The Dog Plex, a new doggie day care, opens in Moline

Harold Defrieze has made a big career change. He has just opened a new doggie day-care business called The Dog Plex near downtown Moline at 400 24th St. Mr. Defrieze, age 40, who has worked in the restaurant and bar business for much of his life, called the move of opening a business that he […]

Harold Defrieze has made a big career change. He has just opened a new doggie day-care business called The Dog Plex near downtown Moline at 400 24th St. Mr. Defrieze, age 40, who has worked in the restaurant and bar business for much of his life, called the move of opening a business that he loves not just the “American dream,” but his “American doggy dream.”

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“I would rather spend my days with dogs instead of listening to people talk about their food,” said Mr. Defrieze on Wednesday afternoon, April 3, inside The Dog Plex, which opened for business on Tuesday. Since opening just a couple of days ago, The Dog Plex has been getting “positive feedback and we’ve already been getting a few calls, which is great,” he added. As of Wednesday afternoon, April 3, the business had four canine guests and two employees – Mr. Defrieze and his cousin, Terri Stewart. She was an accounting manager at the Alter Building in downtown Bettendorf for 10 years before starting her new career in the dog care business. “This is a great opportunity for us to work together and do our own thing,” she said. In time, the new business might hire a few more employees, and take care of a lot more dogs. Mr. Defrieze said his goal is to eventually have 20 to 30 dogs every day at The Dog Plex. Here are some features of The Dog Plex:

• The doggie day care is in a building that has about 3,600 square feet. That one-story brown structure is at the corner of 24th St. and Fourth Avenue. It is the former home of the Evac Systems Fire & Rescue Equipment company.
• The business currently has four large kennels, but will likely get more in the future. It has a series of rooms for the dogs to roam. One of the rooms is set up to look like a living room with a large TV on the wall, couches, throw rugs and art on the walls. The room is meant to give a “homey feel” for the dogs, Mr. Defrieze said.
• There is also a larger room for the dogs to play.
• The Dog Plex offers daily daycare and overnight boarding. It is open 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays, and is closed on weekends. Go here to see the rates and services offered at the business.

One of the top goals for the business is to make The Dog Plex a home away from home for canine friends including for dogs spending the night.  “We understand the importance of routine, especially at bedtime. Our staff follows your dog's usual bedtime routine, whether it involves a comforting bedtime snack or a bedtime story,” according to Dog Plex website. Another of Mr. Defrieze’s goals is to fence in the area behind The Dog Plex to create an outdoor play space for dogs. That will probably happen in a few weeks, he said. The Dog Plex was created out of Mr. Defrieze’s love of dogs. In fact, he has two dogs that he rescued when he worked in the restaurant business in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. That love of dogs continued when he moved to the Quad Cities years ago and continued his career as a restaurant manager. (He has worked at restaurants such as the former Starting Line in Davenport and the Bix Bistro.) Bu, while he loved his work, he also dreamed of opening a dog care center. That dream started when he looked around the Quad Cities a few years ago for a day-care center for his two dogs. During that search, he didn’t like what he saw. In fact, he called a couple of the dog care centers in the region “giant warehouses for dogs.” And others were a bit too fancy and expensive for his tastes. So he decided to make plans for opening his own business. His doggie care center dream almost came true about two years ago when he looked at converting a Davenport building into a business. However, it was delayed when he realized the building would need a massive renovation – along with a massive budget to get the job done. His dream took a big step forward in December when he got the building at 400 24th St., Moline, which needed far less renovation work. Renovation poject started in February and was completed this spring. Mr. Defrieze said he already loves his new business and is looking forward to every aspect of the dog-care business, even the challenges. While doing his research and visiting other area dog day-care centers, he was told about one very troublesome challenge: While most dog owners love their pets, a few people might drop their dogs off at the day-care business and never return. “I’ve been told by people in the business that this is going to happen,” he added. If dogs are abandoned at The Dog Plex, Mr. Defrieze said he probably has three options: He might become owner of another dog or two; dogs might be eventually taken to a local shelter; or he is considering a third option. That is, starting an “adoptable dog” program at the business by telling other pet owners a dog needs a home. Even with challenges in the business and long hours, Mr. Defrieze said he doesn’t miss the high-pressure world of restaurant management because he is living his “American doggie dream.” “Now, I get to play with dogs all day,” he added.