Bark in the Park

Last week was the annual “Bark In the Park” at Haymarket Park. This is an annual “dog” day w/ the Saltdogs baseball team. Although the Saltdogs didn’t do too well that night we all had a good time. Lots of dogs were there, the weather couldn’t have been better, and we all had a nice relaxing time of watching the ballgame w/ our best friends!!
A special thanks to all those who made our booth something really special. We had lots of good contacts, saw lots of friends, gave out a lot of Jodene’s special ‘dog ice cream’ and had three winners of some nice baskets that were prepared as prizes. Impressingly enough, I did not hear one altercation b/t anyone and everyone there had good control of their dogs and seem to be very good responsible dog citizens. KUDOS to everyone that was there!!!

My Girlie Girl is gone!!

This is a picture of Duffy........my 'girlie girl'. She has stolen our hearts here at K.I. and finally, now she has a new 'forever home'. Everyone here knows I would have kept her in a heartbeat...... (and I was getting closer).... and holy crap.... even Ben said he was about to 'crumble'...... I tried to make sure that WE never talked about her because TWO dogs are really enough for us!! We will miss her terribly!! She came to me a little more than a month ago. Belonged to an older (not THAT old!) lady that loved her to pieces but just had to admit that maybe the Bull Terrier (of which she had owned before) just was a little more than she could handle this time around. I had JUST the right home in mind for her but she was a little shy and not very social right at first so she spent some time just getting used to us and used to other dogs for awhile. **learning to be a dog** She belongs to Gary & Colleen now. Gary (our contractor) just couldn't convince himself that he was "ready" yet..... Ready??? well, hell..... he spent all the time at home talking about her.......(I heard from EVERYONE else that he wanted her)..... so Colleen calls me yesterday and said "what the heck is going on w/ this dog deal?" ---and after some discussion about the situation out she came and away they went. Once she got out here and we started loading her stuff in the car.... Colleen couldn't get OUT of here fast enough!! I didn't know how she would do so I thought maybe IN the crate would be the best idea but Colleen would have none of that.... she had the passenger side of the car all ready to go for her. Duffy was so cute.... just a sittin' there w/ her ears all perkied up like she knew what she was doing as they drove off!! Gary wasn't home until way late last night so I still have to hear the story of 'how it went'.!! :) I'm not worried..... this is a match made in heaven. .........and they all will live happily ever after...........

Made it!! :)

Well, we got through the first big whomp of the summer….. Memorial Day W/E. All went well…….. AND we christened the new Executive Suites w/ 10 dogs!! WHAT a nice place we have made!! WoW!! Now that the w/e has past, and most of our ‘friends’ have gone home…… we are busy again in there….. still w/ lots of details and finishing things to do but I think last w/e gave us all a taste of what we had. Our guests were very happy and very good. That’s always a worry, because “ideally” those guests are “supposed” to be clean, quiet, and non-destructive…… In the “real” world….. unfortunately, that doesn’t always happen. It’s a little tricky sometimes to determine who will work and who won’t. This w/e is again, not hugely busy but already I foresee the ‘bigness’ of next w/e. Many of the staff are trying to cram in their last few days of vacation before we get started on much more summer here…. as days off are few and far b/t from here on out.

KUDOS!!

Congratulations are in order for Paula (certified in Terriers) & Maria (certified in the Nonsporting Group). They are successfully past the first leg in their journey to become NDGAA Master Groomers. This is a long and ardent process so I’ll keep you up to date as they go. A special thanks goes to Doc & Chip’s parents who so generously let these ladies groom their dogs to specification for the last 4-5 mos. and to my Administrative Assistant, Jodene, who made the whole wk/end sooooo very much easier and enjoyable for all of us who went to the associated workshops. (talk about a ‘party’ planner!! Woo-ha!! J)

Also on the map here is our own Kassie who has graduated from UNL w/ her Animal Science degree. We all know that sooner or later we’ll lose her to vet school but until then we are always happy to have her here w/ us. Maria’s son Christopher graduates from H.S. tomorrow…… (he was still wet behind the ears when she started here!) and…. We have too many to mention fellow employees that have taken the PSCA certification since I last blogged about any of that. WoW!! Everyone got into the ‘learning mode’ here and really went to town. Amongst those that did…..Sheri, Morgan, and Suzanne all went on and did their Level II certifications as well!! Great job, everyone!!!

New Suites!!

So, here I go on some more….. on a roll here, for now. I guess the biggest news, as we kick of the summer here on this Memorial Day w/e ----is the opening of our new Executive Suites. As most of you know, we closed down the second kennel building at the first of the year and started remodeling. We have a lot of work to do yet but half of it is finished and inhabitable. I think it has gone well beyond many people’s ideas but me thinks “the vision” is becoming clearer! Hopefully, those of you who have a hard time getting in or spend a lot of time on the waiting list will not have to worry about that any longer!! Please ask for a tour…. We LOVE to show off our new ‘digs’! Dian will have pictures up on the web page soon also I’ll bet.

Anniversary!

What?? Did I say "anniversary" in that last blog??? YEP, Ben and I are celebrating our 34th today! WoW.......... you know, I 'used' to think that was a really long time. 34 is how old Ben told the clerk at the desk he was when we got our marriage license!!! HA!! He might have had HER fooled!! :) I remember when we had first opened the KENL INN and Ben had a massive heart attack and I was deep into a LOT of 'turmoil'......... I was SO angry at the time.... and all I could do is be mad and pissy because I wanted to be married for 15 years!!! For some reason, 15 was a 'majic' number for me ....and I was convinced it wasn't going to happen! Yes, it really WAS that serious at the time..... but HA, HA!! He had ME fooled!! :):) Anyway, here it is............ #34!! and yes, there's not a day that goes by that I don't know that I am the luckiest person in the whole world and thank the Lord for every minute that goes by. Thank you, Thank you, Ben!!! It truly IS a wonderful life!

This One's 4 Lynn!!

Yes, I've been horribly negligent in my 'bloggin'............ My friend Lynn says she misses me. Maybe I'll get going again. Lynn is one of our First Response Team out in the front office. Most of you know her....... Lynn is the one that so thoughtfully brought my husband and I an 'anniversary present' here this morning!! Hence, my shriveled up sore tongue here now. Our (MY) gift was a wonderful bag of salted pistachios...... she knows my weakness!!! So now tomorrow I'll probably have a sore throat too!! I've already put them away once.... but here they are sitting right on the top of my desk!! FLUIDS!! bring me FLUIDS!!