UpDate......

Forgive me followers, for I have once again, not blogged!! End of summer comes, things are supposed to slow down and......... true to history.......it never does. It's 'different'..... but NOT slow. Right off the gun everybody's schedule readjusts to the influx of summer staff leaving, student schedules, and long awaited vacations. KENL INN staff are not allowed to take vacations during the traditional summer months so by the time summer is over they are usually standing in line. Cindy's back from Branson, Dian's in Cape Cod, Rose has gone home to Maine for three weeks, Carol is on her way home from Colorado, Shawna is soon to leave for Columbia, & Rachel leaves for the Czech Republic for a phenomenal trip w/ her grandma after that. Ha, then, you know...... it'll be the holidays again!!
In the meantime Paula and Maria have just gotten back not long ago from another NDGAA certification in Chicago and now have been blessed w/ a WONderful opportunity to get to the biggest groom show there is.......in Hershey, Pennsylvania!! They have taken on the job of driving a truck full of equipment for one of the major vendors at the show al-l-l-l-l-l the way there...but WHAT an opportunity--so they JUMPED and said YES!! Well, THAT pissed me off.....(even though I was primarily instrumental in getting it all arranged for them)..... Anyway, so I decided that Cindy and I should be going too!!! We haven't attended the PCSA national convention for a long time so......... THIS will be IT!! WE will take the 'big bird'.... it should be fun w/ all four of us there if we don't kill each other!! :)

EOS

That's short for End Of Summer..............this last w/e pretty much wraps it up here for the major 'summer crunch'. Sadly, we bid good-bye to several staff members that are back into their own "school" world here now. We appreciate their efforts over the summer and look forward to them coming back for the holidays. We had a great bunch of folks this year. Sadly, also, we said good-bye recently to an eight year employee as well as two groomers, all w/ alot of potential as well as our "Kassie" who has been w/ us for many years, (off to Afghanistan, back in school, graduated, and now awaiting her turn at vet school.) She's chosen to spend her time waiting w/ her fiance in the service, stateside here..............and I guess I can't blame her for that!! I wish everyone the best in their new pursuits. Its been challenging getting everyone that's left into a schedule so that we can continue our pledge of 5am-midnight coverage but we got 'er done!!

The new suites have been a big hit..............and oh, my,..... WHAT a nice place!! Nice for the dogs... nice for the staff. Our friend Jorge (Animal Planet's Groomer Has It fame) from NYC was here for an all too short visit again. NEXT time its a longer stay!!

Girlie Girl is Back

With much sadness on everyone's part........ the home for Duffy didn't work out..... through no fault of her adoptive "parents".......(and through no fault of Duffy's)..... it just didn't work out....
SOOOO......... dang!!! Here we are......... a three dog family again!! Ben and I were both a tad sad when she went the first time but in our talking about that .........it became obvious that when she had to come back ---- she had to come HOME (w/ US!). Ben and I decided a long time ago that we really were NOT a "three dog family". Things just moved a lot smoother, it seemed, when we just had two..... that was a good number for us. But, we are all learning to adapt in our own ways to new routines and new rules and learning to enjoy and respect each other. Poor Shoe......... she just originally thought Duffy was an annoyance..... then she finally figured out that she was here to stay........and now they are best friends. TailR, (whose ONLY world has always been ME,ME,ME) is still a bit confused on what this beast's purpose REALLY is but he, too, is learning that we can all be kissing cousins!! :)

Yea!!!

Well, congratulations are in order for several folks here. First off, Joe got his Eagle Scout award…….. Secondly, Kristin persevered and actually pulled off completing the Triathlon, (whew!!)………. & Doug finished second, I believe, in some pretty intense Tennis matches at the Cornhusker State Games!! YEAS!!!! Also, I’m happy to say that Doug has moved into the “pool position” (yes, that’s POOL position, not POLE position) to do some of our assisted swimming activities. Also, Tammy & Chevy have both been promoted to newly created positions of Training & Quality Assurance/Control officers. Best wishes to all!!!

Hogan M.

Ohhhhhh…………. What a hard nut to swallow. We just received a call from a very good customer to tell us that their dog had succumbed this morning to the heat & humidity. These are excellent and very responsible people with the most wonderful little dog. He had plenty of shade and water available and who knows what other circumstances might have been involved but nevertheless……… things do happen. This is especially hard for me as I am ‘partial’ to those little pug-nosed (brachyocephalic) breeds and this was a wonderful little dog. (only 6 years old & seemingly very healthy) We take these summer months all quite seriously here at K.I……… shades are already up, we’ve been pounding “heat” precautions & “work smart” options into everyone’s head, and this week’s TenMinuteTrainer is on “safety” anyway. (which this time of the year is always centered on the heat!) One of the things we usually do around here is always think of the Pet’s First….. and some of the emphasis of this trainer was to not only worry about the pets ……but also yourself and your coworkers. The tragic passing of our friend Hogan this morning personalizes that all a bit more!! Our sincere condolences to this family…………. Our hearts hurt…….. Rest In Peace, Hogan M.

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...........