Trusted overnight care for Foothills Parkway travelers, Cades Cove visitors, and cabin renters whose vacation rental doesn't allow pets
204 Five-Star Reviews | NePoPo® Graduate | Woman & Veteran Owned
Smokies tourist season fills 60+ days out — call early
Townsend calls itself "The Peaceful Side of the Smokies," and the visitors who come here want that same calm for their dogs. A loud, fluorescent-lit kennel near a busy interchange is the opposite of why you booked a cabin on the Little River. Paws & Applause is a 15-dog, in-home-style boarding facility about 25 minutes north of Townsend on Tomotley Road in Maryville — close enough to drop off on your way in, far enough to stay genuinely quiet.
We host a lot of guests from the Townsend, Walland, and Tallassee corridor: families staying at cabins along Wears Valley Road, hikers tackling the Middle Prong or Spence Field, photographers chasing sunrise at the Foothills Parkway overlooks, and fly-fishers working the East Prong of the Little River. If your itinerary includes Cades Cove, Tuckaleechee Caverns, the Townsend Y, or any trail past the Tremont entrance — your dog likely can't come, and we're the closest premium option.
Cades Cove Loop Road is a no-dogs zone (Park Service rule, dogs aren't allowed on most trails either). Drop your dog with us the night before, drive in early, and beat the loop traffic.
Many Wears Valley and Townsend cabins are no-pet rentals or charge a hefty pet fee. We're the same price (or less) than most cabin pet fees — and your security deposit stays intact.
If you're coming from I-40 or McGhee Tyson Airport into Townsend via US-321, we're literally on your route. No detour. No backtracking on departure day.
Owners live on the property. Nobody locks up at 6 PM and goes home — your dog has supervision through the night, every night.
We're an easy run from anywhere on the Townsend/Walland/Foothills Parkway corridor:
No mountain switchbacks between us and Townsend — US-321 is a flat, well-marked highway the whole way.
Most kennels near Pigeon Forge and Sevierville are designed for tourist-season volume — 50, 80, sometimes 100+ dogs. We hold the line at 15. Your dog is a guest, not inventory.
Vacation drop-offs are stressful — new place, new smells, owner driving away. Our head trainer David Van Fleet is a NePoPo® Graduate (one of very few in East TN) and is on-site to settle anxious or reactive dogs other facilities turn away.
You'll get photos through the ProPet app every day so you can actually relax on your hike instead of wondering how Bear is doing.
Long weekends, full weeks, the rare "we're staying an extra day because the trail was incredible" — we work with traveler schedules, not just rigid 11 AM/11 AM cycles.
$55/night
10% off
See the full breakdown — multi-dog discount, military/veteran discount, holiday surcharges — on our canonical pricing page.
"We rent a cabin in Townsend every fall and our boy Murphy can't go anywhere on the trails. Used to leave him at a big-box place near Pigeon Forge — never again. Paws & Applause was 25 minutes out of our way and completely worth it. Daily photos, real updates, no nervous-Murphy at pickup."
— The Whitfield Family, Charlotte NC (annual Townsend cabin renters)Smokies peak season (June–October, holidays) books out 60–90 days in advance. Locking dates early is the difference between "perfect" and "settling for whatever's open."
Almost no. Great Smoky Mountains National Park only allows dogs on two trails (Gatlinburg Trail and Oconaluftee River Trail — both on the North Carolina/Gatlinburg side, not Townsend). Cades Cove Loop Road, the Townsend "Y" swimming hole, Spence Field, Middle Prong, and the Foothills Parkway overlooks are all off-limits or not dog-friendly. Boarding nearby is the realistic answer.
For peak times (Memorial Day weekend, July 4th week, fall foliage in October, Thanksgiving, Christmas/New Year), book at least 60 days out. We cap at 15 dogs total, so we genuinely fill up — we don't oversell. Off-peak (January–April, late August), 1–2 weeks notice is usually fine.
For a typical 4–5 night stay, yes — and you skip the security-deposit risk if your dog has an accident on a rental cabin's hardwood. At $55/night, a 4-night boarding stay is $220 (or $198 with our multi-night discount on 7+) versus a $250 non-refundable cabin pet fee plus the stress of leaving your dog alone in an unfamiliar cabin all day while you're at Cades Cove.
Yes — that's a typical Smokies weekend pattern. Friday drop-off between 7 AM and 7 PM, Saturday boarding day, Sunday pickup by 5 PM (we close at 5 on Saturdays and are closed Sundays for the team — but boarding pickups can be arranged Sunday with advance notice). Just confirm the schedule when you book.
Easy. US-321 (Lamar Alexander Parkway) is the main road out of Townsend through Walland into Maryville — flat, two-to-four lanes, no switchbacks or steep grades. About 25 minutes from downtown Townsend to our facility. If you're driving in from I-40, you'll pass right by us before the final stretch into Townsend.
Yes — most of our Townsend-trip boarders are from Charlotte, Atlanta, Nashville, Cincinnati, and Chicago. Out-of-state vaccination records (rabies, DHPP, Bordetella) are accepted. Email or text us a copy from your home vet ahead of arrival and we'll have you set.