Update: Summer 2024

Article from the July 1, 2024, Sonoma Index-Tribune by Janet Perry

Sonoma Dog Camp Celebrates 20 Years

As husband and wife team James Cribb and Sue Simon celebrate the 20th anniversary of their Sonoma Dog Camp business, they took time to discuss their love for dogs, the community and the lifelong friends they have made with staff members and customers.

Those bonds they have made over the years have fulfilled a vision they had when they started the business. “One of the things my wife Sue and I were really focused on was making ourselves a part of the community,” Cribb said. “We so fell in love with Sonoma. We didn't just want it to be like a bedroom community to us. We wanted to really become part of the fabric.”

In the beginning, people were skeptical about what a dog daycare was and why anyone would need one. Cribb said they have exceeded their own expectations as well as those of the skeptics. He also said he understands because dog daycare was still a new idea back then.

Simon said she had sleepless nights before they opened, wondering if any dogs would show up. “When we opened the doors that very first day, June 1 of 2004, I mean, they were fairly sprightly, but these older black cocker spaniels came through the front door, and we had our first two campers,” she said. Since then they’ve had 1,500 dogs enrolled at Sonoma Dog Camp.

Before they started the business, Cribb and Simon visited the few dog daycare businesses they were aware of in the Bay Area. He said the one that made the most sense to them was based on the idea of the dog pack.

“We realized how important it was for dogs because they are social animals,” Cribb said. “They have naturally evolved from pack animals.”

To make sure that incoming dogs will be able to socially interact with the pack, Sonoma Dog Camp has a screening meeting. “We do a temperament evaluation and have the dog come for a trial visit to gauge sort of where they are and are they, you know, sociable and display all the kinds of good dog behaviors that you would expect from dogs to be in a pack,” Cribb said.

The idea of dog daycare has now taken hold and Cribb said they get a lot of puppies coming in.

“Today a lot of people, when they're getting a dog, they're already thinking that dog daycare is part of what they're going to do because they understand the importance of socialization.

Many of us have experienced the beloved dog who will wreak havoc when left on its own while we go off to work. Cribb said that happens because they’re social creatures that need stimulation.

“People bring their dogs here, so they get that stimulation,” he said. “Even dogs that are older, you know, they're not very playful, per se, anymore but they kind of participate, if you will, in the group. They're alert, they're awake, they're engaged because there's a community around them.”

Cribb said they want dogs to think of Sonoma Dog Camp as their home away from home.

They also host up to 10 dogs at a time for overnights and the accommodations vary according to what the dog is used to at home, whether that’s a crate or a sofa.

Along with the crates, the sleepover area is decked out with Ikea kid’s beds, dog beds, mats and a couch. They even have a TV. Cribb said many of the dogs curl up and sleep together.

There's always somebody on site 24 hours a day, but not in the space with the dogs. They’re in an adjacent space where they can watch over them. That’s earned them devoted customers who have been bringing their dogs to them for 20 years.

“I would say, for my wife Sue and I, many of our customers have become our best friends through dog camp,” Cribb said. “Just by interacting with them, you know, over the counter, talking about their dogs and just having that kind of common bond, but then finding out that we share so many other things. So many of our dearest friends that we do things with on a social basis began as friends through dog camp.”

He also described a long history of employees who have meant a lot to them. He said that a lot of their employees came from the high school and for the most part they’ve stayed for years.

“We have been fortunate since our very first hire 20 years ago,” Cribb said. “He was a high school student who we're still in touch with to this day. We stay in touch with many of our employees.

“We have one young woman who started with us before we opened by trying to peek through the tears in the paper on the glass front to see what was going on,” Cribb said. “She was, like, 11 years old. When she got to be in high school, she came to work for us. She has been with us through the birth of two children and is still a part time employee.”

“Our clients and our team members have been so incredibly welcoming and supportive through everything - fire, earthquake, you name it,” Simon said. “It's been huge. It changed our lives.”