At 22 years old, Chris Simpson actually enjoys showing up to work a quarter before 7 a.m. Monday through Friday, and sometimes on the weekends. While most men his age would shudder at such prospects, Simpson couldn't be more pleased about his situation. You might even say that he is as happy as a puppy with two tails about his job. But then, who wouldn't be? He gets to play with dogs all day.
Simpson and his girlfriend, Tiffany Morrow, are the owners and operators of Dogtown, a doggy daycare and boarding company on Manchester Street in the old Manchester Center, which opened its dog doors and regular doors in January of this year.
Morrow and Simpson are self-proclaimed dog people, which is evident as a portrait of the couple's two dogs, Betty and Cleo, hangs in the front office and Brandy, a small Dachshund and new resident at Dogtown who is still being acclimated, waddles under the desk and into Morrow's lap while she answers the phone. Of course, their love for man's best friend spurred the idea for a boarding and daycare business, but their guilt and worry when they had to use such facilities groomed Dogtown.
"[Our dogs] are like our kids. We'd go out of town and couldn't have a good time because we were so worried about our dogs being boarded or locked up in a kennel eight hours a day, or eight hours plus. We'd be so worried about the dogs that it was hard to have fun if did go on vacation," Simpson said. "Here, it's guilt free. You can go out of town and you can have a good time, because your dog is going to have a blast here. It's a vacation for your dog as well.
With an expansive backyard