By JESSICA SIEFF
Niles Daily Star

As the sun stretches out over a Sunday afternoon, there’s a special on sharks on the Animal Planet channel which is playing over a small flat screen television.

And in the cool reprieve of the air conditioning, it’s a relatively calm and relaxing day for Wrigley, Koaly and Tag (short for Tag-Along) three dogs spending their Sunday at Bunk and Biscuit — a luxury all-suite, all-inclusive pet retreat located at Painted Gaits Farm on Bertrand Road in Niles.

“Our pet resort is about having a few dogs and treating them like we treat our own dogs,” said owner Dina Perry.

Bunk and Biscuit is Perry and her husband Chuck’s third all-suite resort. The Perrys built one in Lansing, sold that business but kept a grooming school in the same area and built Pet Palace in Granger based on Perry’s design.

Bunk and Biscuit is located at Perry’s own home.

“This is the one that I’m actually running,” she said.

The close to 4,000 square foot facility is home to 22 suites, each is individually air conditioned and heated with a mattress bed and automatic waters.

Sheets and rooms are cleaned every day, “just like a hotel room,” Perry said.

Bunk and Biscuit came following Perry’s decision to “build one the way I would want my dogs to be boarded,” she said.

There’s a flat screen television in every room, which are fitted with glass paneled doors so the four-legged visitors don’t feel enclosed in a windowless room.

The facility itself is open and airy with convenient toy and treat carts just outside the suites and access to a patio outside the room.

“We just try to treat the pets like we’d want ours to be treated,” Perry said.

Outside, multiple fenced in, grassy areas provide plenty of space to run about and a pool in each one gives those staying at the resort a chance to cool off.

For older dogs, a serene space with a swing, decorative waterfalls and flowers is also available.

Only about four weeks into operation, Perry said she’s gathering a lot of suggestions from customers.

Each suite is vacuumed, with the floors scrubbed each day, dogs are taken out as often as needed and Bunk and Biscuit carries 24 brands of dry dog food with 15 in stock right now, Perry said and 10 brands of wet dog food so owners can rest assured their dog will eat well.

As if they were right at home.

“Once we get a client we never lose them,” Perry said. “Dogs are our business.”

It’s a business Perry has been in since she was 19.

“And I’m 60,” she said with a laugh.

The Perrys also own a factory in Granger “that manufacturers “mobile grooming vans and we sell them all over the world,” she said.

Perry started out as a groomer — and there is a grooming station at Bunk and Biscuit. The resort also offers day care services and after surgery care.

The industry is “growing in leaps and bounds,” Perry said and “never really has a recession.”

For some, the idea of such a plush pet resort might sound a bit surprising — but Perry said she is catering to her clientele who “will always treat their dogs the best way they can.”

From heading out for a vacation to commuting to Chicago for work or spending a weekend with family in an environment that might not be conducive for their dog, Perry said her clients can utilize the facility for many reasons.

“They go away for weekends, they go away for business, they go away to take care of family,” she said. “Again, people are going away to take care of elderly parents, they take care of grandkids.”

The industry is growing, she said, most likely in sync with a growing baby boomer generation.

“Because the baby boomers like me, our children are grown,” she said. “And now we have four-legged children. I even find that a lot never had children and always had four-legged children.

Bunk and Biscuit is run smoothly by the Perrys and manager Tyson Fuller. Perry said she hopes eventually to grow enough to employ a weekend manager and possibly four or five technicians.

Perry said those coming to stay at the resort should have all their shots and she encourages prospective clients to come out to the facility and see where it is their dog will be staying.

Some rooms are even fitted for a dog and a cat that might need a place to stay and Perry said those dogs who live together can board together.

The facility is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturdays and 4 to 6 p.m. on Sundays.

For more information visit www.paintedgaitsfarm.com or call 684-2865.