On paper, Stay is the kind of place that makes you want to sit up and snicker. Among a new breed of pet-boarding facilities that bill themselves as "dog hotels," it's like the W Hotel of dog kennels with East Bank Club- caliber exercise amenities.

But step inside this Ravenswood stable and it's hard to deny its innovativeness. The dog day care and boarding center combines the aesthetics of Design Within Reach with the peacefulness of a Zen sanctuary and the practicality of, well, a dog kennel. Nestled against the river with a handful of Stonehenge-esque stones planted outside, the place has the simplest of adornments—beaker-shaped vases filled with bunches of reeds suspended on the walls and a cluster of paper mobiles hanging in the lobby.

While doggie pampering is not a new concept in Chicago, consistently rated one of the country's top 10 dog-friendly cities by sources such as Dogfriendly.com and Dog Fancy magazine, Stay, at 40,000-square-feet (with plans to expand beyond 50,000) ups the ante on level of care.

Karen Okura, manager of animal behavior and training at Chicago's Anti-Cruelty Society, thinks the big swing in people's approach to caring for their animals has happened over the last 10 years. "[Our pets] have become useful to us. Dogs can sniff out skin cancer and [provide] seizure alerts. The more we see these animals as partners, as family members, it's easier for us to make that jump," Okura says. "People think [my pet's] my family member, why wouldn't I spend as much money as I could on [that pet]?"

Northwest Side resident Betsy Armstrong, executive director at a Chicago not-for-profit, whose chocolate Labs Lulu and Muddy share a suite at Stay while she and husband Doug are away, says, "It's nice for us to think they're not stuck in a cage while we're off having a great vacation." The couple uses Stay's day care facility Mondays through Fridays, as well.

Open only 31⁄2 months, Stay has not only locals like Armstrong, but out-of-town clients, dropping off their dogs in Chicago on their way to vacation. Moreover, it offers a social scene for dogs and their owners: While Stay's occasional movie night draws a crowd of about 30, the bi-monthly Flealess Market, an organized bonanza featuring all things dog-related, attracts 600 people in a day.

Stay owner Michael Heltzer ran a furniture design business during the 20 years prior to opening Stay. After selling his business last spring and re-evaluating what he wanted his daily life to look like—plenty of family time, activity and dogs—he arrived at the notion of a kennel.

The facility, one of two boatyards Heltzer owns, is now home to 60 to 70 dogs on any given day as well as a resident vet, a sprawling play area grooming room, lap pool with jet stream, a retail area (with such items as hemp leashes and bacon- and cheese-flavored biscuits) and 110 runs of the standard, deluxe and suite varieties.

With the industrial shell in place—slate floors, super high ceilings and exposed brick walls—the building didn't need much work: a paint job, some corrugated metal panels on the walls and a few amenities. It's the suites, four 160-square-foot, glass-enclosed rooms sitting adjacent to Stay's entrance, that put your average apartment to shame. The pale blue painted rooms come with a shelf of tea lights, fresh flowers, a gallery of limited edition Keith Carter black and white photographs and 24-hour Web cams so the dogs' owners can watch them from afar. For $75 a night, they cost one-third of the average amount people spend on their dogs for grooming and boarding services per year, according to the APPMA National Pet Owners survey.

The rooms also function as a kind of intensive care unit for dogs requiring special attention for health or temperament reasons. Many are patients of the in-house vet, Dr. Barbara Royal, whose approach to orthopedic rehab includes acupuncture and underwater treadmills.

While most of the dogs here come from relatively privileged homes, Heltzer offers foster care for dogs rescued by the Anti-Cruelty Society. So far 12 have been adopted, including one Heltzer took for himself, growing his own family of dogs to a total of eight.

Says Heltzer, "Opening Stay gave me a reassurance my dogs would be well cared for."

Jessica Herman is a local free-lance writer.

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