"What I do is not a job, it’s my life,” says an enthusiastic Robert Huff, the owner of Bayside Pet Resorts. Bob’s love affair with dogs began when he was just a boy. “When I was about nine years old, I had a beautiful, red Cocker Spaniel named Bucky,” recalls Bob. “He was my best friend. Our family had to move from our house into an apartment, and during that move, Bucky disappeared. I was devastated. Almost a year later, I was walking home from school and Bucky ran up to me. He found me! We were inseparable for many years after that. I’ll never forget Bucky’s perseverance and unconditional love.”

A lifelong entrepreneur, Mr. Huff spent most of his career working in the health care industry. But, when he sold that business, Bob knew what his next endeavor would be. Because of Bucky and the bond that he and Bob shared, his next business would be centered around pets - and Bob planned to surround himself with people who love pets as much as he does.

Bob decided to build a state-of-the-art, full-service luxury pet care resort that would provide a stress-free environment where the pets could enjoy plenty of attention and fun activities. In 2012, the first Bayside Pet Resort opened in Sarasota, Florida. The 22,000 sq. ft. facility is situated on three acres adjacent to the Sarasota-Bradenton Airport. It’s a beautiful facility with artwork on the walls, indoor and outdoor training areas, and a huge agility field with lots of fun play equipment.

They have 243 climate-controlled suites of varying sizes for their canine guests. The suites range from premium to petite to fit all budgets. The premium suites include flat screen TV’s, private patios, and On-Line Doggie webcams that allow the owners to view their pets at any time.

Besides overnight boarding, they also offer daycare, training, grooming, and guest activity packages. There are also luxury condos for cats - and a free-roaming activity room complete with a fish filled aquarium to keep their feline guests entertained.

In 2013, the Bayside Pet Spa opened in University Park, Florida. It is a luxury day spa with a Parisian decor. They provide day lodging and doggie daycare in their indoor park. They also offer massage therapy, and deluxe grooming and spa packages. One of their grooms, the Dino Cat, recently went viral on the Bayside Pet Spa Facebook page. It had over 52,000 likes.

In December 2015, the newest Bayside Pet Resort opened in Osprey, Florida. This fabulous facility offers all of the services of the other locations and also features a spectacular water park with an in-ground salt water pool that has easy walk-in access at both ends.

Bayside’s website, www.baysidepetresort.com allows existing and potential clients to tour all three locations and see all of the services offered. Reservations can be made online or by calling each location’s reservations desk.

Since its inception, Bayside has experienced tremendous growth, partly because of its five star facilities and services - but also because of the special care that the staff gives to their guests every day. “Our staff is critical to our success,” says Mr. Huff. “From the moment a client comes through the door, until they leave with their tail wagging - they are cared for by our dedicated and compassionate staff.”

“We have 54 staff members between our three locations,” says Angeline Pantazis, the administrative director of Bayside. “All of our key staff and supervisors are certified in pet CPR. And, everyone in our staff gets extensive training on things like canine and feline body language.”

“Every dog is temperament tested when they come in,” Angie continues. “We do a five point health check on each pet daily. All of our pet guests interact with the staff members multiple times a day. Our overnight guests can choose add-on activities such as business walks, gourmet treats, skinny dipping, bedtime stories and tuck-in service, massages, or they can even join the daycare doggies,” says Angie. “About eighty percent of our boarding dogs choose additional services and activity programs.”

The daycare participants at each location are divided into groups by size and temperament, and they get to play in different indoor and outdoor areas of the facility. They can climb and play on the agility equipment, splash and swim at the water park, play ball, explore the great outdoors, and more. Every two hours the play groups are rotated to a new location to keep the dogs active and engaged.

Bayside often hosts birthday, holiday, and special event parties. At their St. Patrick’s Day party there were 86 dogs in costumes and hats. They took individual photos of each pet and then put their photo in a magnetic frame for the owners.

The training department offers courses for everyone - from the novice pet owner to the competitive agility participant. They have an AKC certified agility program and the AKC Canine Good Citizen program. There are many training programs to choose from, even a restaurant manners course. “It’s very popular with our clientele,” says Angie. “We have lots of outdoor restaurants in southwest Florida who welcome well-behaved dogs.”

“Something that differentiates us from other facilities is how we integrate ourselves into the community,” shares Bob. “We are right around the corner from Easter Seals. They have a wonderful rehabilitation and learning center for children and adults with all kinds of disabilities. Some of their more advanced ‘shining star’ students have joined our staff.”

“We also have a relationship with Bridges of America,” Bob continues. “It’s an organization that helps women re-enter the workforce after they have completed rehabilitation and are returning citizens to the community.”

“These women are drug free, hardworking, dedicated, reliable, and have a positive attitude,” adds Angie. “All they want is a second chance, and we try to help them achieve their goals.”

“The lives that we touch and change are amazing,” says Bob. “Because of the pets that we care for, we get to assist people who need that second chance. We have a great management team at Bayside. I am able to see these people develop and advance with our company. We love to promote from within. Many of our staff members have developed their skills and continued their educations and have advanced within the company.”

“We work very closely with local shelters, rescue organizations, and the humane society - and we do a lot of benefits for them,” says Angie, and continues, “Our grooming staff takes great pride in doing free grooming of pets that are up for adoption. Most of the dogs are adopted quickly after they are groomed. We also give a gift package for adopted dogs that includes discounted or free grooming, daycare, boarding, or training to every pet that is adopted through the humane society. That has proved really helpful to the first-time pet owner.”

Bayside offers transportation services for their furry guests. They provide pickup and delivery from the pet’s homes to the resorts or to the spa. In addition, they are now working with local hospitals to provide a new and much needed pet transportation service.

“Some people don’t have anyone except their pets,” shares Bob. “If they become ill or get hurt, they have no one to care for their pet. They don’t want to get in an ambulance until they know that their beloved pets are taken care of. We will provide support services for them, and give them peace of mind that their pets will be taken care of in a safe environment.”

The future looks pretty exciting for the Bayside Resort family. They plan to add three new resorts in the next five years. “All in all, we are successful, not just because we have beautiful state-of-the-art facilities,” says Bob with a warm smile, “But also because we have developed wonderful, lasting relationships within the community and with the families of the pets we take care of.”

Next Article