Viewers' Choice For MN's Best Doggy Day Care

WAITE PARK, Minn. (WCCO) -- Our pets aren't just animals that live in our house, they're part of the family.

And like any family member they deserve the best care.

WCCO viewers picked their favorite doggy day care – and La Dee Dogs of Waite Park came out on top.

"When I go 'Belle, do you wanna go to La Dee Dogs?' She just jumps in the car," Susan Dean said.

La Dee Dogs is more than a place to keep your dog busy.

It's a place to improve your pooch.

"She's gotten such good socialization training here that when we're out in the real world, I don't have to worry about her approaching other dogs, or other people," Dean said.

In fact you might have more trouble keeping your dog from making too many new friends.

"We spend a huge portion of our time outside," Jennifer Moore said. "We have pools, toys, umbrellas, bubbles."

And there's full-service grooming, and nap time.

"It's like going to a kids daycare center where they roll out the mats and they all take naps, these dogs that have quiet time," Dean said.

The attraction of doggy day care is as much for owners as it is for the dogs themselves.

"We give them more time," Moore said. "A lot of the time they don't have to go home and worry about exercising their dog, because we take care of that for them."

As much fun as it looks, it's not just playing with dogs all day long.

"You have to put up with dog slobber, dog hair, seeing some things that you wish you wouldn't have seen," Moore said.

And that's what's so valuable about a place like this -- it's somewhere your dogs are loved just as much as they are at home.

"We just want the dogs to have a good time," Moore said. "And have a home feel with them getting a lot of attention and love."

A day at La Dee Dogs will cost you $23, and it's $33 for an overnight stay.