BARKS AND HOWLS
WEEPING WILLOW KENNELS NEWSLETTER 2019
Big News Two Years in the making for Weeping Willow Kennels!
As most of you know by now Weeping Willow Kennels was purchased by Jerry and Aileen Black on March 1st 2017. The transfer of ownership and management was made as seamless as possible due to the fact that during the 1st year Jerry was trained under the watchful eye of the former owners Ola and Steve Meadowcroft.
By the end of 2017 Jerry had plenty of opportunity to review procedures, become familiar with the kennel facility, grounds, equipment and staff. During this time period he developed a plan for a major $100K renovation of the then 18 year old kennel that is used to board large dogs. Weeping Willow Kennels is actually comprised of two kennels: one for large dogs called “Big Paws” and one for small dogs called you guessed it…”Little Paws.” The Little Paws kennel was added in 2004 along with an extensive cattery complete with 24 cat ranchers. Jerry’s focus was on the original “Big Paws” kennel that was built in 2000 and the surrounding 3 acre field that the kennel used to run/exercise the dogs in each day.
The $100,000.00 Renovation Plan:
The “Big Paws Kennel” was the first kennel ever built on the Eastern Shore for the sole intended purpose of being a dog boarding kennel. To this day it remains as the largest operating kennel on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and offers the largest individual multi-compartment kennels for your fur-babies to enjoy. The spacious multi-compartment kennels come in two sizes: large and larger yet. The large kennel is 4′ x 25′ and the larger yet kennel is 5′ x 35′ which is “huge!” Our kennels offer 3 distinct compartments; an inner residence area, a middle covered run/exercise area and outer private bathroom and sunning area. The outer private bathroom/sunning area was added as part of the renovation in March of 2018, almost one year to the day after the purchase of the kennel. This addition provides your fur baby with a open sunny area 4′ x 6′ for use as a private bathroom and sunning area. The dogs love it because the floor of this new kennel uses a product called “Stable Grid” the grid that is filled with pea gravel. The “Stable Grid” prevents the dog from digging holes or tunneling out while providing the comforting feeling of standing on mother earth, a connection your dog longs for and needs. This part of the kennel allows the dog to see but not touch the dog to either side of them. Dogs love to socialize and see other dogs…it’s who they are and is when they are most happy. The “Stable Grid” filled with pea gravel provides a more sanitary environment for your fur-baby for use as a bathroom compared to the usual cement floor of most kennels. Urine flows through the gravel instead of puddling and when the dog poo is collected the area is easily flushed with our new commercial sanitary wash system to quickly and easily provide your fur-baby a clean safe environment that feels and is more comfortable than a cement floor. In short our/your fur-babies love it!
The next thing on the “to do” list was the addition of more play yards which up to this point had consisted of two large fields. Today there are a total of 7 play yards with the largest being 1 1/2 acres that are surrounded by 6 foot tall horse fencing to safely contain your fur-baby while out enjoying their play/exercise time and doing their business. The yards are situated so that a dog in a yard can see other dogs but not touch or bite one another; our big dogs play by themselves for obvious reasons. The result of having an additional 5 yards means longer play time and more socialization for your fur-baby. Our kennel techs have time to throw a ball or Frisbee and just be with your fur-baby while they get the needed exercise to burn off their energy…and no Weeping Willow Kennels does not charge for play time like other kennels…it’s part of the basic services offered at the base price. Leash walks are offered and are an additional charge should you require your dog to be walked on a leash, which will be done in the large 1 1/2 acre field.
Other improvements completed behind the scenes include the installation of more high pressure water lines inside both kennels for use with our new commercial sanitary kennel cleaning system and the implementation of a composting program to deal with the dog poop…yep Weeping Willow has gone green!
Today Weeping Willow Kennels offers more for your fur-baby in our care. We have improved their social environment, we expanded the kennel size and they are environmentally safe and sanitary. Our kennel techs are spending more time with your fur-baby instead of walking acreage picking up poop. Your dogs enjoy the largest exclusive multi-compartment kennels of any kennel on the Delmarva Peninsula. As a result Weeping Willow Kennels is more efficient and effective in caring for your beloved fur-baby.
We look forward to 2019 with a renewed sense of commitment to the care and well being of your fur-baby and will always strive to be “the next best thing to home.“
