DOGGY HEAVEN
There’s a new luxury hotel in Bishop, with hard-wood floors, elaborate art, an exercise center, a hair-stylist, a chiropractor, and a nutritionist all on site.
The clientele? Cats and dogs.
“There was a need for really high end boarding,” said Debbi Barbieri, owner of K-9 Wellness Center. “There was just no place we could board our dogs that we felt comfortable with.”
Barbieri gave me a tour on Tuesday.
There are 17 dog rooms, she said: six big, six little, and five medium, holding up to 30 dogs.
“The rooms are divided by family,” Barbieri explained. Meaning, if an owner has two dogs, they will board together.
The rooms are complete with sleek white walls, an elevated dog bed, hanging dog bowls, art panels which double as sound proofing, and a fur mat on the floor.
At night, a speaker connected to the ceiling in each room plays soothing acoustic guitar to help the dogs fall asleep. A solid wooden door with an interchangeable plaque describing the dog inside subdivides the animals from the rest of the space.
“It’s all about the dogs,” she said. “We just want to make them feel as comfortable as possible.”
Check-in is after 2 p.m., check-out is before 11 a.m. Once the dogs arrive, Barbieri explained, they settle into a routine.
A staff member takes each of the dogs out at 6:30 a.m., then they are fed in their separate rooms at 7:30 a.m. Owners are required to bring their dog’s kibble with them, however, the on-site nutritionist offers some supplemental food and occasionally gives the owner feedback on whether the food is working for their dog.
“If the staff decides [the dogs] are too nervous to eat by themselves, they will sit with them while they eat,” Barbieri said. Currently, there are seven employees.
Afterward, the dogs spend most of the day outside their rooms, playing in the yards or with the staff. They even have time at the exercise center, where they can focus on their mobility through jumping over small obstacles.
“They are only in their rooms for short naps,” she said.
At 5 p.m., the dogs are fed again. Afterwards, they are taken out for their last bathroom break and put to bed.
Captain, a border-collie-corgi mix with ties to The Sheet, spent three days at the K-9 Wellness Center. He stayed in a medium room with Vincent van Gogh’s starry night as paneling, and had no complaints about the night time acoustic noise. His wriggling body and furiously wagging tail told me had a great time.
As for cat boarding, K-9 Wellness Center has four cat rooms, two small and two large. The cats are also separated “by family.” Their rooms look slightly different; their toys are aligned vertically.
“[For] exploring upwards,” Barbieri said. “Boxes, hanging bridges, climbing stuff.”
Instead of artistic acoustic wall paneling, the cats will have a window view of the Sierra.
Barbieri worked as a physical therapy assistant for people for 24 years. She made the switch to focusing on dogs eight years ago. Now, she also owns Eastside K-9 Hydrotherapy, a therapeutic center focused on relieving joint pain for dogs through methods like the canine underwater treadmill, massage therapy, therapeutic exercises, and cold lasers.
That business will move from its current location to the K-9 Wellness Center. Although the businesses are staying separate, hotel guests can add a session onto their stay, Barbieri said.
During our tour, Barbieri lingered for a moment on the canine underwater treadmill.
“It’s been the best investment I’ve ever made,” she said.
“Wait, so you just put the dog in there and it fills with water?” I asked.
“Uh huh. The buoyancy from the water takes the pressure off the joints and we heat it to 90 degrees,” she said. “The warmth just melts the pain away.”
That’s what the K-9 Wellness Center is all about.
The K-9 Wellness Center opened for business December 20, 2025. The business is located on 1650 North Sierra Highway, in Bishop.
Prices for small and medium dog rooms are $80. The large dog rooms are $95. Each additional dog is $60. For cats, the junior rooms are $45 and the larger are $60. Each additional cat costs $30.
