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Letting dogs be dogs

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Photo by Sydney Cromwell.

For visitors to Howlin Hollows Farm, the clear focal point is the large barn with its freshly stained lumber and bright red roof. Owners Scott and Kimi Welch, however, take more pride in the fenced play areas that surround the barn on three sides.

Howlin Hollows Farm opened in mid-December at 4420 Sicard Hollow Road, near the Sicard Hollow Athletic Complex and Liberty Park Middle School. The facility offers boarding and doggie daycare centered around one idea, Scott said: being “a place for a dog to be a dog.”

That philosophy was born out of the Welchs’ own experience in boarding their Labrador retrievers in places that didn’t offer many exercise options. Based on their history owning and training dogs, Kimi said their priority in opening Howlin Hollows Farm was the outdoor play area.

Inside the barn, there is room for 35 boarding animals, plus six cat enclosures, and the Welchs decide how many dogs to admit for daycare depending on their workload each day. The Welchs live in a loft at the barn, which Kimi said is ideal in case an issue comes up with an overnight boarder.

Outside, there’s thousands of square feet for large dogs to run and play, separate enclosures for small or older dogs who want a calmer experience and a natural area that has trees, pine straw and a waterfall and pond feature that will open when the weather gets warmer. Kimi said they monitor dogs throughout the day to let them in and out of the barn as they wish.

There’s also the pool, which Kimi said many dogs, especially their own Labs, love jumping into even on cold winter days. It is specially designed with a gradual slope to enter or exit at each end, instead of steps, and varying depths in the middle.

“Our whole outdoor area — there’s no one else in town like that. We built this so a dog can be a dog and run around and play outside,” Kimi said.

Despite opening in winter and dealing with rain and cold, Kimi said Howlin Hollows Farm has gotten positive responses from pet owners so far and several dogs are already daycare regulars. 

Her favorite part of the job is meeting the variety of dogs, and dog owners, in Birmingham.

“It’s very rewarding. We’ve met a lot of great people, a lot of great animals, and we also want the environment to be a fun environment,” Kimi said. “[Dogs] are just like humans. None of their personalities are the same.”

The Welchs want to hire a groomer to add more services at Howlin Hollows Farm, as well as a trainer. Both Scott and Kimi train their dogs to compete in American Kennel Club retriever field trials, where the dog must locate and retrieve a game bird. 

Howlin Hollows Farm has room to add more boarding space in the future, but Scott and Kimi agree that the growth will be carefully limited.

“It’s more quality than quantity,” Kimi said. “We’re not here to pack in a bunch of dogs because it makes the dogs unhappy, it gets loud, it gets stinky. So that’s not our intention.”

Outside the barn walls, there’s more opportunity to expand. Kimi said they have more land that they could clear to create new spots for the dogs to play in the future.

“Because that’s really what the dogs want to do,” Kimi said. 

Howlin Hollows Farm

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