Posted Wednesday --- February 20, 2008

Pet care and animal boarding facilities look more and more like homes than kennels.

In this week's Hot Trends, Christine Bellport shows us one place that is more like a Spa or a beach than a kennel.

Many of us have dogs and treat them just like family members.

A business in Sun Prairie has jumped on this national trend and jumped right into the pool with it --- a dog pool.

This pet pool is always filled with dogs enjoying the water even during the winter months. It can be found at a Poochies Paradise.

They host these dog swims for animals that love the water and for other dogs that just need the extra help.

Jodi Meyer of a Poochies Paradise says, "They also offer the pools to local vet clinics in the area to rehabilitate dogs after surgery, with hip injuries or for older dogs. These pools became very popular a few years ago."

They also have 3 common "dog play" areas --- one for small, medium and large dogs.

If you want to buy something for your pet, they even have a dog bakery where they make pet friendly dog biscuits and... a self serve dog wash.

Jodi says she noticed that dogs are more like family members than pets these days.

"They're treated like people's children in a home setting."

This is a home setting that makes a dog feel like they make us feel when we walk through the door after a long day at work -- special.