Clients and pets in Carleton Place are left uncertain after Doggy Days is ordered to close
CARLETON PLACE — After a personal separation, Natasha Lencewicz moved into her new home in Carleton Place on June 1 and continued running the business she had built over the past two years: a dog daycare called Doggy Days.
“It took me so long to do this and this was my dream. I worked really, really hard at it,” said Lencewicz. “I had to start with grooming until I could build my daycare crew. I do training, obedience and pack socialization. I am also a vet tech.”
For Lencewicz, Doggy Days is more than a business. It is her livelihood.
“I’m disabled, so Natasha has gone out of her way to drive to my house to pick up my dog and bring him home,” said client Robyn Buell. “Without her, my dog would never socialize or run off leash. He would be confined and very sad.”
Before purchasing her property on Napoleon Street, Lencewicz said she confirmed through her real estate agent that the business was permitted in Carleton Place. The home, with its fenced yard backing onto woodland, seemed ideal. Doggy Days brought in about three quarters of her income, which she relied on to pay her mortgage.
About a month after she moved in, a neighbour filed a complaint with the town, citing traffic and safety concerns.
Lencewicz said she schedules drop-offs and pick-ups to prevent congestion.
“When I drop off my dog, I am the only car in the driveway,” said client Melanie Tanguay.
“Natasha gives us a two-hour window, so we rarely run into each other,” added client Maddie Fyfe.
Clients are asked to text ahead so transfers can be done quickly and quietly.
When a bylaw officer visited, Lencewicz said they appeared surprised by how calm the dogs were.
“I run a structured daycare and teach them quiet. There is never any incessant barking,” she said.
Clients, as well as her immediate neighbours, wrote letters of support to the town. Despite that, the outcome was not in Lencewicz’s favour.
Staff determined that under Carleton Place’s 2018 Development Permit By-law, there is no defined category for dog daycares. As a result, Doggy Days is classified as a kennel, which is not permitted in residential zones.
“This business actually violates land use planning in the town,” said Mayor Toby Randell. “There seem to be a number of these kennels or daycares in rural areas around Carleton Place. As for defining such entities in town, I would defer to staff, who could bring us a report so council might consider changes.”
Carleton Place uses a Development Permit System instead of a traditional zoning bylaw. To change land use rules for a property, a resident must submit a Development Permit Application, which functions like a zoning amendment, said town clerk Stacey Blair.
Town director of development services Niki Dwyer said kennels are not a permitted use under the current bylaw.
“Doggy daycares constitute a kennel in most zoning bylaws,” Dwyer said. “In our case, kennels are not a permitted use in Carleton Place’s Development By-law. The operator would need a Class Three permit, similar to a rezoning, to recognize it on a case-by-case basis.”
She noted that such amendments can be onerous and kennels are typically located in rural areas.
Last week, the Town of Carleton Place ordered Doggy Days to close for violating land use rules.
The decision leaves Lencewicz without her main source of income, and her clients without a caregiver for their pets.
“This was my dream,” she said. “I just wanted to keep doing what I love.”
Unable to continue her business in town, Lencewicz said she has little choice.
“I plan on selling in the spring once the house is ready,” she said. “I will be moving outside the town into a rural setting.”
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