Home away from home
Companion animals are treated like family at Santa Fe Pet Suites
5/9/2009
Photo by: Ben Swan/The New Mexican
It's called the Cuddle Room, and it's where nervous dogs might sit with someone for a bit and relax while becoming accustomed to the absence of their owner.
"It might take an hour or so," said Randy Lykins, manager of the boarding, day-care and grooming facility off Airport Road. "But if they're nervous, that's what you have to do."
Treating animals like family is important to owner Michele "Mickey" Rogers, who opened the business almost three years ago and immediately began expanding to accommodate a growing customer base. The 4,000-square-foot facility has grown to 6,500 square feet, and there are plans for a separate multipurpose building on a new lot.
The space, which will be joined to the older building by stuccoed walls and specially made artificial turf for canines, will expand the day-care space even more and offer more opportunity for agility training, exercise and special events, Lykins said.
It'll also help increase capacity for boarding and day care. Pet Suites averages about 30 dogs a day during the winter, and is often booked solid during summers and holidays. The new building should increase the
60-dog capacity by an additional 25.
The expansion is ongoing in the existing building as well, with new kennels, an upstairs grooming area and canine hydrotherapy pool. Rogers recently became a certified canine hydrotherapist and is sold on the treatment.
"It's especially helpful for rescue dogs," Rogers said. "It helps build up their trust. It's fabulous and a real intuitive thing."
The pool will also be a boon to large breed dogs, whose weight often takes a toll on their bodies, Lykins said. Hydrotherapy offers them a full range of motion, without joint stress.
Rogers, a longtime Santa Fe pet sitter, found that she had no choice but to open a permanent facility. Her client list had grown to 2,000 and she was stretched thin.
"I hired other sitters, of course," Rogers said, "but a lot of times you get a client who doesn't want the other sitter, they want you. I thought, 'how can they all have me?' "
Another impetus was personal experience with other kennels. Once she was forced to board a dog for two weeks and when she picked the dog up, it had lost 20 pounds.
"She was so nervous," Rogers said. "I was in shock."
So Rogers decided to create a kennel where animals are treated the way she takes care of her own animals at home. And she wanted a place where the animals got constant care. So in addition to a nationally known groomer, Rogers added a full-time veterinary technician, a nutritionist and a certified dog trainer-behaviorist.
She also keeps adding services. In addition to kennel boarding, day care, grooming and in-house pet sitting, Pet Suites also offers TellingtonTouch, massage, reiki and keeps a separate cat room. Rogers won't shy away from taking on any animal, including birds.
"We try to do whatever they need," Rogers said.
The recipe has been successful. In spite of the economic downturn, business is up and has grown 600 percent since opening. The business makes her happy, Rogers said, and most of the money that has come in is reinvested into the venture.
Rogers herself has won accolades as a businesswoman, last year receiving PNM's Rising Star award for entrepreneurship. This year, she's among 20 women to receive the 2009 Governor's Outstanding New Mexico Women Award. An awards ceremony will be held Friday in Albuquerque.
The award recipients, chosen by a panel of judges appointed by Gov. Bill Richardson, were judged on their unique community leadership abilities, effectiveness of advocacy for women and their families and leadership in their careers.
Rogers credits her success to keeping her charges in a happy, clean environment with lots of attention. The staff of nine is always on hand to make sure things run smoothly. Sophia Vigil, the on-site vet tech, provides routine wellness checks and said she loves being around the animals.
She also spots health issues that an owner might overlook.
"Dogs might come in with collars that are too tight," Vigil said. "Once a dog came in with an injured foot the owners had bandaged. But they weren't cleaning it often enough and it became infected."
The trainer, has also been a boon for owners and canines alike, Rogers said. If a dog has behavior issues, Pet Suites' staff will work with the dog, or even recommend boarding the dog for intensive training. Pet Suites offers several training options, including group or private sessions.
Simple socialization through day care has also helped a lot of dogs, Vigil said. One recent arrival was shy and timid, but within a few days became a completely different canine.
"We like to be outside playing with them," Vigil said. "That's the best part about working here; I get to spend all my time with cats and dogs."
The dogs are split up by size and are offered a lot of interaction, Rogers said. All animals and breeds are welcome, Rogers said, although they must be up-to-date on vaccinations and adults should be altered.
In addition to writing a weekly column about animals with Vigil, Rogers has started a collaborative adoption effort with the Santa Fe Animal Shelter & Humane Society. Last weekend, Rogers held a puppy adoption event, and she plans a larger adoption event May 30.
"I wanted to do this from the very beginning," Rogers said. "And the shelter was happy with more public outreach. We'll get a different group of people here than at other places."
A longtime animal lover who took care of a variety of critters for neighbors in her native Pittsburgh, Rogers said she's always connected with animals. She wishes other people would make an effort to work with animals.
"Animals go out of their way to talk to us, but we don't go out of our way to understand what they're trying to say," she said. "They are always trying to communicate to us and if we watch their body language, we can learn a lot from them."
