Our Story

In 2001 the dog daycare industry was so new; most people hadn’t even heard the term ‘dog daycare’. When we visited the few dog daycare facilities that existed in the bay area, it was shocking. The options for this service were often dirty, loud, not well vetted or staffed and simply not very happy places.
After lengthy involvement with animal rescue associations, we worked closely with the Director of the San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SFSPCA), their Academy graduates, and training industry leaders such as animal behaviorists and authors Dr. Ian Dunbar and Jean Donaldson to open a facility unlike any other.
Hound Lounge Inc. TM was the first, positive reinforcement-based, wide-open/sterilized, 24-hour-supervised dog daycare and boarding facility in San Francisco. Our client base has included the highest-ranking Military, and San Francisco supervisors such as David Campos, and members of the Warriors, including Klay Thompson. Hound Lounge’s second Bay Area location was launched in Walnut Creek in 2016 and 5 partner facilities began their launch in 2013 in Little Rock, Central, and Northwest Arkansas. Our SF location was closed during Covid but plans to open a new facility in Sacramento in 2024 are in the works.
In the early years, we were outsourcing our client’s professional grooming requests but soon had a similar experience when witnessing the options in that arena as I had when I first observed dog daycares. The groomers we used were often not gentle, detail-oriented, or patient. Thus, we brought grooming in-house and that is why the grooming arm of Hound Lounge began its inception.
Our biggest accomplishment has been sticking to being motivated by kindness before profit. We are honest with our clients, and we do not rush our groomers which ensures the best grooming experience possible.  We are also proud that we don’t have bather quotas which additionally ensures our four-legged clients are getting the best care possible.  Hound Lounge has consistently donated money to causes such as Friends of The Earth, Earth Justice, and the Natural Defense Council (NRDC). We have raised money for SFSPCA, and local public parks, worked with inner-city youth, and more.  We have given countless complementary grooms to senior dogs who needed homes.  Hound Lounge uses high-end products and builds genuine relationships with our clients.  We assist our neighboring businesses by alerting them to potential dangers, lending them equipment, and helping them find clients.
We have always hired from diverse nationalities, ages, and socioeconomic groups and go above and beyond – finding homes for dogs whose owners can’t keep them, offering discounts to clients who fall on hard times, and more. At Hound Lounge profit comes last and what comes first is the happiness of the dogs, our team members, and our client community. That goal has withstood the test of time.