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Welcome to the Rex’s Place Summer 2025 Newsletter!
As winter turns to spring, we’ve taken time to evaluate our operations and offerings. In this issue, we will discuss some of the things we are doing, but before we go 
there: We have always thanked you for your support of our business. As most of you know, we were awarded the 2025 Quality Business Award as the Best Daycare in Evanston this year by Quality Business Awards. We could not have done this without you. It has been our pleasure to work with your families and your dogs. So we thank you.
Now let’s get to those changes….
General Updates
Since Markia won’t let us take a good pic, this will do
Puppy Camp: Please welcome Markia, our Puppy Camp Counselor. Markia has been with us for a long time, mostly in Day Care Plus. But her real passion is puppies, so when the position opened, her hand went right up and she jumped right in. She will be responsible for getting new puppies who are too young for daycare ready to grab this new world by the tail — quite literally!
Since José won’t let us photograph him, this will have to do.
Please also welcome José in his new position as Kennel Manager! If you have ever dropped off your dog for daycare, you already know José. He is one of the hardest workers we have ever had at Rex’s Place and few people deserve a promotion as much as he does. So we are thrilled to be able to make this happen.
Some Add-On Prices to Change, and New Services Starting May 1
The pricing of some of our add ons will change as of May 1. Specifically:
Baths will be $25.00 for small dogs (up to 20 lb), $3o.00 for medium dogs (20-40 lbs) and $35.00 for large dogs (40-80 lbs) and $40 for extra large dogs (more than 80 lbs) where we usually need 2 staff members for the process. This will be welcome news to smaller dog owners, and will more fairly reflect the labor costs of the baths.
Nail trims are $15, and those that require two people to handle the dog will be $20.00. Again, accounting for higher labor costs.
A new service! Requested nature walks with Joe for daycare dogs will be $15.00 for a half hour.
And something else new for you: want to throw your daycare dog a Pawsome Birthday Party? We can arrange a birthday bash for your pup and their friends, featuring puppy pizza handmade by Janeen, group photos and a special gift for the birthday baby! Sorry, dogs only… All this for only $50! Three days notice are required.
Additionally, beginning in May, we will be sending monthly birthday greetings to all dogs celebrating that month.
Daycare Reservations vs. Walk In
It is critical for us to be able to plan for the proper care of the dogs. We have to be able to schedule enough staff for both day care and boarding. This is why we have tried so hard to encourage all of you to make reservations.
Sadly, encouragement has not been effective enough and we now have to adjust our policies so that we can properly care for the dogs with us. Effective May 1st, we will have a surcharge for Classic Day Care and a new billing policy for Day Care Plus.
New Charges
We are always happy to see you, but we have 35 Lunas, 10 Charlies and several Bellas and Stellas. If you don’t have a reservation, we have to figure out which one is there. While we pride ourselves on knowing our dogs, sometimes they look alike and we might get the wrong one — it’s not always easy! Reservations help! Additionally, during peak periods when we have 75-80 dogs boarding with us who all attend daycare, it becomes overcrowded. So during peak periods if you don’t have a reservation, we might have to turn you away. If you need help setting up reservations, please let us know and we can help you.
For Classic Day Care dogs who don’t have a reservation, there will be a $10.00 fee.
For DayCare Plus: if you have a reservation and you do not show up for the day, you will be charged $34. DayCare Plus is limited to 30 dogs, and preparation and cost goes into the activities they do. We may have to decline a reservation because we accepted yours. So no shows will be charged 50% for the day.
And what also really helps the staff is if you text 847-420-6298 when you arrive with your dog’s name (first and last). That way, we don’t have to ask, and we can verify by looking at the text.
Reining In Our Leash Situation
Because of skyrocketing costs, we will now have to charge your account if you take your dog home using one of our leashes. Long story short: almost no one has ever returned a leash to us that they have borrowed when picking up their dog. The cost of those leashes has tripled in just the last year. We cannot function without our leashes. So, beginning May 1st, if you use one of our leashes to take your dog home, we will charge your account $35.00 (that is the price of the leash). If you bring the leash back, we will remove the charge or credit your account if your bill has already been paid.
More about leashes below.
If you want to just buy one of our leashes, we will sell them to you at cost, as long as we have enough on hand to manage the dogs in our care. We also have a surplus of Karanda beds that we use throughout our facility; we can sell you those at cost as well. Please message us if you are interested.
Ask Kathy
Do you have “availability”?
We will NEVER answer that question. Any answer we would provide would only be valid in the moment when we give it. To know whether we have availability, make a reservation on Paw Partner. That is the only way to guarantee a spot, and that is the only way to know whether we have space for you. Again: we will never answer an inquiry about space or availability, no exceptions. Just make the reservation. We will waitlist you if there is no space.
Why don’t you have camera feeds on your website?
We have closed circuit cameras that we monitor and review for a number of reasons. We will not put up a live feed, because as we were warned by every other day care owner we ever spoke to, those camera feeds only lead to countless phone calls to the effect of “my dog looks ___” or “my dog seems ___”. Either we spend our entire day answering phone calls, or we actually take care of the dogs. We can’t answer those calls and still care for the dogs, so we don’t put up camera feeds on the internet.
Why can’t I reach you by phone?
Here is the best answer we can give you (from our January 2024 newsletter): We can either take care of your dogs or we can be on the phone. If you are calling about making a reservation, go to your PawPartner page. We cannot see anything about your request that you cannot see. If we are full, we are full. Talking with you on the phone will not change that.
We do not return calls when they will take us away from the dogs, and we get on average 20 calls per day where the answer is in PawPartner. PawPartner tells you everything we can tell you about reservations. If you have a problem with billing or technical glitches, the fastest way to get help is to email us at [email protected]. Send details of your problem, and we will get your issue resolved as quickly as we can. But if you are only calling because PawPartner won’t accept your reservation, we will not be able to call you back — we can’t change the fact that we do not have space.
We can’t take calls for dropoff or pickup. Please text!
We are simply too busy bringing dogs in and out. Drop offs and pickups are potentially dangerous and we will not take our focus off that task. We can either make you feel taken care of, or we can actually take care of the dogs in our charge. When our safety or dogs’ safety is involved, we will always choose safety. Always text us at 847-420-6298 when dropping off or picking up, and please give the dog’s name and the last name. If your dog is in Day Care Plus, please mention that as well. Thank you!
Please note: there is an old doorbell that does not work near the DayCare Plus exit. Please text us at 847-420-6298 to pick up your dog.
One of the reasons we switched to PawPartner’s online system is that you can message us directly, and we can respond immediately. Try it!
Why don’t you take our collars and leashes with our dogs?
Dogs must come into the daycare free of leashes, collars and harnesses. Collars are the leading cause of injury and death in canine care facilities. This is why we always use our own slip leashes to bring dogs into the daycare.
Meanwhile, our lost & found collection of leashes, harnesses and collars is huge. Are you missing one? Please stop by and ask to look. We have no effective way to track whose leash/collar/harness is whose.
A note from Bailey, the Training Coordinator:
Training Tips from Hope
Welcome to a new feature of our newsletter! Here, trainer Hope Saidel provides useful tips for you in how to better work with your dog!
Watch your language!
“When I use a word, it means just what I choose it to mean – neither more nor less.”
—Humpty Dumpty (Through The Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll).
Your words can mean whatever you want to your dog. Dogs can learn hundreds of words, if you teach them. But there is one rule to stick to. You have to be absolutely clear and consistent with your language. Dogs can only understand one meaning per word.
The most common dog-confusing phrase is “Sit down.” Everybody says it. And every person knows you mean “Sit.”
It causes confusion for dogs. You can almost hear them think: “Which one? Do you want me to Sit? Or Down?”
Another major confuser for dogs happens when they jump on something or someone. Most people will say “Down.” Do you really want your dog to lie down right then? Chances are you actually mean “Off!”
It doesn’t matter what word you use for any dog behavior or command. But everybody caring for your dog has to use the same words. A woman in our Rally class is teaching her dog commands in German. A friend of ours taught her dog in Klingon. That was a fun idea, but we were too lazy to learn Klingon.
Use whatever words you want to mean anything you want to your dog. It doesn’t matter to the dog if you use “Stay!” or “Wait!” Just be consistent and watch your language!
Fun in the Sun is coming! Be Prepared!
With warm weather just around the corner, we would like to take the opportunity to remind everyone of a couple of things.
Heat Is Dangerous
Few people realize how quickly dogs can go into heat stroke. It is critical to make sure your dog does not overheat. When the temperature rises above 80º, we do not 
take the dogs out to play in the yard. Even walking on concrete or asphalt is dangerous; surface temperatures far exceed air temperatures in summer and paws can burn quickly.
But how can you exercise your dog on hot, humid days? Other than going out when the sun is lower or below the horizon, we invite you to check out Agility and Rally classes at Rex’s K9 Sports Arena! One hour of activity and training in our fully air-conditioned Arena will enrich your dog and tire them out completely! Find class dates and time here.
Every Season Is Tick Season
It used to be that ticks were only a threat in moist, forested areas. Sadly, ticks are now everywhere and not just when it is wet, or forested. Last summer, one of our staff members had to remove a tick from her dog’s eyelid. They had been walking in a dry, mowed public park in our area!
Tick-borne illnesses are serious. Be sure to check your dog all over and regularly for ticks. We also recommend that you invest in a Tick Key — it works like magic for removing entire ticks from dogs (making sure you never leave the embedded head in the skin!).
If you and your dog spend time in nature, be sure to talk to your doctor about the Lyme vaccine for dogs. Modern medicine has developed preventives and vaccines for dogs, and hopefully one day we humans will be as fortunate.
Our Business Community
A Change Around the Corner
Recently, Kindred Spirits Healing Arts (located around the corner from us on Simpson) re-opened with Dr. Maria VonderHaar at the helm. Dr. VonderHaar 
is a licensed veterinarian, but this is not a veterinary practice. Instead, Kindred Spirits provides integrative care for all sorts of four-legged family members. Several of us at Rex’s have already taken our dogs to her for acupuncture and other complementary care. (One of our staff takes her cat to her!) Dr. VonderHaar sees patients by appointment only, and you can make an appointment by calling her office at 847-869-8845.
Looking Forward
We are working on a loyalty program to thank you for all of your support. We’ll have more on that in our next newsletter.
Once the weather gets nicer, we are going to host Yappy Hours for dogs and owners. We will create groups based on the dogs’ friendships. Then, we’ll invite those dogs and their humans to join the fun with their pups at our yard. Then everyone can enjoy our wonderful turf (in the shade!)
That’s it for this edition! Hope you enjoyed reading, and don’t forget to let us know what you think! You can email us at [email protected]. See you next issue!