Dorchester Nub News is delighted to welcome Joey's Doggie Day Care as a sponsor.

Built by Dorchester residents, Tom and Sara Buxton, the centre provides a safe and secure place for dogs to explore, socialise together and have loads of fun.

Tom said: "Sara and I had always talked for years about how if we could choose anything in the world to do, it would be to follow our passion for dog behaviour and development.

"But it wasn't until we lost our Jack Russell, Joey, to sudden illness that we realised life is too short. If we really wanted to follow our dreams, we would need to make it happen and the idea behind Joey's Doggie Day Care was born."

Their goal was to build the ultimate happy place for dogs of all shapes and sizes, somewhere they could spend the entire day with friends, exploring, playing games in a safe place built just for them.

"This is Joey's legacy," Sara added, "our happy place, filled with all the things he would have loved.

"He gave us so much but the biggest gift was the courage to follow our dreams."

The day care offers dogs an open, secure space to spend the day playing with giant tyres, tunnels and platforms, trampolines and even a giant ball pit! As well as socialising, getting lots of exercise and exploring the sensory garden, there is also plenty of space to relax and top up on belly rubs and cuddles. If the weather is bad, they can pop into the air-conditioned cabins for a snooze.

Tom said: "We bring them home tired, happy and truly content after a great day with their friends.".

Joey's Doggie Day Care isn't to simply look after your dog while you're at work. Instead, it focuses on providing an enrichment and socialisation service that helps fulfil the dog's individual needs and general wellbeing.

"We become part of your dog's regular weekly routine," Tom added, "providing not just exercise but the opportunity to learn, play, develop long term relationships with us and their dog friends, use their brains and engage in natural dog behaviours such as digging, searching, sniffing and exploring. It's all about having as much fun as possible."

Joey's Doggie Day Care requires each dog to attend the day care on the same day/s each week so that social groups are consistent, building trust within the play groups and "creates a lovely, relaxed atmosphere".

All the dogs are collected in the dog bus each morning and dropped off at home in the afternoon. This ensures they all arrive and leave together so there are no disruptive comings and goings during the day and it keeps the centre as secure as possible at all times.

The dogs are carefully assessed with a four-step onboarding process before being invited to join. This includes an initial consultation on the phone, a visit to the centre, a behavioural assessment and, if successful, a trial afternoon.

Tom said: "It may sound like a lot of work, but it's this level of detail that makes Joey's such a special place."

• Mental stimulation and enrichment

• Increase your dog's socialisation skills

• Alleviate separation anxiety

• A great release for high energy dogs

• Increase calmness at home

• A boredom buster, lots of exercise and they can have fun all day

• Don't want to leave your dog home alone all day

• Want to give their dog a stimulating, interactive experience

• Want a more natural day care experience for their dog

• New experiences and smells

• Want to break up the week with something different