Nauset Kennels

Although rain poured out of the sky the other day, we had about fifteen of our day care dogs looking for some fun. As we watched, each dog’s personality and actions reminded me of children on a school playground.

Some of the bolder dogs raced right through huge puddles, not caring about getting paws wet (obviously not my dogs!!!). A few stepped daintily around the puddles; you could almost hear them fussing about the mud and the wet clumping their hair.

On days when the weather is more cooperative and we have twenty or more running around the yards, it is even more fun to watch. My own dog is the one who wants to play, play, play and will run with anyone, not caring about size, breed, etc. To him, there is no such concept as too much playground time! My other dog is the kid on the playground who kind of wants to play with the others, but really doesn’t know how. She ends up annoying everyone and then sits at the gate looking sad that no one wants to be her friend. And yes, we even have the popular crowd comprised mostly of the “regulars.” They seem to be in charge on the playground, not by bullying but through that often envied, “I know what’s going on around here” mentality. Like real playgrounds, there is lots of yelling: “Hey! I want you to play with me! Yes, you! Can’t you see me over here with the stick?” The school yard bully is here too, playing just a bit too rough and almost daring us to put him or her in a time out. There are even the playground ouchies, sometimes equivalent to a skinned knee, sometimes more so. Heck, I remember as a kid throwing a rock directly at a neighbor boy (sorry Chip!). I wasn’t trying to be mean, but a total lack of common sense took over and the poor kid almost lost an eye. Dogs, and kids, sometimes have those moments, don’t they? The nice thing about a playground is that more often than not, it will very quickly return to normal.

Watching the dogs play is fun. It reminds me of my own days spent on a play ground, with mostly good days and the occasional bad day. I usually always left with a smile on my face. It seems like most of our day care dogs do too! “Great day, mom, but ready to have some dinner and rest my head!”

At the end of the day today, we will grow from two dogs to three. Although Kirsten hasn’t told me yet, I am pretty sure that Lori will be coming to live with us tonight. Lori has been boarding with us for years, only recently coming to stay permanently when her human dad went into a nursing home. We initially asked if we could bring her to the nursing home to see him, but the family thought it would upset him too much, so we have stayed away. In the meantime, Lori has become an honored guest/resident of the kennel, and following in the footsteps of many others, will come to our house for awhile.

Halley, Shasta, Rex, Gilligan - there really are too many to name. Some came home with us “temporarily” and never left. Others didn’t even stay in the kennel very long until we (mostly our fabulous employees) found a perfect home for them. Emily and her brother, Bear came to us through an acquaintance who could no longer provide a home for them. Bear found a home almost right away, but Emily had heartworm. So we treated the heartworm and Emily recovered beautifully and is now living off-Cape with friends. Jake’s previous owner started traveling quite a bit for work and felt it unfair to Jake to spend hours cooped up in the house. It just so happened that one of our good clients had recently lost one of their dogs and was avidly looking for another. Kenny’s family had a new baby and no time or patience to work with him, so they asked us to help them find a good home for him. Kenny now lives with Max and the boys play and romp like they came from the same litter. The stories go on and will continue to go on. Things happen. Life happens. We know that and do our best to try and help. I am sure that most kennels do the same thing. (It’s a darn good thing we own a kennel and not the Animal Rescue League! We’d be up to our eyeballs in animals!)

If you are looking for an older dog to love, give us a call about Lori. I’d tell you to swing by the kennel, but like I said, I am pretty sure Lori will be joining us for dinner tonight.

Happy New Year!

Once again, time has gotten away from me and I am remiss in getting all of my personal Christmas cards sent, ordering and sending the kennel holiday cards, staying on top of our blog, and any other sundry holiday to do’s. It is a tremendously busy time at the kennel and I did manage to squeeze in a last minute trip to my parents’ house in Minnesota (brrr!!!).

This is such a wonderful time to be in the kennel because we are full in all aspects of the word! Our customers are so giving; two weeks ago we were bursting at the seams with chocolates, homemade cookies and breads, coffees, and even a Yo-Yo Ma cd that a customer gave us (how did you know?!!!). Two weeks later, our pants are bursting at the seams! However, so are our smiles. Our customers are so thoughtful and generous, and it goes beyond just gifts. The wall in the office is covered with cards, some with great photos of the animals, some homemade, and some from people and pets we see once a year, and some from clients of long ago who no longer have pets, but still think of us. Almost every one is personalized with a little note to us; most of my cards at home don’t include anything personal! That’s what makes it all worth it, the connections we make with our clients, new and old.

Thank you from all of us to you.