DogBoy's Summer Movie Night!

What fun we had at DogBoy's first summer movie night! About 15 customers and their dogs showed up to DogBoy's last Saturday night to watch "Fluke" with their dogs. We served up gourmet doggie cheesecake and sampled treats from a new line we're carrying from Paw Bakery.

During the movie, all of the dogs were so quiet! What a site to see...Occasionally the dogs on screen would start barking, so all the dogs in the audience would follow suit. Talk about funny! Overall, the night was a huge success and we can't wait to do it again. Next time we hope to have treats for humans, and we welcome your ideas too. We will always have dog themed movies and we hope that you will join us next time!

Look how relaxed everyone is! Let's do this again! 

Our fancy movie screen! DogBoy's customers and their dogs had a great time watching "Fluke", a heartwarming movie about a man who dies and is reincarnated into a dog. 

Desicions, Decisions

As you can tell, blogging is not something I'm used to. I just can't seem to find the time to sit down & write! Anyway, I wanted to tell you about some exciting things happening here at DogBoy's.

We are currently brainstorming about a major expansion project. I know, I know. You want a DogBoy's in Central Austin, or Cedar Park, or South Austin, or...all of the above! But with small children at home (dogboy jr. is 7 and doggirl jr. is 4), driving back and forth between locations each day just doesn't seem practical at this stage in our family life. So for now, we're considering expanding on site.

Yes, we're going to try and fit a few more of you in during busy times, but we're also thinking about expanding our range of services to include luxury boarding for small, elderly or special needs dogs, expanded training, and possibly grooming. Late last night I sent out a survey to current clients who I thought might qualify for luxury boarding services. I may eventually expand it, and send the survey to all clients.

Want to give your two cents and you haven't received a survey yet? Drop me a line, and I'll gladly send a survey your way.

DogGirl's Life is Never Dull

Life isn't always easy. Sometimes you get thrown curve balls that are impossible to dodge. In late April, we took in four boarders who's owners lived in Mexico and were visiting Spain. The dogs were scheduled to stay for 47 nights.

In late May, thirty days into the stay, one of the dogs, Martin (pronounced Marteen) was showing signs of seizure. He was an epileptic dog, but even on medication the ten year old dog looked like he was approaching a difficult time ahead. We took him to a local vet (since his vet lived in Mexico) and while there, Amy our office manager watched in horror as he went into a grand maul seizure right there in the vet's office. Tears streamed down her face as she recounted the story. The vet did all he could, and poor Martin continued to seize.

The daughter of one of the owners (who also was in Mexico) was called. After talking to the vet for over an hour, the daughter made the difficult decision to euthanize Martin. As soon as our staff heard, Amy, Sandra (our kennel manager) and Paula headed to the vet to be there for the dog. They wanted to make sure that Martin felt safe and at ease during his last moments on earth. It is times like these that I am in awe of how blessed I am to have such great people working for me. You just can't ask for more caring people than the ones I'm proud to have on my team.

The daughter opted for an individual cremation and when it was complete, the vet delivered Martin's ashes to our ranch. You have no idea how humbling it was to greet the owner last Saturday (right in the middle of our CAF picnic!) with three of her dogs and a box of her late dog's ashes in hand. The owners were sad at the loss of their dog, but so appreciative of the care we gave to Martin during his passing and to their three other dogs who stayed in our care those 47 nights. We do all we can, and we hope for the best. That's all any of us can do.

Long time no see!

How do bloggers find the time to journal every day??? The life of doggirl is just too busy...
DogBoy's is full-on into our busy season, and the phone is ringing off the hook. Weekends are booking up weeks in advance, so plan ahead and get those reservation requests in early!

This weekend, we are planning a good old fashioned potluck picnic to host our pals at Choose Austin First. CAF is a group of Austin owned businesses that gather to promote shopping locally. If you would like to join us at the picnic, just drop me an email. We'd love to have you!

Oh, and by the way - Rocky has more testing to go through, but looks like at present he's doing MUCH better. Three cheers for Rocky! Hip Hip Hooray!

How Time Flies!

This blogging thing takes some getting used to!

What a crazy Memorial Day Weekend we had! The events of the weekend force me to post some general reminders -

Rule #1 - Tennis balls are NOT ALLOWED! One came in this weekend, made it past the front desk, and as you can guess, rolled out of the dog's run and right into the septic tank. You can't imagine how fun it is to unclog a kennel septic tank! Three cheers for DogBoy!

Rule #2 - We are closed to customers on all major holidays. We also usually close early the day before a holiday and open late the day after a holiday. Customers came on Memorial Day and surprised our kennel staff who were not prepared to see customers that day. So their dog wasn't bathed and ready, and they were charged a $25 holiday pick up fee. Not good for anyone involved.

Despite all the rain, however, we did have a good, safe weekend and all the dogs had a great time.

This week, my mind wanders to Rocky, a boarder who has been in and out of the animal emergency hospital due to complications with epilepsy and possible stroke. The poor guy went to the ER last weekend because he just wouldn't get up. After spending our Memorial Day at the ER and getting him 24 hours of IV fluids, we brought him home and let him stay at the house. I just felt better knowing someone was with him all the time. Sweet Rocky, a 90 lb. Ridgeback/Chow mix, stumbled through the house this week - always happy to be pet, but not always able to get up without help. Today, we took him back to his vet because he just didn't seem right, and tonight he's back in the ER for overnight care and more IV fluids.

These are the kinds of things I think of when I tell new customers that special needs are included in the price of our boarding. I won't be charging extra for the nights he spent lying on the rug next to the bed, nor for any of the trips to the vet. Not even for all the hours we spent on the floor loving on him and hand feeding him because he was too weak to get up. He has come to be like one of my own, and I am hoping and praying for his recovery.

A Day of Customer Feedback

This afternoon, I read a wonderful letter from a customer who was so pleased by the service and care she received from Rebecca (one of our trainers and core kennel staffers), that she could hardly contain her joy. This lovely woman went out of her way to make sure I understood just how caring Rebecca was, and how much her attention to the needs of both her and her dogs meant. She wanted us to understand that she "gets it" when we say we treat your dogs like we treat our own. I think it made both our days (Rebecca's and mine), and I can't wait to post it to the website. Stay tuned...

During dinner however, I received a call from our staff about a customer who was really upset. His dog had just left DogBoy's with worn pads that were so sore from all the running this pup did that the poor boy got home and could hardly move. Although not commonplace at DogBoy's, worn pads are a sure sign that the dog got lots of exercise, and likely had a great time playing with all his friends. This particular dog loves to stand in water buckets for long periods, and then run around like a crazy boy, so those soft wet paws are even more prone to wear and tear. Although I wish the customer weren't upset, I hope in time, and with the vet's advice, he comes to realize that this is one of the side effects of long periods of playtime. Pads heal, and dogs make a full recovery, so not to worry. I ask you - which is worse - this or sitting in a cage all day? I still firmly believe the latter to be the least appealing.

DogGirl Returns!

Well, I'm happy to be home from my trip to Knoxville, TN. I went to a regional ABKA conference to speak to the group about how to stand out in the pet care industry and still be successful. Many of the kennel owners there were more experienced at running a kennel, but hopefully they still picked up some ideas for their respective facilities. It was great to be around people who could teach me a thing or two as well!

I got to tour two facilities: Dream Katcher's Lodge, a full service, luxury boarding facility with 38 all indoor rooms, and PetSafe Kennels, a corporate owned facility similar to Triple Crown that had 93 enclosures. Both were eye opening to me in respect to how differently each was set up. Pictures below...I still like our way the best!

PetSafe Village

Luxury suites at the corporate owned PetSafe Village. Indoor/Outdoor, webcam & telephone access & (you can hear your dog barking!), Bed with heat and massage and solo playtime included - $38.95/day. 

Dream Katcher Lodge

Indoor Dream Katcher Lodge's 6' x 10' luxury suite w/color TV, homemade wooden bed & quilt, and garden view - $65/day!