Welcome to the Black Lab Inn

Meet Your Hosts

We are your hosts, Cliff and Lianne. We have always had dogs and when we went on vacation, we found it was very difficult finding a nice place to relax, where we could take our dogs where they’d be accepted and have the facilities, where we could do things with our dogs . We never felt comfortable putting our lab in a kennel and our relatives didn’t want to sit the ‘black terror’ when he was a puppy. Our dogs are members of the family but it was hard to shorten our vacations because we couldn’t find suitable accommodations.

When we moved in 2007, we wanted to find a house in a country setting, away from the traffic and noise of downtown Ottawa but close to the amenities of Ottawa that we could make into a dog friendly Bed and Breakfast. We wanted to create an inn that was comfortable and where guests could relax and interact with fellow dog lovers.

Our hospitality managers are Bruce, our 7 year old black lab, after whom the inn is named, Casey, our 3 year old rescue dog from the SPCA (Her miracle story here -September, 2007, Ottawa Citizen. background stories Part I and II) and Boomer, our 2 year old yellow lab.

Did you know? For each stay at our Inn, we make a donation to Hopeful Hearts to help them with their work rescuing dogs in Onario, as part of our commitment to the community.

We look forward to your stay and the opportunity to share our home with you. If you have any special needs, please let us know and we will do our best to accommodate you.

We do certainly welcome guests without dogs (about half our guests come with one or more dogs) but if you have pet allergies - our inn is probably not the best choice.

The Inn

Our Victorian style house is a true doggie paradise with a fenced-in backyard and convenient doggie wash station. It is decorated with a dog/lab theme with numerous prints and crafts throughout the house. Our inn is smoke-free throughout the house.

The grounds have convenient poop stations with biodegradable poop bags and no pesticides or herbicides have been used to insure the health of your dog. We have made every effort to make our inn a safe and comfortable environment for your dog. We also strive to be a 'green' and eco-friendly inn. In addition to using biodegradable poop bags, we also use 'Nature Clean' cleaning and personal care products, use local suppliers whenever possible and employ numerous water and energy conservation strategies in running our house.

• library of books and movies (many dog related)
• public mini-kitchen with microwave, coffee machine, refrigerator
• fitness area with gym quality elliptical trainer
• patio area
• free parking
• central air-conditioning

We serve a full breakfast and try to source ingredients locally. Every day we serve a different hot, delicious breakfast that is sure to start your day off right. In the Spring, our menu has included 'Holiday French Toast', fruit & yogourt, home made Banana Bread, Almond Coffee Cake, Crispy Belgian waffles with Glazed Banana sauce, Eggs 'Bruce' - our version of Eggs Benedict, Stuffed Breakfast Croissants, Zucchini Oregano Frittata and our signature coffee. Guests have raved about the breakfasts here and how much care and effort we put into them and we do try to vary our menu according to the season.
Please let us know in advance if you have any special dietary requirements. We have gladly accommodated vegans, vegetarians, celiacs and those with specific food allergies - while still striving to serve a delicious gourmet breakfast.

Why do so many travelers prefer to stay in a B&B and avoid hotel chains?

• At a Bed and Breakfast there is one 'concierge' for a handful of guests, as opposed to one concierge for hundreds of guests.
• Many B&B guests feel more secure staying at B&Bs rather than hotels, because there are fewer people going in and out, and the innkeepers generally keep an eye on what’s going on at the property.
• Peace and quiet. Many B&Bs are not built next to freeways or busy downtown roads
• Homemade meals!. Locally roasted coffee. Organic ingredients. These are some things you would more likely encounter at a B&B. Breakfasts at better B&B's go beyond the same old hotel breakfasts
• Free high-speed Internet. Many inns these days offer complimentary Internet access, and many have a free “business station” for printing boarding passes or other documents.
• Luxury textiles—many inns have luxury bed linens and bathrobes for you to enjoy. Your typical off-the-freeway hotel doesn’t invest in this kind of luxury.
• Group get-togethers. Many innkeepers will allow groups to book the entire B&B for weddings, etc.
• Many pet-friendly B&Bs will welcome your four-legged friends with their own amenity baskets and plenty of places to take nice walks.
  (source: Peter Greenberg Worldwide)

Black Lab Video Productions

Our sister company, Black Lab Productions, specializes in making pet videos of your dog on DVD. Some of our guests have taken their stay as an opportunity to have this keepsake after viewing the one made of our dog, Bruce. For more information, click the button here: