By JESSA PEASE / Staff Writer

PELHAM— After undergoing major renovations, Roverchase in Pelham held a grand re-opening ceremony May 21 to celebrate the upgraded amenities at the facility.

“It was fantastic,” said head trainer and Roverchase director Abigail Witthauer. “Our turnout was much larger than anticipated, which was great.”

She expected about 100 attendees at the ceremony, but said more than 250 showed up to celebrate. The hundreds of friends, patrons and staff members congregated at the upgraded 10,000-square-foot facility, located at 224 Commerce Parkway, from noon-2 p.m.

The renovations were completed after Roverchase was shut down for about four days and include 11 indoor, climate controlled play yards and availability for 55 luxury boarding suites.

“We are really loving it,” Witthauer said of the new amenities. “Most of our dogs come and see us two or three times a week. I think the consensus is they are liking it a lot.”

Roverchase also features a private event room, a private dog-training classroom and grooming services. Witthauer said they plan to maintain all the new amenities while continuing to provide play groups and high attendant-to-dog ratios.

The upgrades have also attracted new clients, according to Witthauer, and she said the current clients seem excited about them as well.

“Roverchase has been providing Birmingham’s premier canine training, day care, boarding and grooming services for nearly three years,” Witthauer said. “As our business has grown, we wanted to ensure our clients continue to receive the exceptionally high quality of care they have come to expect from our luxury canine care business.”

Vendors selling dog-related products and animal education organizations were at the opening ceremony to provide treats for pets as well as foods and beverages.

Witthauer said she is Alabama’s only certified canine behavior consultant, and she holds numerous other canine behavior certifications while practicing bond-based choice teaching at Roverchase.

“Roverchase continues to set the national standard of care for dog behavior, training and care,” she said. “Our renovation will allow us to move into the future as the industry leader in safe, humane, and innovative canine care facilities.”