|
Now that Olive has lived with me for the past year and has finally come out of her shell a bit, I felt it was time to start getting her acclimated to life outside of the cozy confines of our house. And this is where the Grateful Dog comes in. Nestled in a tree-lined street, on the edge of midtown Sacramento, lays the warm and inviting building with its rich colors and clean designs. Upon entering the facilities, you will find yourself in their retail area which only sells products that are made in America, environmentally friendly or socially responsible. Their dog bowls are made in Sacramento, at a day facility for people with developmental disabilities. They have organic cotton and hemp products, items made by local artists, and products that are recycled/recyclable. What I love most about the Grateful Dog is that they have cage-free boarding and day care options; this means that dogs spending the night sleep together in a room and someone sleeps in the room with them all night. Now, I have been in the animal care profession long enough to know that this is controversial for some people who feel that it is a safety issue. But raising a dog, like raising a child, is not subject to one set of sweeping rules meant to fit all. Just as some dogs do much better in the close confinement of a crate because they are more nervous than other dogs, many dogs do not do well in crates at all. Robert Espinosa, the owner of the Grateful Dog, has his acceptance methods for successful new dog integration dialed. When my boyfriend and I first arrived with our shaking little Olive in tow, we were led into a quiet room for her evaluation. During that time, we slowly tested her in varying situations where, after Olive got time to get used to Robert, she was introduced to different dogs of varying sizes and personalities to see those with which she would do best. Olive, being consistent, snapped at all of them. After we realized that my Defensive Diva was not going to warm-up so easily, Robert came up with the solution of starting her off by hanging out with the front office staff for a half-day daycare appointments. I really appreciated the very personalized care that we received, as well as Robert’s obvious effort and care for each and every dog in his charge. Being someone who has been in the profession for over 13 years, I am extremely picky about facilities that I entrust with the care of my companion animals. I am truly worry-free in leaving Olive in their care. And for those of you looking for a bath, grooming, or a lovely hair dye job for your dogs (thats right, dog-safe hair coloring), you must pay a visit to their groomer Vanessa. I have personally known her for several years and she is an awesome groomer! I highly recommend those that live in the Sacramento-area give the Grateful Dog a try. They truly set the standard in dog boarding and care. 
Some of you may not know that I have a dog rescued from a puppy mill/hoarding case. My little “Olive” who I affectionately call a “Pomhuahua” (half Pomeranian and half Chihuahua) came from a well publicized puppy mill raid in Arizona where 800 dogs were taken from a triple-wide mobile home. Given that Olive spent the first two years of her life with little-to-no human interaction, she came to me with a nice laundry list of behavioral problems that I have slowly tackled over the last year. Dubbed “El Diablo” by a friend who had, what turned out to be, the unpleasant task of dog-sitting Olive for me, it was definitely a challenging road.