We really enjoy having the pleasure of Willa as a guest, she is calm, well trained exceptionally well socialized. She provides nervous guests with a calming influence, we frequently ask Willa to help us with guests who have anxiety.

Thank you Ms. Willa !!!!!

You can also view Ms. Willa featured at Friendly Grove Dog Boarding & Daycamp in Olympia

Learn More about the Golden Retriever:

* AKC Official Golden
* AKC Golden Health Site
* National Golden Retriever Rescue

Having Monster with us for 10 days was exhausting, not because he had medical issues, not because he made a mess but simply the hyper vigilant edge we were all on!    I simply couldn’t relax or be gone from direct supervision long enough to even write a blog post;)

Several things Monster’s owner did were key to our successfully boarding Monster, which I think are good points for others who have “Houdini Dogs”.

• One: she was honest.  Monster’s mom told us upfront that he is incredibly good at escaping – although I still didn’t fully appreciate his amazing abilities until day 3 !
• Two: Monster wore at all times two collars, each with an identifying tag.  This is because not only was he good at getting out of any kennel, room, building, play yard or other, he also was good at taking his collar off.
• Three:  Monster’s owner gave us a picture of him and she carries with her a picture of him at all times.  This is in case he does escape from home or elsewhere that she is prepared to have copies made and given to the local animal shelter right away.
• Four: Monster is of course microchipped.

Despite the hyper vigilant watch and the stress that goes with that, I actually enjoyed having Monster and now he has been gone (back at home with his mom) for two days and it seems something is missing   no pun intended!

I regret not getting any photos of Monster to share with you, I didn’t even think of blogging or care free activities during his stay!  I am also very thankful we built the kennel with double gates and double doors everywhere!  Never have they been so important!

I have a whole new appreciation for all you “Houdini Pet Owners” out there!

The Dachshund, meaning “badger dog” in German, were first bred in the early 1600s in Germany. The goal was to create a fearless, elongated dog that could dig the earth from a badger burrow and fight to the death with the vicious badgers.

The breed became popular in the U.S. during the early 1900’s, but fell out of favor during World War I. After the war, a few U.S. breeders slowly rebuilt the gene pool by importing German stock, and the breed began to increase in popularity again.

While Mr. Milo could certainly do what he was originally bred for he is also a unique, intelligent gentleman.  Mr. Milo has many lady friends here at the grove including staff and clients !

Mr. Milo has been a long time client here at The Grove and has a very special place in our heart, Milo had a very best pal Libby and the two of them were our inspiration for the little dog playroom and much more!

Learn More about the Dachshund:

• AKC Dachshund
• The Dachshund Club of America
• Cascade Dachshund Club & Rescue