For pet owners wary of leaving their dog at a day care or boarding facility, the owner of 2nd Family Dogs understands. That is why staffers are certified in animal CPR, and the facility is outfitted with 12 surveillance cameras and a 24-hour security guard. “Our slogan is, ‘Let us adopt your dog for a while. We’ll treat them like family,’ and that’s how we feel about it and that’s how our customers feel about us,” said owner Carol Barnett, who has two border terriers. Barnett’s affection for dogs goes beyond her business, said Lindsey Glover, the executive director of 2nd Family Dogs. At Barnett’s previous business, a high-tech company she owned for 12 years prior to opening 2nd Family Dogs, she would bring her two dogs to the office, Glover said. It was her work at the high-tech company and her years in various management positions for the likes of Perot Systems and Nortel that Barnett felt equipped to start her own venture tied to her love for dogs. “I thought it would be nice to start a ‘low-tech business,’” Barnett said. “You can’t ship [the business] to China—it’s recession-proof … and it would be a legacy business that my son could inherit and run.” Prior to starting 2nd Family Dogs, Barnett remembers leaving her own dogs at various boarding facilities that she felt did not provide the services she expected. Barnett said some of them lacked proper shade and cooling equipment for the dogs during the hot Texas summer months as well as inadequate staffing and cramped boarding crates. “That just infuriated me,” she said. Barnett’s desire to supply the best services for dogs and their owners does not stop with providing a premium facility. 2nd Family Dogs provides free kennels to rescue organizations that take in dogs that are set to be euthanized. 2nd Family Dogs 6780 SH 121, McKinney 469-854-6380 www.2ndfamilydogs.com Hours: Mon.-Fri. 7 a.m.-7 p.m., Sat.-Sun. 9 a.m.-5 p.m.