December 28, 2011
We are open New Year’s Eve for boarding. Let us celebrate the new year with your best friend (your dog) while you celebrate with your 2 legged friends! That way you won’t have to worry that you have to come home early to walk your dog. Call us to make a reservation. 302-533-5435.
December 21, 2011
This time of the year gives us pause to think about others and the gifts we have received this year. I am not talking about the homemade cookies (although we don’t turn them down!) but getting to know all of our new friends – both the human and the dog kind. We have been blessed with having a steady business in a time where that is difficult in this economy. I’m not saying it has been easy. We have had to dip into our savings and home equity so much that we are used to not having what we had when we both worked in corporate. But what has replaced the material things are all of the friendships we have made. I said in November that we are thankful for websites. No, I think that we are most thankful for the friends we have made and who are now helping spread the word that the place to take your dog when you are away is the Moore’s place where they are treated like family. I can’t tell you how much Kleenex I have gone through when we board a dog for a while and it goes home. Or… we can’t keep a dog because of behavior issues – it breaks my heart. And when I find out that a dog from our family has passed on, it is a loss to us too as we have grown so close to the dogs during their stay. You are all our extended family and yes, I am sentimental this time of year and want to acknowledge you, our friends – who have helped us, advised us, pushed us, and let us know you trust us with your children. That is the greatest gift of all – that you trust us to take care of your children as if they are our own. And even when we spoil them more than you would (handfeeding them to make sure they eat), you are there as supporters of our daycare home.
So, this holiday season, Craig and I want to say “thank you” and wish you and your families the best of holidays whereever they take you. And if your dog is spending Christmas and/or the New Year with us, we will be there with them on Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve celebrating with them giving them the love that you would give if you were with them. And if they are not, make sure to give them a hug from us!
May 2012 bring you happiness, good health, and peace of the heart. Namaste.
November 27, 2011 (Thank you!)
During Thanksgiving, often, we think about for what we are most thankful. And I have to say it is websites like Merchant Circle (http://www.merchantcircle.com) and Google Maps (http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=ll) that provide the small business owner the opportunity to tell about their business.
We opened Fur-ever Friends Doggie Daycare the end of March of this year. Hard to believe sometimes, but we have been in business for a whole eight – count them – 8 months! With web research being one of the most powerful tools we have at our fingertips, sites such as this can really boost sales. We hope to at least break even this first year which would be a miracle considering how much we have invested in the business facility. When we moved in, the smell of urine was overpowering. Now, you can’t smell it at all. The building didn’t have heat in the back two rooms – cinderblock rooms. Now there are mini ducts that heat the rooms so the dogs can play and not freeze! We put in padded floors made from recycled tire rubber (it was a DIY job and it was not easy – those rolls of padding were heavy!!) and painted, painted, and painted some more. We got playground equipment inside and out for dogs to play on – and love to watch them learn how to slide down the slide!!
We hired staff and had to fire staff (not the most fun.) But the folks we have now, I couldn’t be more proud of – they always come through: they have stuck with us through the dry spells, and sign up for 12 hour shifts to watch over the dogs at night. They are loyal and have come up with some awesome ideas to improve the daycare and how it runs. Thank you to our staff…
Our enrollment is over 200 clients. Another tough part is telling a client their dog can’t come to our daycare anymore because it has bitten another dog and drawn blood – sometimes from the other dog – sometimes from me. But it is never an easy conversation. We have had a favorite dog succumb to cancer and others move away from the area. I never thought I would cry watching the owner walk the dog through the door one last time. Kleenex is always on hand for me on those days… Then we get get new dogs and the cycle continues.
We have tried selling products which bombed – always something to learn!
And we have learned a lot as a couple. Those of you out there working as husband and wife may be able to give us tips. I have to say that was probably the toughest part of the job – and continues to be.
So as we end 2011 and go into the last holiday season of the year, I just wanted to say “thank you” to Merchant Circle, to the others in the Circle family and to those who refer to this website for information about a business.
Humbly Yours, Kristi
November 13, 2011
Time flies when you are having fun! I didn’t realize that the Newsletter hasn’t been updated since July. However, Craig is posting pictures and videos on Facebook and information is found on that site.
If you read the Doggie Bloggie, you will know that we will be closed from November 18th through the 21st. This is because my uncle is turning 80 on the 18th and I haven’t seen him in four years. You never know what may happen, so Craig and I will be going to his birthday party in Orlando Florida. It will feel very strange not to see our dog family for a few days!
We will, however, be open for boarding on Thanksgiving. Our son and his wife just came over to tell us that they will be spending Thanksgiving with us. This is the first year we are working through the holidays and it will be interesting to see how it all works out. If you want your dog boarded, we would suggest that you make your reservations soon so that you can make sure there is a spot for them. We don’t take anymore than 18 dogs, so let us know soon (especially since we will be closed for a few days before that) if you want to board your dog. At this point, we have Tess, Charlie, Sadie, Lucy and Max. If I missed anyone, let me know – I apologize and blame our software (someone has to take the blame).
Craig and I want to end this newsletter by saying thank you. Thanks to all of you who have trusted us with your dog. Whether it be daycare, grooming, or boarding, we know that your dog is family and we feel honored that you have brought your dog to Fur-ever Friends. Some dogs have moved with their family and one has passed on. We will miss them and remember them fondly. So this Thanksgiving, Craig and I have a lot to be thankful for: we have an extended family with our team and the dogs and their owners. May you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Craig & Kristi
July 18, 2011
We have survived the July 4th weekend! We had 18 dogs. It may not sound like a lot when other daycares have 60+ dogs, but for us, it was about max. We love having our regulars back, like Maggi, Charlie, and Tess,and meeting new friends like Sadie and Mason. We had the 3 pugs in one room, and all of the dogs got along with their own group. It’s the first time we have split up the group to sleep – they usually al fit in the foyter, but this time, we couldn’t do it. Not all of the dogs wanted to be together.
I have to give a big shout out to the parents of the dogs – these are good dogs! And to our staff who handled the volume like pros! We have been really lucky to see some of those dogs again. Mason visited today. Sadie is back for another visit, and others have been able to return to see us. I get so close to the dogs that I miss them when they are not here. What is so exciting is that when they return they remember us and Fur-ever Friends and get excited about coming here for the day. That is satisfying and heart-warming!
I started a “photos” page. I may have to “borrow” some from the Facebook page. And if you haven’t been to the Facebook page, I encourage you to do so. All you have to do is click on the “F” icon at the bottom of the home page.
Take care and know that we are very attached to your dogs. Your family is now our family. Thank you for sharing your loved ones with us for a few days. We love having them here!!
May 15, 2011
We have been open for two months now. We opened on March 15th had our first dog on March 25th. That was okay since we needed to finish some work, but I have to admit I was worried. Craig wasn’t – he knew it would take some time, but I could see that he was hoping he was right. Last week we had 9 dogs one day! Nine! What fun!! As people come to tour, they usually state that this is such a nice place – nice and quiet for their dog. Good for them, but hard for us. But now we have some momentum. Where we thought daycare would be the big draw at $17 per day when other daycares around here are so much more, it wasn’t. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that the previous owner concentrated on boarding and grooming and we were hoping to concentrate on daycare. You have to go with what your customer wants. So now we are also open on Saturdays for grooming and boarding and wouldn’t you know – we have daycare dogs on the weekend. Just goes to show, you never know!
We are offering $5.00 off any grooming service until the end of the month. We still have the Introductory Price for the daycare at $17/day. We have upped our Google advertising, but what else is a big draw? Clipper magazine? News Journal? Google? Bing? Signs out front? If anyone has any ideas, let us know. We put flyers in mailbox flags and under wind shield wipers. With summer coming up, perhaps vacation time will lead to boarding. Guess we’ll find out soon.
We also are offering Bordetella vaccines for only $15.00. That’s pretty good when the vet down the street charges $25. So we are not here to become tycoons, just breaking even would be nice!
You need to check out the “daycare” page – there are pictures of the facility on there. It’s pretty cool, but I can’t take credit for the design – it was Ben Kouba of Leaf9. If you need any website design and development done, he is your man. We are very happy with him!
Here are some new pictures:
I hope you enjoyed the pictures. When it gets warmer and the pool gets set up, I’ll take some pictures of dogs at play.
In the meantime, the suggestion line is always open. If you see something. then say something. We don’t know what we don’t know.
Thank you all for making this a real fur-ever friends place.
Kristi
________________________
Progress Report – March 6, 2011
It’s amazing to see the changes that have been made at the facility. Those of you who boarded/groomed here will wonder if you are at the right place!
Here are some before and after pictures:
Sign in Window:
Before…. After
Foyer:
Before and… After
We repainted, added recessed lights and covered the electrical panel with a mirror
Grooming Room:
Before… After…
No shower. We will soon be adding
a grooming tub and table.
“Small Dog Room”
Before… After… with the padding….. the artwork on the wall…
the viewing window to the next room
Large Dog Rooms
Before…. After with heat and A/C… and artwork… and windows : )
The white rectangle over the cloud is the heat and A/C!
and there is an exhaust fan!
Back Room #2
Before… During… see the heater and the A/C and exhaust
fan? …and we added a window!
—
