After spending years working in the corporate world, dog-owner Steve Corona decided to ditch the office cubicle to care for his four-legged furry friends full time.

Corona is now the owner of Doggy Day Out—a day care, training and grooming service with two locations in Pflugerville.

The gist

In 2005, Corona opened the first Doggy Day Out center at an existing kennel on Keilman Lane, and in 2018 he expanded to a second, larger location on Wilke Ridge Lane.

Both centers offer a variety of boarding and day care options complete with plenty of outdoor playtime, 24/7 video monitoring and climate-controlled indoor kennels.


During day care, dogs are allowed supervised socialization time grouped by age, size and temperament.

The Wilke Ridge location even offers a cattery for cat boarding away from the dog area.

"I think over time, people's pets have become so much a part of their family. People really want to know that their dogs are going to be kept in a safe environment, and we do our due diligence to keep them informed, let them take tours. We want them to feel like it's a good place for their pets to stay," Corona said.

Making a splash


One feature of the Keilman Lane location pet owners are unlikely to find at other boarding centers is an above-ground swimming pool made specifically for training dogs to dive, Corona said.

Dock diving is a sport that involves a 40-foot ramp from which dogs are challenged to launch themselves as far as possible into the pool.

Owners are also able to rent out the pool for their pooch to rehabilitate injuries or just have a casual swim.

In addition to pool sports, Corona offers training courses for basic obedience, scent detection, confirmation and flyball—a team hurdle racing sport.


Meet the owner

On top of being a pet owner, Corona is a certified trainer and an active member of the Alamo Racing Canines Flyball Club, with which he has competed in several tournaments.

Quote of note

"It's a passion of mine to be working with dogs on a daily basis. They are just such wonderful creatures and so loving," Corona said. "It's demanding work, but myself and my staff are very, very passionate about it."