Children heading off to school aboard a classic yellow-orange bus is a common sight in cities and towns throughout North America.
But what about dogs? If the kids are at school and mom and dad are at work, that leaves the dog home alone. Dogs can get lonely, bored, and even develop separation anxiety. In one town in Nova Scotia, there’s a second “school bus” that picks up dogs and takes them to doggy daycare!
The bus, operated by the Good Hands Boarding Kennel, makes its rounds every day in the town of Scotch Lake, on Cape Breton Island. No matter the weather, the dogs are picked up at their homes; there’s no need for a bunch of dogs to wait at a designated stop!
After dogs board, the bus — and they look happy, knowing they’re off to a fun place — they’re ushered into their cage (this keeps them safe and sound during the trip). Once the bus arrives at the daycare center, the furry passengers are let off the bus and into a canine paradise.
The Good Hands doggy daycare is a veritable playground for dogs. They get to roam around freely, enjoying amenities like a swimming pool, balls to toss around or fetch, seesaws and other playground equipment, and sand pits for those times when the digging instinct gets too overwhelming to resist. Some dogs are sent off to daycare with backpacks loaded with favorite toys and treats!
It was Good Hands co-owner Rachel Haggett who came up with the idea of a school bus: “If the dogs can’t make it for whatever reason, I hate the thought of them sitting at home all day bored or in a crate when they could be here playing. So I said, ‘We’ve got to go get them!'”
