THE STAGE 32 LOGLINES

Post your loglines. Get and give feedback.

DOGGY DAY CARE
By Steven Blows

GENRE: Family, Comedy
LOGLINE:

After losing her job, a single mother must juggle family life and the costs of a new business when she takes a leap of faith to open her own dog daycare center.

SYNOPSIS:

Naomi (30's) picks up a stinking dog poo whilst holding her nose. The small jack-a-poo Biscuits smiles up at her. She walks Biscuit back to a small home, the house of its owner, and her mother. Her mother is dying and the two discuss the film's theme of choice and priorities. Her day continues and she goes to her work as part of an investment portfolio management team. Her arrogant boss Marc calls her in for a personal meeting and fires her claiming it is due to budget cuts. Naomi argues her case claiming that she carries the team in small that make a great difference even if it doesn't show up on his spreadsheet. Her case is pointless as Marc denies it claiming that she has taken too many unpaid leaves to take care of her mother.

Naomi assures her only daughter Anya (10) that she has everything under control. She takes a seat at her laptop on the kitchen table and one month later and she is in the same spot but not looking so presentable with her scruffy hair and dressing gown. An email folder is full of job rejections. To push Naomi to rock bottom she receives a call telling her that her mother has passed in her sleep. After the funeral, she brings Biscuit back to her home, a pet she feels obligated to care for. Naomi crashes on the sofa with grief and Biscuit cuddles up to her. A beginning of a small connection that will grow.

Naomi takes Biscuit to a dog groomer where she informs the receptionist that she won't be bringing the dog back for a while as money is tight. She takes a seat next to her free-spirited best friend Katie who sits with a large St. Bernard panting loudly. Katie casually mentions that she is being paid to bring the dog to get a haircut by her brother. This sparks an idea in Naomi's mind. She will start up her own dog daycare centre that will offer dog sitting, dog grooming, walks, playtimes, and feeding. She claims that it won't be too hard as she has always toyed with the idea of setting up her own business and she grew up around dozens of dog breeds and species of animals. She believes that this will be the one quick step to solve all her problems of money, needing a job, and spending too little time with Anya. She evens convinces her jobless best friend into helping her as an employee.

Chris has a false sense of confidence, how hard can looking after dogs be? The first step of opening a new business is research. Chris looks through pages upon pages of legal documents and forms, Anya creates a website, and Katie paints her nails. She also gains relevant qualifications/certificates for dog grooming and dog health. She takes Biscuit along for the training event, who is not impressed by the botched job.

Opening day arrives and eight diverse dogs and unique owners arrive. They are attracted to Naomi's daycare centre as unlike the other ones in town it takes on all dogs no matter their breed or behaviour. Stand out dogs include; Bosco, a boisterous bulldog with a habit of playing dead; Chloe, an outspoken white chihuahua who removes the cloths her mother has put her in as soon as she is out of sight; Diageo, a romantic Chinese Crested Dog; Gus, a bull with an attitude for chewing; and Duchess, an ex-award winning show dog Afghan Hound and mother of the group.

The day starts with apprehension and grows into chaos ending with the destruction of the kitchen cupboards and Naomi's best pair of shoes. Mateo (30's) picks his dog up and strikes a natural romantic connection with Naomi.

Days tick by and another four dogs join the gang. Slowly Naomi discovers each of the dog's behaviour quirks and works with them to improve and resolve them. For example, one dog only eats steamed fish and another needs to learn how to pee outside. Anya even helps after returning from school.

Just as the business finds its rhythm a curve ball is thrown from Anya who has said that her friends new

Cavalier King Charles Spaniel named Jess who was recently rescued from an animal shelter can join the daycare centre. Naomi says no as it she can legally only have 12 dogs in her small home. Jess enters the room and snuggles next to Biscuit. Naomi can no longer say no, but they will have to keep their new member on the down-low.

Marcus reviews his quarterly figures and discovers that they are down by a large margin. Maybe Naomi was right? He goes to Naomi's house and discovers that his dog has been a member of her daycare all along, dropped off by his wife. He also overhears that they are one dog too many. He uses this information to his advantage and calls an inspector to look at the premises. He arrives and says that they have one month to find a bigger venue or close.

While Naomi mulls over the decision of if she really wants to open a big business or not, she is invited on a date with Mateo and the two enjoy each other's company. As they walk past a closed shop now for sale she comes to her decision; to buy the shop and take the leap of faith.

The shop is a quick fix-up with help from Katie, Anya, and Mateo and it opens for business, taking on twelve more dogs. Mateo is becoming a regular face and the pair go on more dates between a business work routine where Chris can now (thanks to the bigger premise) offer a spa, a teeth brushing clinic (especially for the bulldog Bosco), and a new feeding station.

Anya tells Chris about her school day and how she has learned about all the thousands upon thousands of stray dogs around the world and how she wishes she could do something about it. Chris says there is and comes up with an idea for a fundraiser event on a weekend where there will be games, stalls, and food in the garden of the new premises.

The fundraiser is held at the new shop and Marcus ensures that it fails. The food will have bugs in it, the water pipes will burst, and snails will swamp the garden. Biscuit eats one of the snails and he is rushed to the vets and his life is saved. Thanks to Marcus's efforts the inspector is called to the new premise.

The Inspector is back and clears the facility as passable when Marcus arrives to pick up his dog. Marcus is snobby and assumes Chris will come back to him if he offers her a pay rise. Marcus overhears the inspector passing the business and questions Chris's decision in front of everyone. Chris asks the Inspector who made the complaint and is told it is “One Mr. Marcus Cole”. Chris confronts Marcus. He argues back. He loses his cool and kicks nearby dog toys and beds. His finger waging and bum stuck out. Bosco sees the target and bites his bottom. Marcus falls over a nearby banister and down into a pile of used wee pads. In the commotion, Marcus was going to run into Jess the dog but is saved by Biscuit who is repaid with a kiss.

Chris, Katie, Anya, and Mateo watch the dogs have fun in the daycare centre. Chris and Anya wanted to expand their family and they have done just that with the Mateo and a couple of dozen dogs.

register for stage 32 Register / Log In