Pick-up and drop-off
How does the Pup Van work?
The van exists for the days when the drive is the hard part: an early train out of Rockport, a shift that starts before our 6:30 AM doors, or a dog who would rather not ride in your back seat twice. Here is what a Pup Van day looks like and where the van goes.
The short version
A ride each way, added to a booked day, for $10 a leg
The Pup Van is not a separate service you book on its own. It attaches to a day your dog is already spending with us: daycare, a Dogtown Academy day or a night in an overnight suite. When you make that booking online or in the app, you choose pick-up, drop-off or both, and each leg is $10. A round trip on a daycare day is $20 on top of the $42 full day, and a groom scheduled into that day comes along for the same ride.
The van covers four towns at the flat rate: Rockport, Gloucester, Essex and Manchester-by-the-Sea, the Cape Ann towns within an easy loop of 210 Eastern Ave. Live in Ipswich, Beverly or further down the North Shore and the answer is to ask; we would rather quote your address than print a number that is wrong for half the people reading it. And because a van rider is a daycare, Academy or overnight dog, the free evaluation comes first, on a weekday between 6:30 and 9:30 AM.
How it works at Dogtown
Book the day, add the van, have the leash ready at the door
Start with the day itself. In the Dogtown app or through online booking on MoeGo, pick daycare, Academy or an overnight stay and the date. Add pick-up, drop-off or both, plus any enrichment for the same day, such as a frozen Kong at $6 or the sniff room at $7. If you prefer to talk it through, the front desk at 978 491-5922 will add the van to a booking you have already made.
On the morning, have your dog leashed and ready with anything they need: pre-portioned food and medication for an overnight guest, nothing but the leash for a daycare dog. Our team collects at the door and your dog rides to Eastern Ave to join their matched playgroup. In the afternoon the van brings them home, and the report card lands in the app before they walk in. For an overnight stay, the overnight page invites you to let the Pup Van do the Sunday driving, when the only windows are 8 to 10 AM and 4 to 6 PM.
- 01
Book daycare, a Dogtown Academy day or an overnight stay online or in the Dogtown app
- 02
Add pick-up, drop-off or both; each leg is $10 in the four Cape Ann towns
- 03
Confirm your address and any gate, parking or building notes with the front desk
- 04
In the morning, have your dog leashed at the door with any food or medication for the day
- 05
Your dog joins their playgroup at 210 Eastern Ave for the day or the stay
- 06
In the afternoon we bring them home and the report card appears in the app
Where it runs
Four towns at $10 each way, and a quote for everywhere else
The four towns are not arbitrary. Rockport, Gloucester, Essex and Manchester-by-the-Sea are Cape Ann and its shoulder, all reachable from Eastern Ave without a long stretch of Route 128, which is what keeps a $10 leg possible. Rockport households are also the ones riding the Rockport line into Boston, where the MBTA allows leashed dogs only off-peak at staff discretion and never between 7 and 10 AM or 4 and 7 PM, so the dog cannot come along on the morning train.
Anywhere else is a conversation. Ipswich, Beverly, Danvers, Peabody and Salem are all places we serve for daycare and grooming, and whether the van can reach an address, and at what price, depends on the distance and the day. Ask before you count on it, and put the address on the customer inquiry form so the front desk can look at the map first.
- Rockport, Gloucester, Essex and Manchester-by-the-Sea: $10 each way
- Ipswich, Beverly and beyond: ask us for pricing before you book
- Address, gate and parking notes go on the booking or to the front desk
| Town | Pup Van rate | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Rockport | $10 each way | Peak trains bar dogs 7 to 10 AM and 4 to 7 PM; the van fills that gap |
| Gloucester | $10 each way | Home town of 210 Eastern Ave |
| Essex | $10 each way | The town without a leash law; the van still wants a leash at the door |
| Manchester-by-the-Sea | $10 each way | Same flat rate as the other three towns |
| Elsewhere on the North Shore | Ask us for pricing | Ipswich, Beverly, Danvers, Peabody and Salem addresses are quoted on request |
What it means for your dog
Most dogs learn the van in two rides; puppies, seniors and carsick dogs need a plan
For a confident adult, the van is quickly the best part of the day: the door opens, a familiar face says their name, and they are off to see their friends. Dogs who are wary of cars need a warm-up: a few short, happy drives in your own car the week before, treats at the door and a calm handover, and our how-to on getting a dog used to the Pup Van walks through it. Tell us on the form if your dog is carsick or barks in traffic.
Puppies ride once the evaluation is passed, so the vaccine series and the license come first. Seniors are fine on the van; mention stiffness so the team helps with the step. The commuter household where both adults are on an early Boston train, and the overnight stay that begins on a Sunday you are already driving to Logan, are the two cases where the return leg earns its $10 most clearly.
- Confident adults: two rides and the van is a friend
- Car-shy dogs: short practice drives and treats at the door the week before
- Puppies: after the evaluation, once the shots and the license are done
- Seniors: tell us about joints so the team helps with the step
At Dogtown
The days the van attaches to
Daycare and Academy days, overnight stays and the Pup Van itself: book the day, then add the ride.
Pick-up & drop-off
The Pup Van comes to you.
Pup Van pick-up and drop-off is available for $10 each way in the Rockport, Gloucester, Essex and Manchester-by-the-Sea area. Not in the area? Ask us for pricing.
- Rockport
- Gloucester
- Essex
- Manchester-by-the-Sea
Asked and answered
Questions people ask about this
Short, complete answers you can act on today. More in the full FAQ.
Can the Pup Van pick up my dog for grooming only?
What time will the van arrive?
Does the Pup Van run on Saturdays and Sundays?
Do I need to be home for the pick-up?
More questions? Read the full FAQ
Sources
Rules and dates change. We re-check every beach, licensing and ordinance page each spring and fall; the source above is the current word.
Keep reading
Next step
Let the van do the driving.
Every Pup Van rider starts with the free weekday-morning evaluation. After that, book a day, add a ride each way, and leave the leash by the door.
- 01Free evaluationWeekdays 6:30 – 9:30 AM
- 02Book a dayOnline, in the app or by phone
- 03Play, rest, repeatReport card at pick-up
