Public hearing Monday for Harrison dog daycare

An ongoing fight to bring a doggie day care to Freeport Road in Harrison will culminate in a public hearing Monday.

People can weigh in on the request by Ringer’s Pet Dog Training to offer the service at 3041 Freeport Road, a former car dealership that Kim Ringer and her late husband, Bruce, bought in 2015 and have operated since with retail and classes.

“I have not had anyone come out to object it at any previous meetings,” Ringer said. “I’m not sure what the disdain is against having dogs at day care.

“It can’t be noise because we hear everything on Route 28 from here. If there’s a tractor-trailer, I can hear it from Millerstown to Tarentum.”

Harrison’s zoning hearing board in 2021 denied Ringer a variance to operate a kennel at the location because the use is not permitted in a business zone. Kennels are allowed in the township’s S-1, special zoning district.

The public hearing is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the municipal building. Commissioners will meet immediately after to consider a vote to rezone the property from B-1 to S-1 and consider a vote to allow the day care as a conditional use.

Township Manager Rich Hill was not available for comment.

Ringer said she and her husband purchased the building with specific intent to operate a doggie day care because of its large size, but the idea was nixed shortly after the sale went through.

She has since operated a retail shop from the site, selling food, treats and other pet items. There are training sessions held in separate rooms there.

Day care and boarding happen at Ringer’s main building in Tarentum, in a former bank along East Sixth Avenue, where the business started 25 years ago.

“I’d like to get everything happening mostly in one place,” Ringer said.

Having grown up not far from the space along Freeport Road, Ringer said she wants to operate her business in a neighborhood that feels like home. Her business has outgrown the space in Tarentum, though she would keep it open for the foreseeable future, she said.

“We’re not increasing the number of dogs that we have, but we need more space for them to romp and play,” she said.

If the Harrison site is approved, Ringer said it is ready to go, and she could begin operating a day care within the week of approval.

She said as many as 40 dogs a day could have the run of a 120-by-75-foot fenced playground in the rear of the building. The surface is covered with AstroTurf.

There would be one employee in the area for every 15 dogs.

“We don’t have outdoor kennel runs where they are unsupervised and bark all day,” she said.

“They are in play group, interacting with each other. It’s like a kid’s playground.”

For rainy or hot days, there is an indoor play area that’s about 75 by 100 feet.

The Tarentum space will be used as a drop-off; she will shuttle the dogs from there to Natrona Heights.

The township’s planning commission has recommended the use to commissioners for their approval.