The Salt Lake City-based America's Very Important Pooches is changing the meaning of the term in Mesa with the opening of its first doggie kennel equipped with an interactive Website that allows owners to view their dogs at play. Kris Martin with Grubb & Ellis|BRE Commercial tells GlobeSt.com that it took about a year for America's Very Important Pooches to find a location to open its first Arizona kennel, but the 4,800-sf business at 916 E. Impala is now up and running--and filled with VIP dogs.

"They really wanted to find a freestanding building and it was hard to find a freestanding building with yard," said Martin of the yearlong search that finally ended in the selection of a site in the Eaton Mesa Industrial Park off Stapley and Baseline roads.

Martin said the company, which took a five-year, $223,440 lease on the building, has renovated the interior into luxury kennels, including private rooms for extended visits, and a play area that can be monitored by owners via the Internet. And there may be more to come. Martin, who represented the tenants in the lease transaction, said the firm is hoping to open several more interactive kennels throughout the Valley in the future. The building owner, Impala LLC of Phoenix, was represented by John Bulkley with Commercial Properties Inc. of Phoenix.