By BRAD GASKINS / Staff Writer

COLUMBIANA – When Duane and Amery Robertson bought a house two years ago, Amery said the couple was thrilled that the property contained a facility that was once used for breeding dogs.

They bought the house but don’t use the facility out back to breed dogs anymore. Instead, they use the space to board dogs for their family-owned and operated business, the Unleashed Inn.

“It didn’t look like this,” Amery Robertson recently said, noting it took a lot of work to get the facility looking the way it does today. “It was just meant to be.”

Amery Robertson said she’s “always been a dog lover,” and Duane’s dad operates a boarding facility in Indiana. Another perk of the Unleashed Inn, Amery Robertson said, is that it allows the couple’s children to help out with the family business, in their own ways.

Son Jace, 12, who is autistic, especially benefits from helping his mom at the facility, Robertson said. Daughter Layla, 8, also loves working with the dogs.

Located at 1724 Alston Farm Road, the Unleashed Inn has been open for about two years. It has 13 spacious and clean doggie suites, each measuring 5-feet by 10-feet on the inside.

All of the suites had a doggie door, which allows access to a private, over-sized outside yard.

Robertson said the inn’s main goal is to provide a safe, comfortable and fun stay for dogs.

Unleashed Inn is open daily for pick-up and Monday through Saturday for drop-off. It is open from 2-5:30 p.m. on Sundays for pick-up only. All stays are by appointment only.

The cost is $12 a day per pet, with a $10 per day fee for every additional pet.

To make an appointment, or for more information, call 613-3443 or visit unleashedinn.com.