The Zoom Room, a dog agility and social club, is the newest doggie hot spot on the Monterey Peninsula. Proprietor, Ratna Anagol, speaks with passion about her new business and her goal of helping families create deeper relationships with their dogs in a fun, positive environment.

In May 2008, Ratna was diagnosed with breast cancer. She was an executive with McGraw-Hill at the time, and she admits her work and home life were out of balance. While going through chemotherapy and radiation, Ratna had some time to reflect on her life and think about what she would do with the future she was no longer taking for granted.

She was not looking for a new career when she started doing agility with her dog, Prince, a young, playful Canaan who seemed to have endless reserves of energy. She was just looking for something fun to do with her dog. She found that she loved doing agility, and Prince loved it too. After a one-hour class, he would sleep soundly for three hours!

Their agility class was only once a week, so Ratna began looking for an agility class that her daughters, 12-year-old Neelam and 9-year-old Nisha, could attend with her and Prince. She could not find anything available locally but while doing an internet search, she found Zoom Room, A Southern California franchise. Wow, this was exactly what she had been looking for! When starting her search, Ratna did not know it would lead her to bringing the doggie social club she had been looking for to her own hometown.

She met with Zoom Room founders, Jaime and Mark Van Wye, and resonated with their green values and positive approach to training dogs.

After several months of extensive training, Ratna was ready to open Zoom Room Monterey Bay. Ratna knows that if the family dog knows basic obedience, everyone is happier!

Some of the opportunities at the Zoom Room include group classes such as Puppy Preschool, Puppy Agility, Introduction to Agility, Agility 1, Obedience 1, Tricks 1, and Shy Dogs. You can also rent the facility for one or two of your dogs to do agility on leash or off leash. There are also Open Gym hours for dogs and their people to drop in for 30 minutes of on-leash agility with up to five other dogs and their handlers. This is a great deal at just $6 for 30 minutes. Same breeds can rent the facility to “meet up” with up to 15 dogs, or the facility can be rented for a special event like a birthday party for you or your dog. The Zoom Room will provide music, decorations, a mini-agility class, treats for each dog to take home, and the disco ball and laser light

Note: In order to use the open gym or private agility rental, you must have completed a one-hour introduction to agility class. If you and your dog are already familiar with agility, you can ask for a five-minute safety evaluation at a cost of $5, in lieu of taking an intro class. After passing the evaluation, your dog will get his very own Zoom Room membership card.

The Zoom Room is located at 120 Central Avenue in Pacific Grove. For more information call (831) 717-4580 or visit www.zoomroomonline.com/monterey-bay-dog-training.