Dog Mountain Lodge opens for business

Facility complete after three-year process

By FRITZ MAYER

COCHECTON, NY — Facilities that house dogs have created more than a bit of controversy in Cochecton in recent years, so when planners were approached about the construction of a new one, they made sure that everything was done right.

Dean Scharf, who with his wife, Krista, owns Dog Mountain Lodge on Route 116, said the mission of this kennel is not to be a shelter?as important as those are?but to be a business that boards, trains and grooms canines. Still, he had to convince planning board members that his kennel wouldn’t bother the neighbors.

For instance, he hired an acoustical engineer to ensure that any noise from the dogs would be within the town’s noise ordinance, and he built a solid wooden fence to help mitigate any barking. The permitting process and the construction took longer than Scharf had anticipated, but the kennel, dubbed Dog Mountain Lodge, officially opened for business on January 1.

Cochecton supervisor Sal Indelicato, who toured the new facility, said that, while he’s not an expert on the subject, it seems to be a “state-of-the-art setup… an absolute plus for the town.”

Scharf worked for 30 years in “communications, corporate identity, advertising, publishing,” in New York City. He said, “It was always my plan to leave the corporate culture and come up here.”

Krista was an illustrator who worked mostly in the city, but also from her home. “I drew little pictures,” she said. The couple had been coming up to the area every weekend for 25 years.

Scharf has been training dogs here since 2005, and with his new kennel he and his wife cater to several types of clients: local clients who need a place to board their pets when they go away on vacation or leave temporarily for other reasons; second homeowners, who have another house closer to the city, who often prefer to board their dogs up here when they travel far from the region; and people who visit the area and want to bring their pet but can’t find a motel or bed and breakfast that allows canine guests.

Dog Mountain Lodge is licensed to house up to 50 dogs at a time. Scharf, a licensed dog trainer and behaviorist, said in designing the place he took several steps to help minimize doggie stress. For instance, there are four separate exercise yards to allow similar dogs to play together and to be separated from those that don’t play well with others. Scharf also said the animals receive a lot of attention because the building isn’t just a kennel, it’s also the couple’s home.