Pawz Inn Marks 20th Anniversary with Oven-Fresh Pet Barkery

Before you even set your paws inside Pawz Inn, you know what you’re stepping into.

The barks echo across the parking lot before the car door swings open, a full symphony of canine emotion. There’s the excitement of seeing playmates, the happy commotion of getting a little extra attention, and somewhere in the chorus you may sense a wistful note from a pup missing their people.

To these ears, it’s music. Like the squeak of a favorite toy we thought was lost forever but is then rediscovered at the bottom of the toy basket.

How would I know? Simple: I’m a dog. You can call me JournoDog. I’m a loyal, scoop-sniffing canine correspondent who approaches journalism with tail wags.

But press credentials aside, I have another key qualification for this assignment: I know this place intimately.

I’ve strolled through those front doors plenty of times, pausing only to mark the flower pots before (and after) daycare visits and longer sleepovers when Ma and Dad head off on adventures without me. [Grrrrr. For the record.]

This is Pawz Inn, a home away from home in Metro Detroit and a place called Mad Heights. To me and my hoomans, it’s simply “camp.”

And there’s a big scoop to share with tail wags, too: Pawz Inn marked its 20th anniversary in June 2026!

To celebrate two decades of caring for local pets, Pawz unveiled a pet bakery stocked with freshly baked goodies for dogs and cats alike. It’s called Pawz Pupcakes & Barkery.

Freshly. Baked. Goodies.

That’s enough to make me lick my lips, wag my tail and plant my butt politely on the floor without even being asked. Sure, a working canine correspondent must maintain professional standards… But a treat is a treat.

Quick Sniff On Pawz

Before we dig into the details, here’s a quick sniff of newsy nuggies on the biz.

A nose for newsy baked goods

How does a boarding and daycare business build on 20 years of experience by adding something new to the menu?

I chatted with Pawz Inn owner Tamee to get the scoop on the anniversary, the barkery, and what comes next for the pets and people who love this place so much.

Yes, I do have a personal doggo bias. I love camp, and have been visiting and having sleepovers there with frendz since 2021. No one gave me cheese, chmkin, belly rubs, or pet stay discounts to write this biz profile or anything in it. Any requests for treats were mostly off the record, except that one that isn’t. But it doesn’t buy tail wags, I give those freely.

What follows is our Q&A. I asked the questions. Tamee supplied the answers.

JournoDog’s Q&A with Pawz Inn Owner Tamee

Q) Congrats on 20 years! Can you briefly share your origin story?

Dennis and I worked together for corporate America. One afternoon during a national sales meeting in Florida, he passed me a note that said, “What do you think about dogs?”

We passed notes back and forth, doodling on a napkin, chatting about dogs throughout the boring meeting. After our team dinner we met and talked about a place like Pawz until the sun came up… literally.

We got home from our business trip in January started looking for a building immediately, found our home within days, quit our jobs, gutted the building, and built our dream! We hung that doodled napkin from our meeting and opened our doors for the first time on June 19th, 2006.

Wow! Was there a dog or doggos part of that inspiration?

Dennis’s inspiration was a kennel in Kansas that was set up like ours. A friend bred and trained German Shorthairs for hunting for years. He decided to open the kennel up to the public and offer activities during the day. It took off like he couldn’t imagine. He met his wife, who happened to be a vet and they opened a huge center for dogs.

I was living in Chicago and wanted to go on vacation with my mom, she had usually watched my pup. I went to a place like ours to reserve a spot and it was magical!!!!  It was everything I wanted for my baby, however it was booked for over a year!

I said when I got home to MI I was going to start one! I knew then I wanted to dedicate the rest of my life to taking care of pups! It took me 5 years to meet Dennis and for him to have the exact same dream!

We wanted to provide an alternative to a traditional kennel. Somewhere the pups would enjoy going. Where they could learn, play, and be safe while their parents were at work or away on vacation.

Everyone laughed at us, they said there was no way we would be successful… jokes on them now!

OK, let’s get to the main newsy nuggie: TREATS! Gives to Gibbs some treatos, plz. Then dish out the pupcake and barkery scoops.

We’ve just started a dog barkery. We wanted to provide clean, healthy, locally sourced, all natural treats for our guests. We started this adventure a year ago and just now are actually baking in our home.

It took a lot to get licensed through the state of Michigan and get everything we needed.

• We are purchasing all our ingredients locally to support family businesses like our own.
• We will be stocking our peanut butter cookies in our lobby (they are the most popular) and taking special orders for treats and pupcakes.
• We have a bunch of flavors available, or you can combine your own flavors to make a unique treat or pupcake for your baby!
• Due to our products not having any artificial additives, they only stay fresh for 2-3 weeks in the refrigerator and up to 6 months in the freezer.

And, btw: you’ve got it Gibbs…. treats on the house the next time you are in!

How many furry frendz do you have visit on a daily or monthly basis… how’s that changed over so many years?

Daily we have on average 60-80 guests per day. Obviously, that has changed a bit over the years. Ha ha! When we started in 2006, we were new, and the first place like this, so we got busy quickly.

However, the 2008 crash in the economy happened soon after we opened and for a while we were unsure, we would make it. We were growing, growing, growing and suddenly everything STOPPED! For the first 5-6 years we depended on volunteers only, we couldn’t employ anyone. Dennis and I were it, 24/7. It was a lot, but we never, ever second-guessed our decisions. We were living our dreams and knew deep down we were not going to give up! We made it through the recession and took off again!

As we grew, we started hiring people to help us, things got better until COVID. In 2020, again, we didn’t think we were going to make it, however we have the best customer base (family) that made sure we did!

We get bigger and better every year! We grow our family every year and pride ourselves for only having to raise prices twice in 20 years!

Can doggos and furry feline frendz play together?

Yes, if they are from the same family. We have an area we can allow them to see each other and even sleep together if the family would like.

Ma & Dad watch me on DogCam at home sometimes… do you keep tabs on us at camp using robot eyes?

Yes, we do! We have always had cameras in the facility, however in July 2026 we started a project that we just completed. We have the best state-of-the-art surveillance system on the market. No matter where we are we can see everything that is going on with our guests and our employees. This upgraded system gives us the ability to see, hear, and communicate with everyone there 24/7. It is also connected directly to the police and fire departments.

Can photogenic pets like me pose on the PetCams for family to see us, or is that just for official sniffs and paw checks?

Currently, the new system is just for the staff. We are looking into parent cams. It may need to wait until we take over the front of the building.

So I’m quite photogenic and love to play with frendz and claim castles and thrones for myself…. But I also need my rest time and space. How does that all work at Pawz?

Our days start between 5-6am. Our overnight guests go outside, go potty, and play while our staff are preparing their breakfast. They eat and rest (so their breakfast digests) while we check in more friends for the day. Then we play, exercise, dance, swim, or just sunbathe for hours. They are given a break around noon to recharge, rest, eat or just listen to some nice music.

The afternoon brings more play, exercise, socializing, team building events, or playscape take overs.

Our overnight guests go to their individual rooms for dinner around 5-6pm, where they have time to eat and relax until our daycare kids go home. Our overnight guests have a chance to play and get any energy left in them out, (which usually isn’t much) after we close. They are also given a chance to go potty, etc. before we tuck them in for the evening. You can hear a pin drop at bedtime. Our kids are usually tuckered out and ready for night night!

I was told once I was color-coded for genius at camp… how does this color-coding system work?

We use a color-coded system so that at a quick glance an employee/caregiver knows anything they need to know about that pup without reading a ton of notes or going back through years of reservations. When a pup is evaluated, they are given a “score”/ color for socialization.

For example, bright green is the best! No issues loved everyone. There are 10 socialization “colors” ranging from bright green to yellow orange and red being the worst. We also use colors for pups likes and dislikes, medical history, allergies, behaviors, and preferences. It helps our staff quickly identify a ton of information about our guests.

Part of Community & Giving Back

Can you talk about how so many frendz donate needed stuff during hot and cold months, and all times of year?

We have the ABSOLUTE best family! Our customers donate beds, towels, pools, bedding, pillows, bowls, raised feeders, leashes/collars, cleaning products etc. PLUS, we receive food, chips, energy drinks, ice cream, cakes, water, Christmas gifts, cookies, donuts, bagels, etc. to keep our staff going! We TRULY have the BEST customers EVER!

We welcome all donations. This helps us so much, especially with costs so high!!

You welcome some cool school kiddo volunteers at Pawz, too?

We have worked with some great volunteers over the years. We’re actively involved in the Lamphere Center for special education and have been for years. Lamphere Center sends a job coach with 2-3 students a couple times a week to our facility to work with the pups.

It’s awesome to watch the students’ bond with the pups. It’s so good for them and the pups. It is truly an amazing program that we feel privileged to be a part of. We have also worked with programs for people with special needs and disabilities like New Horizons.

This has been so fulfilling!

My paws have voted for you so many times for ‘best of best’ tail wags… can you offer some kibble scoops on that?

“Best of the Best Detroit” was the most prestigious award in our industry.

We were nominated for the first time in 2023; we came in 2nd place. In 2024 and 2025 we were nominated again and came in first place! In 2026, they removed our category (overnight boarding and daycare) for nominations. We were nominated and got 2nd for grooming — however we are not groomers any longer, so we didn’t get promoted, we didn’t want to take away from another business.

We’ve also been recognized in the Oakland Press, Royal Oak Daily Tribune, the NextDoor FAVE Awards for Madison Heights, and the WDIV Best of the Best (before they also removed the Pet Boarding/Daycare category).

We are extremely proud of our 5.0 rating on Facebook and 4.8 rating on Google!

These are REAL people that take the time to tell others about their experience with us. This is how we have built our business. Word of mouth! It warms our hearts when we receive a review! We read each one to every staff member and celebrate 5-star ratings.

Final Takeaways

Biggest challenges and adventures you’ve had?

Challenges	Adventures
The pandemic. Why? All our employees + No one was traveling/working.	Biggest = the start of our business. Why?
We weren’t considered “essential,” so we didn’t get any of the supplementals that other essential biz got.	1. Walking away from corporate America 2. Walking into an empty warehouse with NO dog experience 3. Building our dream from scratch! From the play areas to where our guests comfortably rest, we wanted everything to be perfect for them.
And yet: We made it without losing one employee or customer!!! We were truly blessed!	This may be the BIGGEST adventure to come….
Staffing’s also been challenging. We’re very particular to whom we employ. It’s become more challenging over the years to find dedicated staff.	We’re looking into taking over the other half of our building soon. That’d give us double the space to take care of our babies.
About Pawz people? Well, JournoDog’s POV on that… They’re the bestest hoomans to take place of Ma & Dad! (That includes Kaylee and New Dad Dorian!)	Beyond that? We want to start a senior sanctuary for our older pups, a puppy center for our younger pups, and a dedicated cat café for our felines.

For those who haven’t met you yet… What to know?

If you are looking for a family-owned and operated business that treats your baby like their own, you have found your place.

We absolutely love our guests like our own and have dedicated the past 20+ years ensuring they all receive the care they deserve! We have never been about financial gain; it has been about the well-being of our furry friends.

We believe every pet parent should feel good about leaving their baby in our care. We want them to be able to go away knowing their baby will have a wonderful time and be cared for the way they take care of them. We do everything you do at home!

Whatever it takes to provide a safe, friendly, atmosphere for your baby…. we do! We don’t have waterfalls in our lobby, but we do have huge hearts that love animals and a place you can call their home away from home!

And for frendz and pet parents who love you, what’s most important to share?

We couldn’t have done this without you!!! You are our heart and soul. We feel so blessed every day! We have met so many great people/pets through the years. We don’t have customers…. We have FAMILY!

We have people and pets that have been with us since day one, we have been through good and bad together, just like family does. You mean so much to us and we appreciate you trusting us to take care of your babies. We are so thankful for each one of you, your loyalty, your trust, and dedication is overwhelming at times. We never take our business or you for granted.

Because of each of you we are allowed to live our dream of taking care of pets out daily. As owners, we don’t have to be at Pawz any longer.

We have placed great people in charge so we can retire at some point…. The beauty is we still go in 4-5 days a week because WE LOVE OUR JOB AND ALL OF YOU! We have NO intention of going anywhere and hope to expand soon to provide even more pets, love, and security when their parents are away!

Thank you so much Pawz Inn Family for all that you do. We know you have a choice. When we began this journey 20 years ago, we were 1 of 2 places like this… currently there are hundreds in Metro Detroit’s tri-county area. Thank you for choosing us!

---

Clearly, JournoDog is a fan of Pawz Inn. And no, despite the promise of yummy treats, this canine correspondent can’t be bought off. Like any good journo, I disclose what I’m given and offer my scoop-sniffs, nose boops, and tail wags honestly.

Until the news beckons like a barking dog with curious ears you can’t ignore, JournoDog out.

Always remember: Love your pets. Support local journalism, and small biz. Trust truth and facts. Give back as you’re able. And try to find some smiles and happz for your heart every chance you get.

-30-