Not ALL work :)

Well, I've had lots of 'things' to write about but little time to do it. That, and I had a note started one day about some interesting little statistics we had going on one day...... and then as I was finishing up..... discovered that our internet connection had given up so, subsequently, lost what I had written...... oh, such is life..... I'll get back into that one later but it just won't be as 'timely'. Today, I just bring you a picture from earlier last week-- Doug had fun in the new play yards being creative after our snow last week. On that note, we are grateful for what Mother Nature has ordered up for us this week.... a tad bit milder weather sure makes the job of working w/ water and consequently, on a lot of ice ...... a whole lot easier.
Things are still pretty frantic here at the 'ol KENL INN but I think I can say that we have all adapted well and we can see the 'light at the end of the tunnel'. Here's hoping that you all had safe travels, fun new memories, and lots of reasons to celebrate for 2009!! (and of course!!-- Go Big Red!!)

Holiday Cheer

Just thought I would do some checking today as I heard a rumor that we had a certain "excessive" number of one particular breed all in one spot in the kennel. That's not uncommon during these exceptionally busy times but I thought I would just pass on some statistics.... it does get rather fun sometimes. As of last night........we had 37 labs, & 16 beagles..... that's pretty typical. Labs have been on top in the AKC most popular catagory for a long time. Beagles have shown an increase ever since the Beagle won the Westminster show

Christmas Eve Day

Well, okay...........here we are.......the day before Christmas......and all through the house.....little KENL INN elves are EVERYWHERE!!! what a crew!!! what a plan!!! what a wonderment of cohesive cooperation. 104 Arrivals this morning here before we close at Noon!!!. Much of the crew has been here since 5am........ "pottying", cleaning, clearing snow & ice, getting all the spots readied & preparing for the majic 7am hour. Now, I can already tell you, some of you aren't coming in near fast enough....... we've had a little spurt here this morning but I KNOW what's going to happen............ about 10am.......you're ALL going to start screaming in!!! Fortunately, this is one of those times when we don't have to do a lot of switching around or waiting .....there's a spot open and ready to go for everyone. Hopefully, we get you all taken care of fairly expediently!!
The 'Chef' is starting around w/ all the food and I've seen the 'medication nurse' out doing her thing. Stuart just left on a hike (that will be a big chore today) Doug is here early for Half Day Play fun, and the groomers (that are left and not reassigned to the KENL somewhere) are in a scramble to get everyone out by noon. All the 'front staff' are here except Patty...... to get folks checked in. Patty drew the straw to come in at noon and 'clean up' whatever gets pushed to the side after the big mob hits. ..... and you know, life goes on.........Jo's here getting payroll done and other routine stuff to boot!!
Travel looks good for all of those of you that are traveling......... hopefully, no big delays. Here is our wish for you............that you are able to share your holiday in peace, love, and appreciation for all of those in your life.

Tune for the day........

Christmas is a coming and I think the plans are laid.......
Soon to have a houseful....and the beds are made.
We're ready for the rush this week.......we hope that you're on board......
Look forward to your pets and hope we've got them stored........
All in their spots all warm and safe, and snuggly every one....
A ton of dogs and cats and birds.........we find it fun!!!

I know, isn't that queer???............ but I've always made up songs in my head......... I really like music but I am a firm believer that the REAL music has to come from the heart. ANY music is good........ just make sure you can do the tune or the jig that goes w/ it........ and you know, if nobody's there to watch..... you can do ANYTHING!!

Chilling Truth

Well, the chilling truth is that its just danged cold out, huh?? Who really would have thought that we would have this much cold weather here already, huh? Its actually like Nebraska SHOULD be...... I'm not saying I'm liking it ..... I just think this is really out of our 'trend' of normal for this time of the year. Actually, I don't care how cold it gets right now.... as long as it warms up for about this time NEXT week............ believe me, taking care of all those Christmas visitors is a whole lot easier when 'ol Mother Nature is on better behavior. It makes us really appreciate those hydronically heated outdoor runs that we have..... Woo HOO..... hose away!!

As I sit in my warmy house and notice that it is -2 degrees outside it really makes me appreciate those guys that just now drove by out there on the road clearing the snow so that we can all get to where we want here this morning! ..... and then, of course, you know............ Chevy and/or Rachel will be there, as usual, steady as a rock to open up and get things started for the day at 5am!! I wonder how those guys are doing that are supposed to be putting siding on my sister's house...... can they work in this?? How is it that this just happens to be the week that Dian is in Long Beach at the AKC/Eukanuba National Championship dog show?? I am so glad that 20 years ago I decided to buck the 'norm' and build an all indoor, enclosed, climate controlled pet care facility!!! All kinds of cold things wandering through my head here this morning!! :)

On another cool note...... (no pun really intended!) -21 degrees wind chill out on Monday am and Paula (bless her brave soul) had 4 mobile grooms to go out and put the final 'holiday touches' on!! I am happy to say............ all went pretty darned well!! A-MAZing, I think...... Incredible thanks to the Wagn'Tails folks for an incredible machine!!

Reggie

I thought I wanted to write something about "seniors"..... There's so much to be said about "seniors"............ Senior dogs, senior people. I've been fussing around about what I wanted to say about this and I'm still not exactly 'settled' but off the cuff .......... here goes. I had a wonderful older gentleman come in to the office a couple of weeks ago. We have cared for his beloved pet for the last 13+ years and as soon as I greeted him (with my usual boisterous greeting for this particular man) and asked what I could do for him............... he choked up and started crying............. (ouch!!) Extracting my foot from my mouth and toning it down a bit.........I got to the 'meat' of the issue........... the Gentleman had just LOST his beloved Fox Terrier to the enevitable "age demons". I believe, he told me....... (mind you, I'm not holding it together very well at this point either) that they had taken him in and had the veterinarian perform his 'final deed'........ the most gracious of things that we can do for those we care so much about and that have given US so very much....

We comiserated for awhile and then he told me that his daughter (much to his disgust) had ALREADY gone out and got them another dog!!! They were picking it up that very same w/end!! He needed to talk & I listened intently as we went back and forth of all the wonderful things about his old dog. I think he felt that he needed more time to mourn....... and although another dog was not out of the question he just wasn't quite 'ready'. Well,.... you know, that 'ready' phase is pretty darned variable and sometimes we just have to take what the good Lord throws our way!! ...................

SO,......... low and behold, just maybe a week later, in comes "REGGIE"....... oh, boy!!! 12wks worth of pure cuteness, wild as could be, running around like a little banshee........ and his 'Dad'... just happy as could be!! :) (the daughter KNEW what she was doing!!) he was-- Yes, still mourning on one side but having a ball w/ the new 'baby' on the other side. He was grinning from ear to ear and so 'proud' of the scars all over his arms & hands from those lovely little baby teeth. (you've ALL known them!!) Looked to all of us like a pretty nice 'hook up'. He was here just for a quickie day care stay that day, but I'm sure we'll see more of them as the need arises......... and it won't be too long before we need that first haircut. Congratulations Phil!! We look forward to caring for Reggie for a good many years to come!!! :)

Kind of got off of the subject line a little bit. But basically, I'm so glad that Phil has Welcomed another canine member to their household............ because you know, I strongly believe that EVERYBODY needs a pet. They help keep us motivated, laughing, and loved!!

Turf Fun

This hardly is new any more but we all, I think, are just sooooo very thrilled w/ our new play yards its just hard to quit bragging!!! Unfortunately, these are not out where the public can see them very well but believe me.......... we LOVE to give you tours!!! They are Big, Beautiful, & Clean!! They worked out sooo very well over the TG holiday. I've attached a picture here to give you an idea but if you want to see more just check out the web site!! (http://www.kenl-inn.com/) Look under the 'day care' feature that is just up. We put in these play yards as a part of the renovation of our Day Care programs.........but they REALLY are nice for EVERYONE that stays here. Best of all, in inclement weather everyone can still go out and have a blast w/out getting all wet and muddy!!! YEA!!!

Yep!!! its as good as it looks........ all artificial turf!! Same stuff as you'll find at Memorial Stadium or many other pro f/b fields around the country. We found GREAT people to work with.......... and as usual, (as w/ ALL our projects around here) Gary Wright from Wright Construction was there to make SURE that it all went just right!! I appreciate all the hard work from everyone involved to get these done ........ it really has been nice. Give me time..........we'll do more!! :)

Back to the Routine

Back to the routine grindstone here now today ..... we probably will end up w/ maybe 30 pets tonight...... a far cry from the deluge over the w/e. The K.I. be quiet!! Although we LOVE the business (and the busy times) we are all ready for a much needed rest now. Huge time for some massive 'spring' cleaning and pre-planning here before the next holiday. Holidays are always a fun time.....as often times we see people that really don't travel much..... I would feel really 'empty' if some of these special pets (w/ their special people) weren't here over the holidays; as many of them have been coming for years and years.
Now, we enter the "OMG" phase for the groom department......... seemingly, the Christmas holiday brings out EVERY dirty dog in town. ALL of them need to be clean....and clean before Santa comes!!
We'll do our best to get as many of them taken care of as we can!!

ROY BOY, again

Here's a picture of our "Best Puppy in Match" that I blogged about a week or so ago. He's one of the very few Otterhounds in the country. There is a dedicated group of folks keeping this breed's interest up. From the AKC page-->"The Otterhound is a large, rough-coated hound with an imposing head showing great strength and dignity, and the strong body and long striding action fit for a long day's work. It has an extremely sensitive nose, and is inquisitive and perseverant in investigating scents. The Otterhound hunts its quarry on land and water and requires a combination of characteristics unique among hounds--most notably a rough, double coat; and substantial webbed feet."
BIG dogs, (100+ pounds) they are and very much the "hound". Imagine a group of English chaps out w/ a whole "herd" (pack!!) of these out cruising the countryside!! What the heck do you suppose out friend Roy, here, is going to do w/ all that TAIL??!!!

Ongoing TG

In the two days since my last entry we have been busy doing 'our thing' for your pets. After the 168 arrivals on Wed. it has been pure ORGANIZED mayhem. The staff has now done 249 -20 min. playtimes and logged 98 -3/4 mi. hikes!!! They have served up 82 special holiday meals, & cut 1,052 toenails!! They have done this all cheerfully and efficiently w/ a minimal amount of O/T and only one accident. Yes, we had our first fall on the ice....... an inherant problem that we work so very hard to avoid but,..........in our world of constant hosing and cleaning, and cleaning, and cleaning ....it DOES happen. This one took us by surprise.....didn't really realize that conditions were quite right yet.
And lo and behold, what's this stuff outside this morning??? I believe I detect a tad bit of the white stuff falling from the sky!!! Doesn't look like it will turn into a big deal but maybe enough to make things a little treacherous again this morning. I doubt, from the looks of it, that this will amount to any accumulation but it is still a reminder of what is to come. That's not all bad......... it just takes some adjusting to.

Thanksgiving

I am humbled, to the point of tears at how incredibly grateful I am for all that I have and for where I am at in this world. I hope that any of you reading this can feel the same. We live at a remarkable time in history, surrounded and shared by truly remarkable people. It is my hope for all of us that we take this day to make a pledge to ourselves to make EVERYDAY.... a little part of "thanksgiving". It is by far, my favorite holiday. Best wishes to you and yours as you go about your 'doin's' of the day. Best wishes, and THANKS for all the efforts of our troops everywhere and what they are doing to insure my peace and happiness during this time.

BIG Day.............

Ok, here we are............. THE biggest, busiest day of the entire KENL INN year. Thanksgiving brings it out!! We are ready today for............. at last count I knew, 162 arrivals. If you stop and think about it.....that's one pet every 4.8 minutes in the front door.........ALL day long for 13 hours!! Whew!! What is sooo amazingly cool is how this unique little team of ours is going to go into "warp" speed mode and put it all together!! We've laid the ground work already. Everyone has their instructions and their 'stations'.......all 'bunks' are ready to go..... everyone knows their small part of making it all fit together. Everyone is hopefully, in their 'best' spot and understands how their piece becomes important to the whole puzzle. I've got the "bird" ready to go .... to put on a slow roast out in the front room to create some "ambiance" (and insure we'll have enough for "dinners" tomorrow!), Patty will be there early, I know, to make sure that everything is in order at 0700, kenl staff will be on all toes and ready to greet all their guests, and groomers will be frantically trying to put the last buff 'n fluff on all their last 'spaw' patrons!!
At the end of the day. Rose and her crew will have it all put together,.......... pets, meds, food, water, belongings, etc. Everyone will have had their admission assessments, extra activites, hikes, kool kongs, snuggles and last minute 'good night' hugs for the day and we'll start all over again tomorrow!! By the end of the night, they will make it all seem like this is just another day and ?What else is new?............. see you tomorrow. (go team, go!!)

Just Playing Today

Okay, so I'm a bit new at this and I'm playing around today trying to figure out how to put a picture in here to share w/ you. This is appropriate as it is one of my favorite pictures of our old Bulldog, Zipper. (very expressive and very much a halo around his head at all times!!) He by far, has been the ONE dog who has made the most impact on our lives. (my husband, Ben & mine) I see things every day in our lives, even yet, that is somehow influenced by Zipper still even though he is long since gone. Still, I shed tears at even that thought. BUT, you know..... we all move on and one way or another learn to deal w/ the every day disappointments of life w/ other 'friends'.
This has been a pretty successful 'experiment' it looks like this picture business might work out okay...... I hope you will look forward to seeing more in the future!! thanks for tuning in!!

Holiday Preparation

With Thanksgiving just around the corner I thought I would make a note about some of the preparation that we are going through at this time. This, I guess, involves primarily the assurance of all the appropriate people being in all the appropriately prepared places at the right times over a concentrated period of time. The staff has to adjust from ?maybe 40 dogs last night to 200 ?maybe at this time next week. One of the realities of life here at K.I. is that you MUST be able to adapt to being VERY comfortable (and possibly quite bored) with time to spend at your leisure during the workday to WHAM...... you had better be on the ball, thinking ahead and know exactly what your next move will be the next day. That, and the fact that you KNOW you will be working very very hard over every holiday period....... because when the "public plays we pay".

Plans are in action to make sure that everyone knows just exactly what is expected......that we have all the pets in the right places... (exceptionally dirty dogs, fence fighters, jumpers, older and geriatric dogs together and in a more monitored spot, etc.) Hopefully I've been able to adjust anyone's schedule so that any really important family events are not being missed..... hopefully anyone who can't live w/out seeing the Huskers play at least has part of that time off. It takes a concentrated effort on everyone's part to make sure it all goes smoothly and sometimes it's a bit of a challenge to insure that all 40 some staff members are all tuned in on the same page. It IS, however, part of what we really enjoy about our jobs. Knowing that the staff will pull together and do another exceptional job and then in 5-6 days we will be able to look back and say ...."YEAH!........ we DID it again, didn't we??" is great. THEN they can go back to a more leisurely pace again and take the next week to clean up and recooperate!!

ROY BOY

So, ..... kudos, some more now, to Dian and her new puppy, Roy. Dian has Otterhounds and this was their first big show this last weekend--- okay, it was really just the fun match AFTER the 'real' show......... but it still counts and its still a big whoopee!! He took best puppy in match!!
This brings back fond memories of about 20 years ago when I did the very same thing. I truly hope that she has better luck w/ this dog than I did w/ the one that I had back then. Go ROY!!

Yea Chevy!!

Congratulations to Chevy today,...... she's completed her Level 1 certification through the PCSA!! We encourage all our staff to go through training at any level from any of the professional organizations that are pertinent to our industry ...... however the PCSA is by far the leader in what is most related to Chevy's work here at K.I. Chevy is the faithful one who greets your pet 5 days/wk. at 0500! Most people would probably feel that certainly, being the first one in the door in the morning, is not necessarily the most desirable of positions- but it seems to suit her well. She's prompt, dependable and this gives her the upper hand on knowing just what's ahead for the day by the time we open at 0700. Frankly, if you turned the lights on MY dogs at 0500 they would just look at you and say "are you kidding me?" ........... but for all of those that aren't quite ready to get up yet..... there are plenty of others that are gun-ho and ready to start the day. This gives Chevy the unique perspective of knowing the dogs and their personalities just a little bit better as she hustles to get the 'needy' ones outside and yet stay respectful of those who just aren't quite up to it yet... or who need more time to get the old bones moving.

Friday.............

So, today is another Friday. Do the weeks just seem to go faster and faster or what? I had two different conversations w/ coworkers yesterday about how this week had practically ended already, they wouldn't see me too much today, and then it would be Tuesday again, before we "reconnected". Time is just too short and too valuable. Fridays though, which is what I started this all about......... a big ARRIVAL DAY always for us here in the 'hotel' business. As you all start to make you plans for the w/e ..... that's when we go into gear to try and make our plans for getting all yer critters cared for. All the staff here at K.I. are 'weekend' warriors. They all work at least part of every w/e in order to maintain the high staff to pet ratio that we want here so that we can ensure that your pet's are getting everything they are supposed to. I know that's not always an easy commitment to make but I appreciate their understanding and cooperativness in maintaining this level of care w/ minimal hassel or grumbling!!

Yea!!!

So.......... Kudos, today to Dian who has recieved her AKC tracking Judge Provisional liscense.... and to Kristin and her dog Mack, who just recieved his AKC "Companion Dog" degree in three out of three trials. Great job, gals!! I like to think that we do a lot here to help promote individual growth and development. Maria and Paula just got back from the Iowa State Professional Dog Groomers Association annual convention. They are pumped and ready to go w/ all the knowledge that they need to hopefully get their 'Masters' grooming certification w/in the next year here so I will keep you posted as they work to acheive their goal!! On another note........ I guess I'm done 'playing' w/ the blog idea since I've discovered that Dian actually incorporated it into our web site............ hopefully you will stay tuned as I continue to keep you updated on thoughts 'n things. Once again, please feel free to respond.

The Ending

I can't help but think about the "end" of things here this morning........ Howloween ends, fall break ends for the LPS kids, the DAYLIGHT ends tonight............and if we are lucky at all .......... the ELECTION ends this week. The other ending recently, that I am more sensitive to today --is that of my Dad's passing recently. For one of a million different reasons, of course, he is missed........ but this morning especially, we need his "always there when you need him" presence in the wash room. He was always ready to go into action and do the dirtiest, hairest dogs there was for us and help us get through those 'impossible' days. Guess we'll have to figure out a different system today. Dang, him anyway!! :( (I'd better get going!)

School Break

So, LPS is officially out on another week long break. This is good for those of us in the "travel industry"............... lots of trips planned to Grandma's house or to Disney world, etc. We are 'pumped' for the arrivals this morning and have a game plan on how to handle the heavy influx in the most efficient way possible. What w/ so many people planning trips PLUS the 11am Cornhusker f/b game this am........AND our usual gammet of Saturday morning classes......it will be a miniature madhouse in the parking lot again this morning. By the time the afternoon rolls around we'll be so quiet.............there will be plenty of time to catch up on the routine stuff.

To Begin With

Well, okay........... I've decided to start a "blog"...... to stay better in touch w/ YOU, our clients... about all the things going on here at KENL INN. I know, some of you are saying "well, sure, KQ...... like you have time to do that, right?? (maybe that's just ME saying that)..... but I thought it would be fun.... as well as a good way to stay in touch w/ some of you. I don't always get to develope as much of a relationship w/ many of you as much as I would like to any more and maybe this is kind of a one way deal but hopefully it will 'connect' us in one way or another. I'll try to keep you posted on a semi-regular basis on life here at K.I. and you can fill me in on your likes or dislikes or any questions you may have. I can't complete the intro w/out giving credit to our Police Chief.... Tom Cassidy.......... his blog has inspired me to try and be as good as an example as he is...... thanks, Tom!!!