About Central Bark Rochester, MN
Lenny Hoisington is the owner and franchisee of Central Bark Rochester, MN and a proud Rochester native. After graduating high school, Lenny moved to Milwaukee to attend the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in business and marketing. He later completed his MBA while working for a family-owned steel company, gaining valuable leadership and operational experience.
Lenny’s lifelong love of animals deepened after adopting his pit bull/Foxhound mix, Baxter, in 2016. Baxter’s unique needs led Lenny and his wife, Emily, to become customers of Central Bark while living in Milwaukee. Seeing firsthand the positive impact of enrichment-based care, socialization, and structure on Baxter was a turning point—and ultimately what inspired Lenny to pursue opening his own Central Bark.
After marrying in 2017, Lenny and Emily returned to Minnesota to build a business rooted in trust, compassion, and community. Central Bark Rochester, MN opened in June 2019. Today, they are raising their two children alongside their dogs, Baxter and their pit bull mix, Zoey. Emily works at Mayo Clinic as a nurse and house supervisor and is Lenny’s biggest supporter. Lenny is proud to serve the Rochester community and lead Central Bark Rochester, MN with passion, compassion, respect, and integrity
“We welcome you to join our Central Bark family.”
Lenny Hoisington, Central Bark Rochester, MN Franchise Owner
Meet The Team
Abby Buck
General Manager
Abby Buck has been with Central Bark Rochester, MN since April 2019—before the doors even opened—and has helped shape the culture from day one. As General Manager, she is the driving force behind the team, leading with passion, compassion, respect, and integrity. Abby is deeply committed to whole-dog care, team excellence, and ensuring families feel confident and informed when hearing about their dog’s day.
Katie Hayward
Store Manager
Katie Hayward is the Store Manager, resident photographer, and proud pug-lover at Central Bark Rochester, MN. She joined the team in September 2020 as a Canine Care Assistant and grew into her role through a deep commitment to dogs and people. Katie is passionate about creating welcoming experiences, capturing joyful moments, and building trust with families through clear communication and thoughtful care.
Awards & Achievements
KTTC TV’s 2021 Fan Favorite for Pet Services
Central Bark® Certified
Enrichment Dog Day Care
Pet CPR Certified
Our Family Photo Album
I can’t thank Lenny and Central Bark enough for their incredible support with my 15.5-year-old German Shorthaired Pointer, Max. After a tough journey with vet-recommended medications and a shot that led to severe seizures, I was at a loss. The seizures were heartbreaking, and I thought I might lose Max. A friend connected me with Lenny, who went above and beyond to help care for Max while I was at work, showing genuine compassion and dedication.
On Lenny’s recommendation, I tried Central Bark’s Senior Comfort Chews. Within a month, Max stopped having seizures, stopped whining, and started sleeping better—giving us both much-needed peace. These chews aren’t a cure-all, but they’ve transformed our quality of life. Lenny’s kindness and expertise make Central Bark a gem. I’ll be back soon for more chews and highly recommend them to anyone with a senior dog!
Frequently Asked Questions
While the Training Tutor, One-on-One Enrichment, and Rest Period Enrichment services are provided by our staff during your dog’s day care visit, Central Bark Fort Lauderdale also partners with Sue of We Love Dogs! to host group training classes. These classes are designed to help you and your dog refine skills together in a supportive environment. You can call the provided number to learn more about class schedules.
At Central Bark®, our goal is to provide a balanced day of play, learning, rest, and love. Learning and mental exercise can happen in various ways, including training activities, brain games, scent work, and more. Our playgroups offer several hours of active playtime paired with learning opportunities during Group Play Skills. This way, dogs have plenty of time to socialize and get their energy out, while also exercising their minds through learning.
During one of your dog’s rest periods throughout the day, they are offered a rest period enrichment activity to stimulate their mind while encouraging healthy rest. These licking and chewing activities involve food rewards, such as frozen peanut butter KONG®. These activities engage their minds while helping foster quality rest.
Did you know? Scientific studies have shown that licking and chewing behaviors (especially those that involve food rewards!) are self-soothing, decrease heart and respiratory rates, and even release dopamine in a dog’s brain.
Training Tutor sessions stimulate the dog’s minds and bodies and help them learn important skills, behaviors, and tricks.
One-on-One Enrichment sessions give the extra attention dogs love and the freedom to use their senses and safely explore their instincts through interactive toys, puzzles, and games.
Did you know? 15 minutes of mental activity is equal to 30 minutes of physical exercise!
Step 1: Login
- Click the “Client Login” option found at the bottom of all pages on our website.
- Enter either your email address or phone number that you signed up with
- Click “continue logging in”
- Then enter your password and click “Sign In”
Step 2: Request Services
You will now see the page below. From this page you can do a number of things along with requesting a reservation from the drop downs including editing your information, editing your pet’s info, adding/removing pets, checking your package credits, purchasing package credits, and adding/editing/changing photos.
- Click the blue “request services” button
- In the popup window, click the “Book Day Care or Sleepover Now!” button
Step 3: Select a Service Type
- Scroll down past the notes (after you have read them) until you get to the “Details” section.
- Click on the drop-down in the “Type” row and choose your reservation type.
- Note: Grooming requests cannot be made through the customer portal. Please call to schedule an appointment.
Step 4: Make Your Reservation Request
- Choose the pet or pets you would like to add to this reservation
- Choose the date you are looking for
- You may edit the drop-off and pick-up time from within our open hours, if you know those approximations
- You can set up “recurring dates” for the same day/days each week for a timeframe
- You can add additional reservations for other days at the same time.
Step 5: Add-on Services and Notes
- You may add any additional services (such as enrichment training, training tutor, special meals (outside of lunch), salon and spa services, etc, to their reservation.
- You may add any notes that you would like us to see in the notes box
- You may run an estimate for the total cost of your reservation request (please note that the charges for “additional services” such as salon and spa, may vary from the default that shows in the estimate)
- Once you have added everything you want, click “Save” in the lower right corner
Your Done!
You should see the page below if everything went through correctly. You will get an email confirmation when your reservation has been accepted and confirmed, if you are added to a waitlist, or if it is denied.
Flexible playgroups allow us to match your dog with the social atmosphere and play schedule they can enjoy and benefit from most. This helps give them a healthy balance of play, rest, and learning and creates a safer social environment with a better quality of play. And our lower dog-to-staff ratios offer more individual attention, education, and love.
Central Bark® Whole Dog Care
Our whole dog care approach offers a full range of fun and personalized products and services. To promote your dog’s physical, mental, and emotional health and happiness throughout their entire life.
