Daycare Photo Journal

December 2006: Last month of 2006 already, oh my, how the time has flown! We're celebrating our 2-year anniversary this month, so this seems like a reasonable time to laud the auld before we ring in the new. Our first daycare dogs walked in the doors on December 27th, 2004. We had three dogs our first day, and three total on staff. Two years later, we're averaging 45 dogs each day, and have run up as high as 64. We have seven people taking care of all them dogs, keeping things clean and cheerful, and staying one step ahead of the tax men, bill collectors, and purveyors of red tape. We have a total of 175 active daycare dogs. We've run 132 group classes, and graduated 952 dog/handler teams. We've hosted events from flyball to obedience, and people came to Chattanooga from as far away as California and Canada. We've met the most absolutely wonderful people who know just how we feel about dogs, since they care so very much themselves. And while we've made some pretty big mistakes along the way, we learned from them each time, and, after wiping the egg off our collective faces, came to appreciate the opportunity to improve.

We truly feel blessed to have met so many terrific people and dogs, and we try to remember to be grateful each and every day. The down side of having meaningful connections is how hard it is when they pass. We lost Rudy, Tito, Madison Blue, Aggie, and Nancy's Boo to the Rainbow Bridge. We were stunned and bereft to learn that Audrey Hopkins had left us just before Thanksgiving. We'll cherish our memories of them, and be grateful for the days we have with family, friends, and dogs while we're all still here. Thanks for reading this, and thanks your help, support, sharing, and being part of our lives. Safe and happy holidays to you and yours!!  -- Bev