Keeping Fido safe and healthy

It was 2002 when Ellen Adler decided she wanted to turn her passion and hobby into a lucrative business, which is known today as the Fido Fitness Club.

First, she was asked to take over the Barrie Inn for a friend who left for Texas. Adler said it was her late husband who talked her into doing so. “My friend was grooming dogs, and I enjoyed helping her do that,” she said. “I also used to help her by watching them. When she left for Texas, she asked me if I would be interested in doing this for a living.”

Two years after that, Adler expanded into her current place at 910 Railroad Avenue in Woodmere. The business has expanded into an indoor dog walking park, a doggie day care center, cageless boarding and a grooming center.

“It’s doggy world,” she said. “It’s forty minutes from Manhattan. It’s local. Not only are we an indoor dog park and all of those other things, we also do dog rescues.”

Diane Indelicato of Freeport’s Ruff House Rescue is a friend of Adler’s who has worked closely with her and the Fido Fitness Club since her nonprofit rescue service opened.

“Ellen cares for, trains and houses the local community’s pets when their families need help,” Indelicato said. “She also hires handicap staff to assist her kennel workers. She hosts adoption events for my rescue and also provides her dog room for when we intake a large number of rescue puppies and dogs.”

Adler said that they receive a large number of dogs from the shelters every day. “We can get anywhere from 30 to 50 dogs per day,” she said. “These dogs are pulled from kill shelters. It’s something quite amazing that we are able to accommodate them and they have another place to go.”