Furry and Feathered Family Friends Find Fun
at Central Missouri's Lake of the Ozarks

 Lake of the Ozarks, Mo. – Eight-year-old Lucy loves to run down the dock and jump into the Lake of the Ozarks at Dogwood Acres Resort.  Lucy also enjoys boat rides, long walks and meeting other guests during her family’s annual summer vacation.  The fact that Lucy is a Labrador Retriever mix is beside the point.  She’s one of the growing number of pets who accompany their families and stay in pet-friendly lodging at Central Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks.

   Approximately 40 lodging facilities in the Lake area welcome Fido and Fifi – and even Featherhead, if he stays in a cage. It’s no surprise that more and more resorts and hotels at the Lake of the Ozarks are opening their doors to pets. After all, according to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association, an estimated 63 percent of American households have a pet, and last year those households spent $38.5 billion on them – including travel expenses.

   About 14 percent of all American adults say they have traveled with a pet on a trip of 50 miles or more away from home in the past three years, according to the Travel Industry Association of America.  Of those who own at least one pet, 78 percent stay at pet-friendly lodging at least once a year; 85 percent are willing to pay extra for pet-friendly lodging; and 64 percent say they would be more likely to stay longer on vacation if they could bring their pets.

Variety of Policies

   Pet policies vary, depending on the facility.  Most bed-and-breakfasts and rental condos at the Lake do not allow pets, while most campgrounds do.  Individual resorts, hotels and motels also have varying pet policies.  Lake visitors are encouraged to do a little advance checking to determine if their preferred lodging welcomes pets.

   The Resort at Port Arrowhead is one of the few full-service resorts in the area that allows pets, says Director of Sales Lagina Fitzpatrick.  “We’ve been welcoming pets here for more than a dozen years,” she notes.  The Resort requires a $50 deposit if a pet will be in the room; it’s refundable after the room is inspected and found to be in good shape.  Dog sitting and dog walking services are offered at $8 an hour for sitting and $8 for a 30-minute walk.  There’s also a special outdoors area designated just for dogs, complete with a fire hydrant.  “I think more of our guests are traveling with their dogs,” Fitzpatrick says.  “In a lot of cases, their animals are their family.”

   A few years ago, the Econo Lodge designated one of its two buildings with a total of 20 rooms for traveling pets; they all have an exterior exit.  “This allows us to cater to those who say, ‘Great, now I can travel with my dog,’” says Don Neuharth, owner/manager.  The hotel charges $20 per pet for a stay of up to seven nights.  Outdoors, there’s a grassy area for dog-walking.  “We’re definitely seeing more people traveling with their pets,” Neuharth says.  “We have several regular customers who come with their dogs and a few with cats. It’s certainly a client base we are happy to cater to.”

   At the Golden Door Motel, owner Geniece Tyler says, “I like to know in advance when a guest plans to bring a pet.”  She doesn’t require a deposit, but guests are assessed if there’s any damage.  “We ask that owners not be gone for long periods of time,” Tyler says.  “A couple of hours, to dinner or a show, that’s okay, but longer than that could lead to problems, like major barking.  I will ask someone to leave if their pet’s barking interferes with my other guests” – although, Tyler says, she’s only had to “say something” to an owner about a barking dog once in 25 years.

   Tyler says she’s seeing more guests with pets at the motel.  “I guess the word’s getting out about us,” she says.  “My place works well with dogs because we have a lot of grass and trees and walking trails.”  She prefers that dogs be leashed unless they’re very well trained.  “Most of the time the dogs that stay here are like kids and their owners are very conscientious, so we are glad to have them.  Dog people are really friendly people and enjoy their own and other people’s dogs.”  Dogs are Tyler’s most common pet-guest, but she’s also had cats and on one occasion, a macaw.

   Terri Humphrey at Lone Oak Point Resort also has welcomed a parrot besides the usual dogs and a few cats.  “Somebody came with a hamster once,” she recalls.  The resort welcomes small and medium-sized pets only in the off-season, Labor Day to Memorial Day, when it’s less crowded.  No deposit is required, but dogs have to be on leashes outdoors.  “I think mostly older couples travel with their dogs,” Humphrey says.  “It’s like the dogs are their children.”

Adopt a Pet

   At Eagle’s Nest Resort Properties, the owners are so animal-friendly, guests who arrived without a pet have been known to go home with one.  “We do a lot of animal rescue, so over the years puppies or kittens we’d been fostering have ended up going home with a guest.  It’s happened several times,” says Sky Johnson.  “Last fall I was fostering four kittens.  A group came from Colorado and one couple adopted all four of them!”

   In her previous life, Johnson ran an animal clinic and her husband, Bill, was a veterinarian for 42 years.  As a result, their pet policies are very specific: Pets must be spayed or neutered.  Also, dogs must be more than one year old and less than 12.  All dogs are walked on leashes, including the Johnson’s four pets. Dogs have to be up to date on shots and treated for fleas (not just wearing a flea collar).  “And no barkers allowed!” Johnson said.  “If you go out all day and the dog barks all day, you’ll have to leave that night.”  That’s happened just once or twice, she recalls.  “Normally there are no problems,” she says, “because most pet owners respect other guests and their right to enjoy their Lake vacation too.”

   The vast majority of Johnson’s pet-guests are dogs, but she also has hosted cats.  “Once there was a rabbit in a cage,” she says. “And there was a parakeet which was very messy.  Fine but messy.”  Another time a couple brought a canary, a parakeet and a third bigger bird in three different cages. “There was bird seed everywhere!” Johnson says.  “I was vacuuming bird seed out of the carpet for months.”  She adds, “People absolutely are traveling with pets more.  A lot of them are baby boomers, empty nesters, and the animals become their kids.  But we see a lot of families where the dog is just one of the kids, too.”

   Which brings us back to Lucy the dock-jumping Lab mix at Dogwood Acres Resort.  Her family lives in Omaha where she’s the fourth “child” (the first three are human).  Her mom, Molly Wilson, says, “We always travel with Lucy and when we come to the Ozarks we always stay at Dogwood Acres.  We love its coziness and old-world charm.”  When the family has to go out for a few hours, Lucy stays in the cabin quietly. “She’s not a barker except if she sees a squirrel,” Wilson says.

   All four-legged visitors to Dogwood Acres have to pass the “Charlie test,” says owner Lindy Steinmann.  Charlie is the Steinmann’s Welsh Corgi and official resort greeter.  There’s a $75 refundable deposit that’s returned by mail after the cottage is cleaned up.  “I don’t think I ever have kept it,” Steinmann says. “I generally try to limit it to one pet per cottage but I bend that rule if the pets are small.  If I have a lot of big dogs here already it’s definitely one per cottage.”  Dogs must be leashed or well behaved while outdoors.  “We’re on 10 acres and people are required to clean up after their pets on the front four, but back in the woods the dogs are free to do what they like,” Steinmann says.  If owners go out, she asks that they cage or kennel their dog in the cabin.  “We have a lot of repeat business because we do take pets and we have several new guests for the same reason,” she notes.

Doggie Daycare

   What if your Lake of the Ozarks lodging doesn’t allow pets?  Or, what if your lodging does allow pets but you don’t want to leave your pooch alone for hours while you go boating or shopping?  Fortunately, in the Lake area there are a couple of solutions: Dogs Day Inn and Bed & Biscuit Resort.

   At Dogs Day Inn you can drop off your dog for a couple of hours, a day, overnight, weekend, week or more.  Rates range from $3.00 an hour or $10 a day for a small dog to $5.50 per hour or $17.50 a day for a really big dog.  “I’m pretty flexible,” says owner Lu Harlan.  “I don’t tell owners, ‘You have to be here by 3 or else!’  That doesn't work for people vacationing at the Lake."

   Harlan has created a comfortable, cage-free environment indoors with six different size “rooms” separated by low walls, plus a 1,500-square-foot fenced backyard. “Dogs need room to move around,” she says.  “I always tell people their dog is having as much fun as they are and getting the best care.  Dogs never leave here stressed out.”

   Harlan requires that owners show their dog’s shot record and bring food and bedding.  “A family group of two or more dogs gets a whole room to themselves or they can interact with other dogs as they please,” she says.  Each dog’s temperament is evaluated to determine which ones will get along together.

   “Recently we had a beagle here that belonged to a man from Chicago.  Every day he’d pick up the dog to go hiking or boating, them bring him back in the evening,” Harlan says.  “He said that beagle slept all the way home to Chicago, he had so much fun!”  Also, a family from Kansas brought its dog to Dogs Day Inn when they went to Lake of the Ozarks State Park for the day.  “I gave them their dog’s report card and they said they would definitely bring her back,” Harlan adds.  “We truly are filling a niche here.”

   At Bed & Biscuit Resort, daycare charges are $10 a day, $5 for a second dog.  “We are seeing more and more people on vacation at the Lake who leave their dog with us for a day or longer,” says assistant Kathy Kinsley.  “It just makes sense because your dog will get all the potty breaks he needs and won’t chew up the furniture at the resort.”  Guests receive a minimum of four leashed walks a day plus playtime in a secured area.

   The resort provides beds, bowls, snacks and music. Owners must provide current shot records, food and anything else – for example, Kinsley says, “One lady brought houseplants for her dog’s room so it would feel more at home.  Another family left their dog here for several days and brought him ice cream every night before bed.  Otherwise, they said he’d bark, a lot!”

   Other amenities at the resort include spa services (bathing, nail trimming and massage), all-natural fresh baked Gourmutt Treats and the on-site Bow-Wow boutique.  Hmmm … is it possible your pooch’s accommodations could be more upscale than yours?

   For more information about pet-friendly lodging, plus dining, shopping, attractions and events at Central Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks, contact the Lake of the Ozarks Convention & Visitor Bureau at 800-FUN-LAKE (386-5253), or visit www.funlake.com.

# # #