Puppy Playground came to life when we moved to Texas and our dog, Lambeau, needed daycare and boarding.  Lambeau had the good fortune of being a member of Lucky Puppy Country Daycare, in Maybee, Michigan.  Lucky Puppy was created by Brenda Langley, who is an amazing trainer and passionate about dogs beyond description.  At Lucky Puppy, Lambeau could run, play and have socialization completely outside all day long.  They had a pool and several acres of playgrounds for the dogs to run, dig and play.  It was puppy heaven. 

Every week on Friday morning, Lambeau would grab his Lucky Puppy toy (that he received from Ms. Brenda for Christmas) and wait at the door ready to go to Lucky Puppy.  Lambeau would return home completely exhausted for days until the next week when he would go again.  When staying overnight, Lambeau was simply a house guest and slept as any family dog would.  Lambeau formed a special bond with Brenda’s nephew and always slept with his buddy when we went on vacation.  Our animals are not just pets, they are our fur babies and family members.  Life is busy with kids, school and sports and we needed our pup to have some extra exercise and fun to make up for the nights when we get home too late for a walk.  The best feeling was going on vacation and not having to feel bad dropping your pup off at a kennel.  Lambeau ran to the door and was excited to have his staycation with Ms. Brenda at Lucky Puppy.

In 2020, we moved to Texas for my husband’s job. Finding good dog care was a key priority.  Finding a dog daycare and kennel was not that difficult, it really was just a google search away.  Unfortunately, we had spoiled Lambeau so not just any boarding and daycare would do.  How could we enjoy a family vacation knowing one of our most treasured family members was in a kennel for 23 hours a day?  Sure, we can pay for him to have some play time out of the kennel, but overall, that was the main choice. Lambeau really missed having playmates so we adopted a new brother, Bernie.  While this helped, now we had 2 dogs that needed care when we went on vacation.   

The one thing we knew is that we needed a vacation (my husband was relocated to Texas for his job in the middle of the Covid Pandemic) and we needed to know our fur baby was having fun too.  We just kept coming back to, “someone should start a “Lucky Puppy” in Texas, and just like that, my husband found a property listing that seemed perfect.  Suddenly, Puppy Playground had become a “thing” and we started truly planning our labor of love.  My very first call was to l Brenda at Lucky Puppy.  After a couple of emails and phone calls and a visit for some training, Puppy Playground was born. 

So who are we and how are we qualified to run a dog daycare?

We are Suzanne and Jason Kapica and we are the owners, along with Magnus, our teenage son.  We LOVE animals and dogs.  We have had some wonderful furry family members over the years.  We have taken training classes with our dogs to help us learn to work with them.  Suzanne actually has a Master’s degree in Counseling with a strong background in behavior modification.  She worked with kids and families for many years.  The one thing she learned in counseling with families, the adults are the ones who need the training to help the kids, especially with behavior modification.  The same is true for dogs.  Suzanne was eager to now work with her other passion, dogs.  So she dove in and took classes and began becoming certified. 

Suzanne and Jason wanted a family business and they knew they needed some help so that they could balance life with a busy teenager.   As soon as the idea was mentioned to Jason’s parents, they were ALL IN.  Judy and Gerard Kapica (also known more affectionately as Nana and G-Pop) are lifelong dog lovers.  They have rescued and fostered many dogs over the years and are excited to share their home with our Puppy Playground members.  Rest assured, Nana and G-Pop will spoil the pups like their own.