Inside Camp Ruff It’s New Carol Stream Location Preview Party

On Saturday, May 2nd we welcomed more than 350 people into the future home of Camp Ruff It for our New Location Preview Party, and honestly… we’re still trying to process it all.

If you walked through our doors on Saturday, thank you.

Thank you for waiting in line to tour a building that still has tools in corners and unfinished details. Thank you for seeing the vision even when everything isn’t fully complete yet. Thank you for reminding us why we’ve poured our blood, sweat, tears, weekends, late nights, and entire hearts into this project.

This wasn’t just a “business event” for us.

It was personal.

Every wall, every partition, every painted surface, every design choice, every tiny detail has been touched by our family, our team, and the people who love this place. Ryan, our nephew Ashton, our Camp Ruff It team, and our families have worked tirelessly behind the scenes building this space with our own hands. And on Saturday, getting to finally share it with all of you felt surreal.

One of the most emotional parts of the day was watching people truly understand what makes Camp Ruff It different.

You saw the bedrooms where dogs will continue sleeping in real beds with staff during our overnight slumber parties. You explored our new Senior Center Campfire Cabins designed specifically for aging and special-needs dogs. You experienced our brand-new Scent Space and enrichment areas intentionally created to help dogs build confidence, reduce stress, and engage their natural instincts through nose work and exploration.

Every inch of this building was designed with dogs in mind.

Not just for supervision. Not just for containment. But for comfort, emotional wellbeing, safety, enrichment, and connection.

And seeing so many people light up while learning about those details reminded us exactly why this move matters.

Preview Party Highlights

The Scent Wall

One of the biggest conversation starters of the day was our interactive Scent Wall. Guests learned how dogs experience the world primarily through scent and how just minutes of nose work can provide powerful mental enrichment, confidence building, and stress relief. We scented the top with lemon, orange and peppermint for humans and the bottom with pheasant for our canine guests.

The Scent Space

Our new themed Scent Space gives dogs opportunities to explore new textures, objects, smells, and environments in a safe, guided way. This room was designed to encourage curiosity, confidence, and natural canine instincts through enrichment-based exploration. Each month will be a new theme, starting of course with Camp.

Senior Center Campfire Cabins

One of the spaces closest to our hearts. Our new Senior Center Campfire Cabins were intentionally designed for older dogs and dogs with special needs, featuring calmer environments, lower beds, and more individualized care and rest. Each of the five individual spaces have their own theme.

Agility + One-on-One Enrichment Space

Smaller by design, this new area allows for confidence-building activities, agility work, movement exercises, puzzles, scent games, and individualized enrichment sessions with dogs who thrive with more focused interaction.

Slumber Party Bedrooms

Yes… the beds are real, just not pictured yet. We're still building! One of the most talked-about moments of the day was guests seeing the bedrooms where dogs sleep overnight with staff during boarding stays. Cozy blankets, movie nights, human beds, and overnight companionship remain one of the most unique parts of Camp Ruff It.

Build-Your-Own Lickmat Bar

Our enrichment lickmat station was such a hit. Guests got hands-on experience creating enrichment activities while learning how lick mats can help promote calmness, mental stimulation, and stress reduction for dogs at home.

The Charcuterie + Community Moments

Between the charcuterie table, Neer Beer serving mocktails, conversations happening in every corner, kids exploring the space, and clients reconnecting with our staff around the beautiful tables from DuPage Tents and Events, the day felt less like an event and more like a giant celebration with people who genuinely love and support Camp Ruff It.

Guests also went home with swag bags filled with goodies from some incredible pet-focused brands, while a few of our favorite partners joined us onsite to talk enrichment, nutrition, wellness, and all things dogs. It added such a fun interactive element to the day and made the experience feel even more special for our community.

This new chapter has stretched us in every possible way. There have been moments of excitement, moments of exhaustion, moments of doubt, and moments where we wondered if we could actually pull this off.

But Saturday reminded us of something important:

We are not building this alone.

We have a community behind us. A village behind us. People who believe in what we’re creating.

And that means everything.

We still have work ahead before move-in day, but after Saturday, we’re even more excited for what’s coming next.

Thank you for growing with us. Thank you for believing in us. And thank you for loving dogs the way we do.

We cannot wait to welcome your pups into this next chapter. We promise to keep you in the loop with all of our construction milestones and the future opening date!