A new doggy day care facility has come to Mount Rainier at 3501 Perry St. Owner Carley Lester, a former federal contractor, spoke with the Hyattsville Wire about her new location near the Eastern Rhodes Dog Park.

On Feb. 22, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Lester will hold a grand opening for Chateau de Les Pawtites, which is sort-of French for “the castle of small paws.”

The pet day care, which caters to small dogs only, aims to feel more like a home than a kennel. Instead of crates, she uses play pens at night, and during the day dogs roam around as if they were in their own home. Although she lives in D.C., Lester often ends up sleeping with the animals at the facility, which has 3,000 square feet of indoor space.

Growing up in Kentucky, Lester had a lot of pets, including two dogs named Jack and Daisy, a parrot named Polly, turtles named Thumper and Thumbelina and even an iguana named Anastasia.

“My favorite part about working with dogs is getting to know their individual personalities,” she said. “They’re so different and are just so moody, funny, smart and loyal.”

Lester doesn’t just want to board dogs, either. She plans to hold adoption events with the Prince George’s County shelter and the Humane Rescue Alliance, monthly open houses, outdoor movie screenings and even dating events for singles who love dogs.

Lester renovated the space at 3501 Perry St. with new flooring and fresh paint inside and out. She said the day care opened in mid-December under a soft-launch and they’ve since been getting things up and running for the grand opening next week.