OUR VISION:
Loving, safe, comfortable and fun vacations for your pets while you are away!
Our unique luxury dog boarding facility is designed to let you vacation worry free. Your dog stays in one of our cottages while getting lots of one on one attention. Plus, 5% of our profits are donated to a separate fund to begin our future non-profit, Adoption and Rehoming Cottage (ARC) to help homeless dogs find their path to their forever homes.
Our Story
The Cottages is a luxury dog boarding and rehoming facility in a country setting just off I64 in Louisa, VA. The boarding facility provides a fun filled vacation for your pet! The property is made up of 6 cottages and lots of play yards. Throughout the day, our guests can choose to spend their time inside the heated and air conditioned luxury runs or enjoy the smells, sounds and sights from the attached outdoor, partially covered runs. All dogs enjoy time in our grassy play yards with friends, either human or canine & human, depending on the preference of our guest. We give each pet individualized care, lots of attention and love. In addition, 5% of all profits are donated to the future non-profit re-homing facility, the Adoption and Re-Homing Cottage (ARC) which is in the works. The non-profit will be located on site, but will be separate from the dog boarding facility. Rather than reinvent the wheel, ARC will assist local shelters and rescues by fostering, training and helping to re-home their dogs. So not only does your pet get the best care available and tons of love in our boarding facility, you also help homeless pets each time your dog boards with us.
The Cottages was born out of a deep love for animals. As a child, I knew in my heart that my passion for animals would play an important role in my life. Over the years, from working on the business side of the entertainment industry in Los Angeles, to running a behavioral health company that helped people regain their lives, I loved my work but had moved away from my deep passion for animals. Then I read the book A Year to Live by Stephen Levine. After pondering how I would live my life differently if I only had one year to live, I found my way back to my original path, to help animals. This is my life passion. I returned to school to get my MBA in entrepreneurship to work through my ideas and then moved from the cement filled streets of Los Angeles to the beautiful greenery of Central Virginia. While here, I worked at the Charlottesville-Albemarle SPCA for four years, where they taught me about animal care and the wonderful programs offered to help pets and their people in the area. I realized that this pet loving community is where I wanted to make my home.
During a recent reorganizing effort, I came across a binder of school projects from elementary school. One of the assignments asked “what would you do if you had a million dollars?” My response was “buy a fram and save all the animals.” I could not say it better as my adult self (although I like to think I would spell it better!) This little paper helped confirm that I am on the right path. And thus the Fram project, The Cottages, was born.
Sarah Chapin Strentz, Owner
Sarah did her undergraduate work at Occidental College in Los Angeles where she majored in Economics. She then worked on the business side of the entertainment industry, selling independent films internationally at markets like the Cannes Film Festival and London Screenings. In 2010, after receiving her MBA from the University of Southern California with an emphasis in Entrepreneurship, Sarah took the position of Executive Director at an addiction treatment center. Over the next several months, she successfully piloted the company through a merger and increased profits over the next couple of years. In 2013 Sarah moved to the Charlottesville area to work on her plans to start a luxury dog boarding facility that helps to fund a pet rehoming project. For four years, Sarah worked at the Charlottesville-Albemarle SPCA in various positions, including Adoption Counselor, Cat Care Manager and Director of Finance. Her inspiration to bring her business background to the animal hospitality and welfare sector was her rescue dog, Gato, who passed in 2013. Gato walked Sarah through some very challenging times in her life, like an angel. Sarah feels that Gato is still spiritually with her and that they are walking this venture to together.
Talya Vardimon, Manager and Trainer
Hailing from Jerusalem, Israel, Talya has spent most her life working with animals. As a child, she trained friends’ and family’s dogs and ran a tiny dog and cat rescue from her parents’ balcony. After high-school she studied Veterinary sciences in Denmark for a few years before returning to Israel to study painting. She moved to the US in 2012 where she served as the kennel manager of the Humane Society of New York and worked with Broadway animal trainer Bill Berloni. After arriving in Charlottesville in 2016, Talya worked as the Animal Care Manager and then as the Dog Behavior Specialist at the Charlottesville-Albemarle SPCA. Talya is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer – Knowledge Assessed through The Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers.
Talya shares a home in Charlottesville with her husband Abraham, their kids Leon and Ariel, their two dogs – Sunday and Kermit, and two cats – Patty and Ivan.
Ellie Hutchins, Dog Care
Ellie has always cared about animals, even from a young age. She grew up in Crozet, VA where she developed a deep passion for caring for dogs. She started her first job as an independent contractor pet sitting. In 2013 she started an internship at Canine Campus where she found her love for training and growing a deeper human-dog bond. Ellie studied and graduated from PVCC with a Liberal Arts degree, meanwhile working at the Charlottesville-Albemarle SPCA as a Dog Care Specialist. There Ellie found her true passion in working with dogs that have behavioral needs. In her free time Ellie enjoys spending time training her dog Walnut, pet sitting, and spending time with friends and family. She is aspiring to be a Certified Pet Dog Trainer – Knowledge Assessed within the next few years.
Vijay Owens, Dog Care
Vijay was born and raised in New York City. After earning a journalism degree from Binghamton University Vijay returned to NYC where she helped out at her stepmother’s pet care business and worked at Doubleday publishing. Vijay moved to Virginia in 2004 to raise her two kids with her musician husband Charles, Vijay worked as a nanny for many years: work that to her delight often included walking the family dog. Once her kids reached their teen years Vijay retired from nannying and joined the cat care team at Charlottesville Albemarle SPCA. After leaving CASPCA in 2019 Vijay started at the Cottages as a fill-in person and is now up to 4 days a week. Vijay now lives in Richmond with her family, 2 cats, and an ever increasing number of chickens.
Stacey Jackson, Dog Care
Stacey grew up in Massachusetts, and has had a deep love and respect for animals since a young age. After years of living in different parts of the country, she ended up spending 3 months volunteering on a small game reserve in South Africa, where she was able to track and observe key species for conservation efforts. Upon her return she spent a year back in Washington, DC, pursuing different opportunities to continue supporting wildlife conservation.
She moved to Charlottesville in 2014, and began working at Relay Foods. When the company closed their doors, she joined the Charlottesville-Albemarle SPCA as an adoptions counselor, and later became the volunteer manager. Her shelter experience, along with her first adopted dog, Franklin, taught her more than she could ever imagine about canine behavior and helped shape her appreciation and understanding of these dynamic animals.
Stacey lives on a small farm in Esmont with her husband, son, Henry, and two dogs.
Abbey Warnsing, Dog Care
Growing up in the farmlands of the Midwest, caring for a variety of creatures came naturally to Abbey. That passion was carried into adulthood, and in the early years Abbey was always the go-to pet sitter for family and friends. After completing her Master’s degree in literature from the University of North Carolina-Charlotte in 2016, she decided that her true passion was working with animals and made the choice to pursue that as a career. Since then, she has gained professional experience in a variety of areas; including as a caretaker and grooming assistant at a boarding facility as well as the lead handler in a small doggy daycare. In addition to animal care, she has spent time learning more about dog behavior and positive reinforcement training techniques. She completed an internship with Appalachian Dog Training, based in North Carolina, where she assisted with puppy socialization, obedience training and service dog training. She has spent the last few years working full-time as a professional dog walker and pet sitter and absolutely loves every aspect of the job. Abbey especially enjoys bonding with the animals she works with, engaging them frequently in indoor and outdoor enrichment games. She is Fear Free certified and has a big heart and a lot of patience for animals with fears or anxieties. Abbey loves to travel and spends most of her free time outdoors. She can often be found hiking
the trails or headed to the beach with her husband Jason and five-year-old hound mix Doc.
Kyle Adams, Dog Care
Kyle joined The Cottages in July 2025. He enjoys life with his wife and their pack of 4 dogs in Gordonsville. His admiration and respect for life of all forms has shaped his career. He has worked with soil, plants, and animals from farm to table and back again. Out of great respect for the natural systems and cycles that have kept our ecosystem in balance for many years, Kyle is committed to treating our canine friends with a balanced, calm approach to help them be their best. When he is not walking or playing with a dog, Kyle may be making music, gardening, or road tripping with his pack across the US.
Abbie Stafford, Dog Care
Abbie is extremely passionate about animals, art, traveling and going to the gym. She hopes to become a dog trainer in the near future. Her world has always revolved around caring for either children or animals, and she wouldn’t have it any other way!
Lori Tocke, Dog Care
Lori has had a passion for dogs since she was a child and was walking many neighbors’ dogs by the time she was seven. She carried this passion through college, where she extended scientific knowledge gleaned through a BS in Human Services from Virginia Tech into specific expertise in psychology and behavior. Lori also holds an Associates of Applied Animal Science and worked as a veterinary technician for over 8 years. Lori brings several decades’ experience in animal care, having managed a private sport kennel for ten years, trained service dogs for veterans, and served as the manager of a large fish facility for the neuroscience program at UVA since 2012. In addition, Lori is a retired FEMA-certified handler, instructor, and evaluator. Together with her canine partners Sprite, Win, Sarge, and Pike, she deployed over 20 times, including Hurricanes Katrina, Sandy, Maria, and Ian, as well as the 2010 Haiti earthquake and the Surfside Building Collapse. Alongside her FEMA partners, Lori is never without a rescue pitty and also enjoys training in scent-work, agility, and has certified several of her dogs through Canine Good Citizen for fun!
Call today to reserve a room: 540.390.0911. We also text! Or email us at
Sarah@TheDogCottages.com