When Darren and Sky Korito decided that they were going to open a luxury pet resort, they knew exactly the type of facility that they wanted. It had to be first class all the way – with lots of room for the animals to play and exercise, beautiful artwork and murals on the walls, and clean and cozy rooms. The entire facility would be designed and constructed with the animals’ safety, comfort, and enjoyment as its primary objective.

The Korito’s both grew up around animals and pets have always been a big part of their lives. Darren’s dad bred champion St. Bernards, Irish Wolfhounds, and Mastiffs in Wisconsin. Darren grew up as a ‘kennel kid’. He would take care of the dogs before and after school, and he used to help show the dogs. Both he and his wife are deeply involved in pet rescue. The Koritos opened the Fur and Feathers Pet Resort in Winter Garden, Florida (about ten miles from Orlando) in April of 2006.

“We built the Fur and Feathers Pet Resort from the ground up,” says Darren Korito as he flashes a warm smile. “It’s a state of the art facility. The 10,000 sq. ft. resort is all indoor (except for the potty areas). Not only do we offer boarding for dogs and cats, we also have a grooming center. And, we have an aviary and we offer dog daycare and training services.”

“We had over 170 dogs boarding with us on our first Thanksgiving,” said Darren. “In addition to our standard lodging rooms, we have our atrium suites wing that has a regal, castle-like theme.”

The centerpiece of the atrium suites is a gorgeous bronze sculpture with a water fountain that was designed especially for the resort. Stonework and art decorate the walls as the luxury suites take pampering to a whole new level. The atrium suites have color TVs, and are equipped with private webcams so that the owners can view their pets at any time.

The resort has twenty five cat condos in a dog-free section of the facility. It includes a 300 gallon fully stocked salt water aquarium that provides endless entertainment for their feline guests. They also offer playtimes and other special services for the cats in their care.

Fur and Feathers offers a fifty percent discount the first time a pet is boarded with them, when the pet parent chooses an activity package along with overnight boarding.

“We have found that offering this discount is a real business builder, and it has worked well for us,” shares Mr. Korito. “And, we include other special services – like giving the owners a pet report card upon departure…they love it!”

The resort also has a grooming center. They have two full time groomers. The majority of the people who board with them get some type of spa or grooming service – a bath, nail trim, or full groom. They also run special promotions, like the ‘scent of the month’.

Another specialized service the resort provides is bird boarding in their beautiful aviary.

“Our demand for bird boarding has really grown in the last couple of years,” says Darren. “Often, people are extremely particular about leaving their birds in someone else’s care. Two of my own exotic birds live at the resort. When people see happy, healthy birds, they are more at ease having us care for their birds. The bird boarding took a while to grow, but now we get a lot of repeat business and referrals – and we are busy all the time.”

Their doggie daycare program has become a very popular and important part of the Fur and Feathers business.

“There are lots of young, professional people in our area who need some kind of daycare service for their pets while they are working,” says Darren. “A lot of our daycare dogs also use our boarding, training, and grooming services. Daycare has proven to be a good way to build a relationship with customers. We get them in the building, have them experience and get comfortable with it, and soon they want to use our other services.”

They have two indoor dog parks – one for the large dogs, and the other for the small dogs. The parks are equipped with specially designed playground equipment and have a soft, rubberized floor for the pet’s comfort.

“Of course, the dogs are continually supervised by our trained staff while they are at the resort,” Mr. Korito continues. “We have fun activities, like theme parties, several times a year for our daycare attendees. To introduce this service, we offer a free week of daycare to first time clients. Once they try it for a week, they see all the ways their pets benefit from the daycare experience.”

Another service that has been very well received is their dog training program. “What we offer is basically a manners training program,” says Darren. “We provide different levels and also have a board and train program. Training is available seven days a week.”

“We try to educate the client so that they can continue to reinforce at home what their dog has learned at the resort,” Darren continues. “We include email and phone support for all of our clients during and also after the training.”

Their website plays a big part in supplying information to all of the existing and potential Fur and Feathers clients. They publish an online newsletter every month that features stories about the pet guests and about all of the activities that are happening at the resort. They have a huge following on Facebook.

All of the spectacular accommodations, amenities, features, and services of the Fur and Feathers Pet Resort make it one of the finest anywhere. They have won many awards and have been voted ‘Best’ Pet Boarding and ‘Best’ Doggy Daycare by the city of Winter Garden for the last four years. But – the facility itself is only part of what makes Fur and Feathers so successful.

“There are a lot of nice facilities out there,” says Darren. “But, what sets us apart is the service that we provide to our clients and to their pets. In any business, your most important resource is your talent – the people who work for you. Our employees are extremely essential to the success of Fur and Feathers Pet Resort. They go the extra mile to make sure our pet guests enjoy their vacation with us.”

“Our business is predicated on taking care of each pet in our facility and making sure that they are safe and happy,” say proud owners, Darren and Sky Korito. “When the pets are happy, the owners are too!”’

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