Red Hydrant Lounge & Suites opens July, adding dog boarding option to Grand Forks – Grand Forks Herald

GRAND FORKS – Geneviève Spicer and Ally Becker met and bonded over a common interest; what they call “an obsession with dogs”.

“We’ve always loved dogs, but we’ve always wanted to provide better care for dogs (with) really intentional practices, not just throwing them in a room and letting them play, but giving them what they need. “Said Spicer.

Spicer is the owner of Red Hydrant Lounge & Suites at 3180 Gateway Dr. in Grand Forks. The business, which offers dog boarding and daycare, is set to open July 15 with an open house from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on July 13. Adoptable animals from Turtle Mountain Animal Rescue will also be in attendance.

Spicer met Becker, who will serve as a trainer at The Red Hydrant, about a year ago when Becker was the trainer of his youngest dog.

“He struggled a lot with dog-to-dog interaction, and Ally specializes in aggressive dogs, and that’s how I met Ally,” Spicer said. “And I worked with her, and I was like, ‘Oh, that’s good. I need her on my team.

Becker worked freelance after getting her training certificate and worked in various dog-related businesses before deciding to bet on herself and go freelance when she met Spicer. Becker said Spicer didn’t have to do much persuasion to get him on board at The Red Hydrant.

“A lot of my clients that I work with, I love working with them, but it’s been a hot minute since (I had) worked with someone who really took coaching as well as her,” said Becker said. “And so when she approached me about it, I was like, ‘I’m kind of on the fence. And after a few minutes, it was obvious.

The two clicked from a business perspective soon after.

“We were almost interviewing each other not really knowing what the other was doing while we waited for the holeshot, and when we never got it we were like, ‘Wow, OK, that’s working,'” said Becker.

The name “The Red Hydrant” comes from wanting something dog-related for people to remember the business, but Spicer’s favorite part is the “Lounge & Suites” added to it. She said she thinks it confuses a lot of people about what the business really is, but she said it was a very intentional choice.

“I wanted it to be, ‘Well, we go out and have a good time with our friends in a lounge,’ or you stay in a hotel and look for the suites,” Spicer said. “I wanted this for the dogs. I wanted the dogs to have a place to come and also have a good time with their friends. So I thought, ‘Yeah, we’ll go with it.’ Some people might be confused, but they will eventually figure it out.

Also an intentional choice, The Red Hydrant’s building is approximately 14,000 square feet and, when open, will have a capacity for over 100 boarding dogs at a time.

“I’ve been to probably 12 boarding houses, and none of them, from the doors of the horse gates to the way the kennels are set up… It’s going to be so good,” Becker said. “I’m so impressed.”