to spend time meeting the staff. They then bring one especially nice dog from the pack to observe a one-on-one interaction.
If that goes well, the new dog is invited into the yard while Nisula and other staff watch closely and study the dog’s behavior. According to Nisula, there are 15 signs such as ear, tail, and even fur on back movement that signal the dogs aren’t getting along or that a fight might break out.
The facility does accept dogs that are not dog friendly, but they have a different setup for them away from the other pets. This setup includes keeping them in the luxury suite and then one-on-one staff play sessions during the day.
Nisula has 10 years of petcare experience and is one of a handful of certified professional animal care operators in Connecticut, he said.
Nisula trains all Paw Haven staff members using an online portal called Dog Gurus which teaches them to pick up on animal cues and behavior. The staff is all also trained in pet first aid and CPR.
Paw Haven currently employs 12 staff members ranging from local college students to employees with years in the industry. “We wanted to make it a fun, safe, nice place to work,” McFadyen said.
Morgan Kane.
Paw Haven staff member Morgan Kane started training at the end of May to work at Paw Haven. “I love it here!” she said.
Kane has two dogs and two cats at home in Hamden and used to work at another petcare facility in Hamden. She often brings her dog Bella to Paw Haven and said Bella loves it there too.
{media_17}Kane works morning shifts feeding the animals breakfast and then playing with and watching the dogs for five hours in the yard. She said most have a very calm temperament and that she has especially bonded with a miniature schnauzer named Spencer.