Daycare with pick-up
Dog daycare with pick-up service: the Pup Van, $10 each way
Most dogs in a daycare group arrive in their owner's car. The ones who arrive by van belong to households with an early train, one car between two jobs, or a dog who would rather ride once than twice. This page walks through a van day from the front door to the report card, with the math.
Who rides
The van serves four Cape Ann towns at a flat $10 and quotes every other address
Rockport households are the clearest case. The MBTA keeps larger dogs off trains at peak hours, so a dog cannot ride the Rockport line in with a commuter, and a parent catching an early train cannot also reach Eastern Ave inside the drop-off window. The van collects the dog at the door and brings it home in the afternoon. Gloucester families use it for a different reason: one car between two jobs, or a parent at home with small children who cannot leave the house in the drop-off window.
Essex and Manchester-by-the-Sea are inside the flat rate too. Essex sits along Route 133 and Manchester along Route 128 and the shore road, and both are $10 each way like the other two towns. Ipswich, Beverly, Danvers, Peabody and Salem are outside the van towns, so the van is a quote there: send your address and the front desk prices it for the distance and that day's route before you count on it.
The math
Both van legs add $20 to the day, so a $42 full day becomes $62
The van adds $10 for each direction you book, so the arithmetic is short. A full daycare day is $42 and a half day $33. A Dogtown Academy day, which adds a trainer, enrichment and fitness to the play, is $89 full or $69 half. Packs lower the day rate before the van is added: the full-day 10-pack is $380, or $38 a day, and the half-day 10-pack is $290.
Two choices change the total. Booking one leg halves the van cost, which suits a parent who can make the afternoon window but not the morning one. Overnight stays use the van at the start and the end rather than every day, so a suite at $78 a night carries $20 of van for the whole stay. For two dogs from one address, ask the front desk how the legs are charged when you book.
| Booking | Day price | Van, both ways | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full day of daycare | $42 | $20 | $62 |
| Half day of daycare | $33 | $20 | $53 |
| Full day from a 10-pack | $38 | $20 | $58 |
| Dogtown Academy full day | $89 | $20 | $109 |
| Dogtown Academy half day | $69 | $20 | $89 |
| Overnight stay | $78 a night | $20 for the stay | $78 a night plus $20 |
A van day
A van day follows the building's windows, and the front desk sets the time at your door
The building's day sets the van's day. On weekdays dogs arrive between 6:30 and 9:30 AM, the midday window is 12 to 1 PM, and dogs go home between 4 and 6:30 PM; Saturdays run 8 to 10 AM, 12 to 1 PM and 4 to 6 PM. The run is built from that day's bookings, so the time the van reaches your street is confirmed for your address by the front desk.
Between the two rides it is an ordinary daycare day. Your dog joins its matched playgroup of 7 to 10 on the turf yard or the indoor floors, with a handler, water breaks and a settle between play blocks. Enrichment you added, such as a frozen Kong at $6 or a treadmill session at $10, fits around the groups, and a groom booked into the day happens before the ride home. The report card lands in the Dogtown app, so you can read about the day before the van pulls up.
- 01
Book the daycare or Academy day online or in the Dogtown app and add pick-up, drop-off or both
- 02
The front desk confirms the van window for your address
- 03
Morning: the van collects your dog at the door and brings it to Eastern Ave inside the drop-off window
- 04
Daytime: playgroup, rest and any enrichment or grooming you booked
- 05
Afternoon: the van brings your dog home and the report card appears in the app
At the door
The driver needs a leashed dog, a person for the handover and clear notes about your house
Have your dog on a leash with a secure collar or harness, the same thing we ask for at an ordinary daycare drop-off. Someone should be home to hand the leash over in the morning and take it back in the afternoon. If that is hard on some days of the week, raise it with the front desk when you book rather than on the morning itself.
Put the practical details on the booking: a gate code, which door to use, where the van can stop, and whether another dog in the house is staying behind. For an overnight stay, have the bag at the door with pre-portioned food, any necessary medications and one comfort item; we provide the bedding. If your dog is uneasy in vehicles, say so on the form, and our how-to on getting a dog used to the Pup Van sets out short practice rides for the week before.
- Leash on, with a secure collar or harness and the license tag
- A person at the door for the handover, morning and afternoon
- Gate, door and parking notes on the booking
- Overnight stays: pre-portioned food, medications and one comfort item
Why Dogtown
Families choose the van for the time it saves and Dogtown for the day at the other end
A ride only helps if the day at the end of it is a good one. Dogtown is a 10,000-square-foot building at 210 Eastern Ave in Gloucester with indoor play floors, a turf yard with pools and platforms, a grooming studio and overnight suites. Groups are 7 to 10 dogs matched by size and temperament at the evaluation, the staff are certified, and the building has cared for more than 1,500 pets since it opened in 2023.
The evaluation is the one morning worth doing in person. It runs on weekdays between 6:30 and 9:30 AM by appointment: a temperament test, then a few supervised hours in a group, with Rabies, DHPP and Bordetella records and a current city dog license checked the same morning. You meet the people your dog will spend its days with, and new customers take 15 percent off the first daycare visit with the code FIRST15.
- Playgroups of 7 to 10, matched by size and temperament
- Certified staff, with a handler in every group
- A report card in the Dogtown app after each day
- FIRST15: 15 percent off the first daycare visit
At Dogtown
The day the van brings your dog to
Daycare, the Academy and the van itself: book the day first, 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.
How much does dog daycare with pick-up cost at Dogtown?
Can I book only the pick-up and collect my dog myself?
Does the Pup Van come to Ipswich or Beverly?
Does my dog need the evaluation before riding the van?
Can the van take my dog to Dogtown Academy instead of daycare?
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
Book the evaluation, then let the van drive.
Send the new customer form and book a free weekday-morning evaluation. Once your dog has a playgroup, add the Pup Van to any daycare day for $10 each way.
- 01Free evaluationWeekdays 6:30 – 9:30 AM
- 02Book a dayOnline, in the app or by phone
- 03Play, rest, repeatReport card at pick-up
