Ringer's Dog Training faces one last hurdle for day care operations

The owner of a Harrison dog training business said she’ll try one last time to seek township approval to operate a pet day care and boarding service at her Freeport Road location.

Kim Ringer, owner of Ringer’s Pet Dog Training, will present her case to the township’s planning commission Monday. She is seeking conditional use approval to board dogs at her shop, 3041 Freeport Road.

“I can’t get my hopes up,” said Ringer, who has filed several previous applications to the township for kennel operations, only to be denied. “I really don’t know what I’ll do if they turn me down.”

Ringer has owned the pet business for 25 years, which has another site at the corner of East Sixth Avenue and Corbet Street in Tarentum.

Since purchasing the Harrison building in 2015, it has been her intention to centralize operations. The expansive site formerly housed a car dealership and a home goods store. There is room for her retail and training, along with space for day care, she said.

Ringer equipped the property with a 120-by-75-foot fenced playground at the rear of the building and a similar area indoors.

“I have a buffer zone with trees, a waste disposal plan and a 6-foot fence with self-latching gates,” she said. “All the neighbors I’ve spoken to have said they’re all for it. I don’t understand what the problem is.”

Commissioner Chuck Dizard said applications like Ringer’s require time to fully meet state code requirements for zoning and planning.

Overwhelming community support aside, the process must go through the legal avenues, he said.

“I support the approval and find Ringer’s a valuable business enterprise in town,” Dizard said.

Last month, Ringer got initial approval from the township commissioners to move the project forward when they voted 5-0 to rezone the property from B-1 to S-1, allowing pet day care services.

If the planning commission on Monday recommends the idea, Ringer will go back before township commissioners at their March 28 meeting for final approval.

Commissioner Jamie Nee said she plans to review the application and weigh what’s best for the township.

Fellow Commissioner Jim Erb said any business that promotes the township and brings customers to the community, or that provides a needed service for residents, he’s “100% in support of.”

If approved by the board at the end of March, Ringer said the day care could be up and running within a week.