About Town: Couple to create pet resort on Hilton Head

Some people send their dogs to a kennel and leave with visions of cinderblock walls and chain-link fences.

That’s not exactly what Stuart and Brecken Campagna are building on Hilton Head Island.

The couple recently broke ground on Southpaw Pet Resort, an all-suite boarding and training center at 10 Fish Haul Road.

They demolished a decades-old kennel on the property and plan to open their resort in April. It is designed for individual attention, safety and comfort, Stuart Campagna said.

The resort’s first phase is planned to include 14 6-foot-by-8-foot kennels, each with a TV and wrought-iron bed and each connected to a 12-foot-by-8-foot running area that Campagna said will resemble a pet’s “own little back yard.”

The Campagnas, former owners of an in-home pet-sitting service, added the TVs because many former clients said their pets responded to shows such as those on the Animal Planet channel.

“They swear their pets watch television,” Stuart Campagna said. “I do have one cat that likes the bottom line on the news.”

The first phase of the resort will also include a 50-foot-by-50-foot enclosed, climate-controlled training facility. It will be carpeted with “canine grass,” synthetic turf made of anti-microbial fibers that provides pets with cushion and is “great on their joints,” Campagna said.

That facility will be used for obedience and agility training that will be available in addition to the boarding service.

The couple are targeting vacationing residents, tourists or working people who want “doggie day care,” Campagna said.

“You know your pet is going to be taken care of the way you want it to be taken care of,” Campagna said. “You hear everybody say it, but we’re really serious about it.”

Phase II of the resort is planned to include cat condominiums and a grooming facility and check-in room, Campagna said.

He said he also is considering installing a hydrotherapy rehabilitation tank to help pets recover from surgery, lose weight or build strength.

OTHER BUSINESSES
Other recent business openings, closings and changes in the area:

• Another pet-related business, Paw-metto Pooches Pet Salon, recently moved from Belfair Towne Village to 21A Kitties Landing Road in Bluffton.

Owner Lisa Dorobiala’s business offers dog grooming services with a small selection of grooming-related retail supplies.

She said she is certified by the Rochester Institute of Dog Grooming, certified in pet first aid, is a member of the National Dog Groomers Association of America and volunteers for the Hos-pets program of Hospice Care of the Lowcountry with her dog, Sassy.

WHAT IS ABOUT TOWN?
As you drive around southern Beaufort County, you notice a sign for a new shop, new construction or road work. Or you realize that an old store you once frequented has gone out of business. About Town answers the question, “What’s going on here?”

If you have information about something that has changed the local landscape or if you wonder about one of those changes and would like us to tell you more about it, contact reporter Josh McCann at jmccann@islandpacket.com or 843-706-8145.