It's a dog's life... inside Cork’s new B&B just for hounds

It’s a dog’s life when you visit Agnes Stawosz’s Cork home, which includes a boutique hotel and spa for our canine friends.

Agnes, originally from Poland, loves dogs and has three herself - Antek and Matilda, who are Jack Russells, and Frida, a border collie, called after her favourite artist, Frida Kahlo.

Agnes recently opened her hotel and grooming facility for dogs in Skehanagh, Watergrasshill.

She was inspired to do it because her own dogs were unable to settle in the usual kennel facility that people use when away on holidays.

What’s on offer at ‘Dogville’ is companionship for dogs in a built-on pavilion dedicated to them, complete with comfy sofas, dog pens, and a grooming room.

The house and pavilion is located on an acre so that there is plenty of room for dogs to run about.

The sizable garden is fenced off; there are daily walks in Moanbaum Woods, grooming options, wash and blow dries, and doggie day care where your pet can socialise with other furry friends.

Agnes, who is quite entrepreneurial, runs ‘Dogville’ with the assistance of a Dutch man, Rob Monhemius.

She first came to Ireland at the beginning of this century, facilitated by FÁS which was running a hospitality programme for Polish people interested in coming to Ireland.

“At the time, the hospitality business was booming in Ireland,” says Agnes. “There were hotels in the middle of nowhere that needed staff.”

After getting work experience in hotels in Killarney and West Cork, Agnes moved to Cork and got a job at Jacques Restaurant in the city.

Working in the kitchen and waiting tables, she developed a love for cooking. She did the Ballymaloe Cookery School course and opened a restaurant on Maylor Street.

Because of the recession, she closed it in 2014. But she went on to open The Hideout Café on Wellington Road in 2016.

Describing herself as driven and ambitious, Agnes wanted a new project after a number of years. Then covid happened.

“I’m always active, but when lockdown happened, I was really depressed. I started looking at what I could do. I found out about Creedon’s dog grooming course and decided to do it. Then I started doing dog grooming on a free basis from my little house on Friar’s Walk, washing the dogs in my shower.

“Slowly, I got better at it and started earning a few bob from it.

“I’m very good with dogs. Customers were asking if I could mind theirs while they were on holiday. I took in one or two but the house was tiny with no garden. I was still working in The Hideout Café but thought dogs could be a new direction I could go in. So I thought maybe I’d sell my house and buy another one with a garden.

“It took me eight months to find this house. I bought it in 2022, having sold my small house. I fenced the garden and started to board dogs here slowly. Rob was minding them while I was in the Hideout Café.”

Agnes decided to concentrate full-time on the dogs and sold her café.

“I’m over 45 now and felt it was time to do something I really love and be at home in the countryside with the dogs. I need a certain amount of dogs to make a living. I decided to build on the pavilion, concentrating on luxury accommodation for the dogs. I only take ten dogs at a time.

“I give them a doggie holiday where they get love and attention as well as exercise and sleep. We contact the owners daily to report on how their dogs are getting on.”

Potential boarders are screened so that Agnes is assured that the dogs are suitable for mingling.

“At the end of the day, dogs are pack animals and they do like each other. They’re just not exposed to other dogs when they’re at home.

“I don’t want to train the dogs. I want to mind them so that’s why every dog coming through the door is assessed. I watch them to see if they’re suitable for the space.”

Agnes says her own three dogs are her family. But is she guilty of treating the animals like precious children?

“People treat dogs differently than we did 20 years ago when they were getting scraps from the table and were living outside. Now they sleep in beds and get the best of the best. For now, it’s fashionable to have a dog. They are a part of families and we treat them a bit like children.”

But Agnes doesn’t believe in giving dogs attention all the time.

As Rob chimes in, “dogs that are given too much attention become really needy”.

Agnes says, while you have to be nice to the dogs, “you have to show them who is the boss. We can only accommodate ten dogs because we have to keep them safe. They’re animals. They can cross and snap.”

Rob says dogs need their own space.

Agnes charges €30 per night to accommodate a dog. Add-ons such as grooming cost from €40 upwards.

This month, she added a new element to the business. She drives to Wellington Road to collect dogs from owners who are dropping their children to Christian Brothers College and Scoil Mhuire.

She will then return any dogs that have been in doggie day care at ‘Dogville’ to coincide with parents collecting their children from school. It truly is a dog’s life out in Skehanagh.

• See www.dogville.ie