RIVERSIDE

(This story was published in The News on Thursday, May 4, 2023.)

Need a place for your dog to stay? Choose Pack Amo during your next getaway!

Pack Amo is a dog daycare, boarding, training, and socialization business that was founded by Aaron Robinson in Iowa City before relocating to Riverside, a desirable location for Robinson.

“I love the seclusion. I [like] a dog having a lot of open land, very natural land to kind of run and be themselves,” Robinson said. “It betters the dogs a lot more.”

Pack Amo offers daycare and playcare, dog boarding, training, socialization, and exercise. Dogs can be boarded for as long as their parent needs. They mainly serve Iowa City right now, with some clients in Riverside. They’d like to expand to local cities surrounding Riverside.

It is a fulfilling job for Robinson and staff as well as the dogs that come each day. It is a hands-on job that sees everyone pitch in to make sure the dogs are not lonely during their stay.

“[It’s] about giving the dogs fulfillment, not necessarily just saying, Hey, we’re pre-structured and we’re just super anal about certain things and drill sergeants,” Robinson said. “We want the dogs to have fun, and I think giving dogs structure and giving them a purpose and a job, things like a treadmill, things like teaching a dog to fetch -- to the dog, all those things are really important.”

Pack Amo prides themselves on being extremely safe, with a doggie first aid and CPR certified staff. They offer behavioral assessments on dogs to help prevent fighting and other issues. Robinson is a certified behavioralist, meaning he can work on rehabilitating dogs if that is necessary and requested.

“We try to keep it a calm, tranquil environment,” Robinson said. “Sometimes we kind of pick and choose the dogs we take just because if the dog doesn’t do good in the environment like this, we’d hate to hurt the dog even more.”

Pack Amo owns a bus decked out in Pack Amo livery, which they drive each morning to pick up dogs like children going to school.

“When we pick up the dogs, it [is] part of our services. We [pride] ourselves on socialization and socializing dogs to other dogs or sounds, environments, people,” Robinson said. “We’ve had great results.”

No dog is left behind at Pack Amo, whether they’re learning how to socialize, play or are just there for boarding. They’re cared for at every level.

“I find beauty in working with dogs. Dogs actually saved my life.  Just going through what I’ve been doing in my life, coming from where I come from, dogs have kind of helped me evolve into the person that I am,” Robinson said. “Working with dogs, I think that made me a kinder, gentler person.”

Amo, a nickname for Robinson, means “I love” or “love” in Spanish, giving double meaning to Pack Amo’s name.

“[We] teach [dogs] a proper outlet to play, teach them a proper outlet to exercise. That’s love,” Robinson said. “Love has changed what my representation of that is for dogs. Just giving dogs more exercise, love, trust, respect, and advocation, all of that ties into it.”

Robinson started working with animals around 2017 when he began to walk dogs and take care of farm animals and cats. Eventually, dogs became the focus as their care was in higher demand. Their original name was “Amo Petcare,” after all.

“We’ve really reinvented ourselves and we try to do that every year. Just because [when] demand is high, we start to focus on what people need and what people want,” Robinson said. 

“We wanted to bring a [structural] daycare to come to our area to provide a pickup and drop-off for a lot of working-class people and try to make it as affordable as possible. Just being in a home, a lot of dogs thrive in the home environment a bit better.”

Pack Amo has three private suites with plans of building more in the future. They have a boarding area in a geothermal basement to keep the animals warm or cool, depending on the season, with designated times for play and exercise to keep them busy and happy.

Robinson sees about 30 to 40 dogs a day, making it important for pet parents to book as soon as possible to make sure their furry friend will have a nice place to stay while they’re away. Pack Amo is especially busy during holidays. The midweek is the busiest during a typical week.

Like all pet services, the trends show that COVID-19 played some role in business. For Robinson, it actually helped business as there was a higher influx of pets in the community, and once life opened back up for people, they needed reliable care for their pets, and Pack Amo was the right place to be.

“COVID helped. I think a lot of people got dogs and so, they needed help,” Robinson said. “[Maybe] the dog started developing separation anxiety because [the pet parents aren’t] at home. We got busier with that.”

Voted number one pet kennel in Johnson County by the Iowa City Press-Citizen in 2022, Pack Amo is a clear favorite by those who utilize their services.

“There’s so many great businesses around town, just around this corridor,” Robinson said. “I don’t think that we’re better than the next, but you know, it’s the community [that] voted us as number one.”

If dog boarding is something you are interested in, prices can be found on their website pack-amo.com. Call 319-512-5054 or email amo.petcare@gmail.com to further reach out to the pack in search of a destination for your dog while you’re away. They also have a good showing on Facebook and Instagram, giving those a fix of cute dog progress photos.