Nauset Kennels

Kirsten and I are on a much needed, much anticipated trip to Ireland. Kirsten has been working like crazy trying to get all her ducks in a row. My parents are staying home with the kids, and for anyone who either knows my folks or has read this blog before, you know where our animals will be while we are away - the kennel!

Hoot, Scout and Pecan are all booked into camp for the next two weeks, and while our kids are beside themselves, my parents are doing little dances around the house, happy that they don’t have those extra chores associated with the animals. As I was cleaning out the litter box, my dad looked on with disgust and said, very firmly, “Thank you. Thank you so much for not making me do that.”

It’s nice for us to know that we can go away and our kids are in good hands. It’s even better knowing that our business is in good hands. And it’s a trifecta knowing that our kids, our business, and our animals are all taken good care of while we are gone.

And for those of you who wonder, yes, our pets are treated just like everyone else’s. And in many ways, they even act like your pets. Hoot is cautious by nature, and will take a few days acclimating to the cat room. She might peek her head out. What will probably really draw her out will be when one of the girls goes into the cat room and sits patiently on the floor waiting for her to come out of hiding.

Pecan, well, Pecan is in dog heaven. He is on the dog equivalent of speed from his excitement. Give him friends to wrestle with (he really likes Ruby) and he is good to go. He’ll probably lose weight from being so amped up all the time, even though the girls will be super attentive to his eating habits, noting when he eats, how much or how little he eats, and all that.

And then there’s our special needs girl, Scout. She makes it well known how little she enjoys the kennel. Funny isn’t it? The kennel owners’ dog doesn’t like the kennel. She usually ends up making herself sick in some way. It’s as if she does it out of spite, saying to us, “Okay Mommy. If you’re not going to be here with me, then you will pay.” And by pay, Scout does mean literally and figuratively! The girls will work very hard to try to make her happy, but since Scout won’t be happy at the kennel, they will also work hard to ensure she stays healthy.

They will all have different experiences, just like your animals do. The best part is, when we get home, they will be so happy to see us! Well, Hoot and Scout will be. Pecan will be counting down the hours until he gets to go play again.