As published in The Press Enterprise Sun, Apr 8, 2007
Upscale kennel eases owner guilt
Furry guests at Lime Ridge 'spa' can bask in 'all the amenities'
By LIZ RAFTERY - Press Enterprise Writer

SOUTH CENTRE TWP. — People often suffer through a teary farewell when they drop their dogs or cats off at My Shar-Pei Pet Kennels, owner Linda Yorty says. Some owners are worried that boarded pets will feel abandoned, or won't receive the same treatment they would at home, she explained. But, while owners go off on vacation, the kennel aims to offer the pets a holiday of their own. The "guests" get to enjoy a seasonal swimming pool, individual outdoor play areas, heated and air conditioned boarding facilities, and extra treats. "They're going to get all the amenities that you're going to get," Yorty said.

And the kennel has plans to expand.

By the end of May, Yorty hopes to have converted a pole barn on the property into 12 "luxury suites," with raised beds, wallpapered rooms and music pumped in through speakers. "We like to go above and beyond," she explained.

The cost of boarding a single dog is $11 per day; the daily rate for cats is $7. Rates vary for multiple animals. The luxury suites will probably be a bit pricier, Yorty added.

Kids or pets?

Yorty, who owns three golden retrievers and a mixed breed, said she can empathize with her customers' anxieties. "When I first brought my dog here, I cried," she admitted — even though her mother-in-law was running the business at the time. "You know exactly how they feel. ...I felt awful." Sometimes, though, a pet owner's guilt is beyond the kennel staff's control.
"You can't tell someone not to worry," she said. "Most of them don't treat their dogs as dogs. They're like their kids." One client calls the kennel to talk to her dogs while she's away, Yorty said. Not all of the customers have separation anxiety, however. "You can tell whose are the babies and whose are the dogs," Yorty said. "There are some people, (to them) it's just a dog. It's no big deal."

A dog's life

At the kennel, each dog has its own labeled storage crate for personal effects like shampoo, special food and treats. A name tag hangs on each cage, detailing the dog's eating schedule and quirky preferences. "It's kind of like preschool," Yorty explained. "Everybody has their own cubbyhole."

For kennel employees, the day begins at 6 a.m. with a cleaning and feeding routine. The dogs play outside while workers scrub the cages, change dirty beds, blankets and toys, and set out fresh food and water. The whole process takes until about 9 a.m., according to Yorty. Then the dogs have another play session — with tennis balls, agility equipment, or Yorty's children, ages 6 and 4. On warmer days, the brave dogs take a dip in an above-ground pool. Workers repeat the morning routine in the afternoon, while the pups alternate between playing and sleeping.

Cats, dogs, orphans

Yorty's mother-in-law, Merrilie Yorty, founded the kennel in 1990, naming it after the wrinkly dogs she was raising at the time and continues to breed today. When Linda and her husband, Scott, purchased the kennel from Merrilie two years ago, they decided not to change the name because of the reputation it had established among local pet owners. But eventually, Yorty says, she'd like to rename it Windy Hills Pet Resort.

Over the years, the facility has expanded three times, adding more cages and recently extending its services to cats. It now has 47 large dog cages and houses about 35 canines a day on average, according to Yorty.

In addition to boarded dogs, the kennel also accommodates a surplus of shelter dogs from the Animal Resource Center if that non-profit organization is overcrowded. Even when there are no boarded dogs, ARC dogs keep Shar-Pei in business year-round, she explained.

'Whatever it takes'

Food is included in the cost of boarding — Yorty says she goes through a 40-pound bag of dry food every two days for the ARC dogs alone — but most of the boarded dogs' owners provide their own. The dogs are fed according to the owner's instructions, and some of the pets can be as finicky as a person, Yorty said. Two dachshunds, for example, prefer a special brand of weight-control food topped with carrot sticks and green beans. Another dog refuses canned food unless it's been warmed up. And a third gets McDonald's cheeseburgers as a treat. Yorty goes to great lengths to make sure the dogs maintain a healthy diet. Ones who refuse to eat in the pens are sometimes brought up to the house for homemade hamburger and rice — or even to partake in the family's supper. "Whatever we have for dinner, they get," Yorty said. It's also not uncommon for workers to sit in the pens with dogs who are "social eaters" until their bowls have been licked clean. "They're already in a different situation, and they're used to eating with someone there," Yorty said, explaining some dogs' reluctance to eat in the strange environment. "Whatever it takes," she added.

Overbooked

Summer is the busiest season for people to board their dogs, she said. But her regular customers have learned to book far in advance if they have a trip scheduled, no matter what time of year.
"I already have reservations for Christmas and Fair Week," Yorty said recently. She often has to turn away customers because the kennel is overbooked — but only does so as a last result.
"If we can, we make room," she said. Yorty has kept dogs in the office or even in her house. The most they've ever had on a single day is 62, she added. During the flood last June, Yorty said the already-full kennel squeezed in an additional eight dogs and a parrot. The bird's stay was short-lived, though, due to its fondness for foul language. "He had to go," Yorty said. "He was swearing at my customers."

Misconceptions

While she stops short of describing the dogs as "spoiled," Yorty acknowledges that they essentially rule the roost while they're at her place. "When they're here, they're ours," she said.

Some pet owners have negative perceptions of kennels, she pointed out. They've heard about deplorable conditions and the spread of diseases like kennel cough and worms. But Yorty says she checks vaccination records on all her guests. And bacteria can be found anywhere — most neighborhood sidewalks, she points out, aren't cleaned with bleach twice a day like the sidewalks and pens at My Shar-Pei. "They have the same ... chance of picking up something here as they do in their own backyard," she said. Yorty says the only thing her own dogs — Ruger, Remmi and Marley — have picked up from their boarded playmates is bad manners.

And for the most part, the visitors get away with it, she admitted. "When they're at the kennel, they're like on vacation," she said. "They can do what they want."

Liz Raftery can be reached at 387-1234 ext. 1323 or elizabeth.r@pressenterprise.net