
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 […]
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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.”
“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.