| Progress and News Continued |
Feb. 27th: Tommy Biggs has completed installing the new septic
system! Well, I'm pretty sure he has. I went to check on his progress
this afternoon, and found that he had already left for the day. But it
looks to me everything's in place, just not covered with dirt yet. I'm
sure the dirt part won't happen until the county inspector does what
inspectors do: inspect. Once he's given it his blessing, I'm sure
Tommy will cover his new masterpiece with dirt. How would you like
it if all your hard work, everything you've done for years and years,
was never seen by anyone, but lies underground full of....never mind.
ANYway, once the septic system has been fixed and everything
drains as it should, hopefully, the plumber will come in and complete
their work, the remaining electrical work is done, then the parking lot
gets paved, then a few odds and ends remaining undone are
completed, and, folks, dare I say it? "It's SHOW TIME"!!!! Nah, I
won't say it. It may jinx things, then Tina would blame it on me and I'd
never hear the end of it. Phew,glad I caught myself! One slip-up like
that and I'd pay for it the rest of my life!
Mar. 1st: Talked with the plumber today, and he said he should be
finished Friday, and if not, Saturday. Nice guy. Found out he went to
the same high school Tina did in Riverdale, so they had a lot to talk
about. The septic system has been finished and ok'd by Robert
Gore, the great inspector for Douglas County and Cobb County.
We're just knocking out problems left and right! I called the paver
today and he will meet me Saturday to take a look at what's to be
done, then plan to pave the parking lot next week. Woops, lightning
hit fairly close, so I'd better shut the computer off. I'll be back
tomorrow!
Mar. 3rd: I didn't quite make it back yesterday. We were pretty busy
all day and I just couldn't find the time. This is going to be a more
laid back weekend....I hope, but we still have things to do. Our paver,
Harry Pierce, with Pierce Paving and Seal Coat, is meeting me here
today after lunch to talk about coming in (maybe next week) to pave
the parking lot. We've been waiting until we were nearly done to
have the parking area paved, and I believe the time is right. All the
heavy trucks are gone and it seems like a safe time to lay some
asphalt. Tina and I have been put in the position, with help from our
banker friend, Tandy, of making sure all the subs have been paid.
It's one of those "if you want something done right, do it yourself"
situations. I don't know, I've always felt that way, anyway, so at least
we know doing it this way, there'll be no legal problems and no hard
feelings once the project is complete. It's ashamed it has come to
this, and Tina and I are very disappointed and upset, but at least we
know we've done what's right. I just wanted you to know that the two
of us are doing everything within our power to make this the best
place in the world for your pets, a place that will go far beyond just a
boarding facility. If "just a boarding facility" was all we had in mind, I
doubt we could even get excited about it, and certainly couldn't have
stuck with our dream after four long years of planning. One thing's for
sure, we are extremely excited, even after all the hoops we've
jumped through to get to this point. I'm trying to get Tina to stand
beside Capps Ferry at the mailbox the day we open and hold a
banner and wave at all the cars, but she said she'll have none of that.
Mar. 4th: More and more, folks are seeing us driving around
Douglasville and other areas, and recognizing the "Beechwood
Trails" graphics on our Trailblazer. We met a super lady yesterday
that followed us into the Eckerds parking area on Hwy. 5 at Central
Church Road. She lives in the Newnan area, had been behind our
Trailblazer and was curious about where we are located. Since it
was pretty much on her way back home, we suggested that she
follow us back to our place and drive up to check out the lodge. She
was very excited about the place and seemed pleased that she had
found a place like she'd been looking for for her and her husband's
special dog, Sarge. So, anytime, anywhere, if you see us, please
feel free to stop us! We are more than happy to talk about how great
our place is going to be! It's so close to being finished now, it's very
easy to show it off!
Mar. 5th: Lately, we have gotten many folks asking why we (me)
haven't posted any new pictures in a long while. It's true, I know. To
tell you the truth, Tina and I both got a little, alright, a lot, discouraged
over the past few months at how slowly things were moving, and I just
stopped taking the camera up there. I do believe, though, that I have
some photos still in the camera, and I promise I will take some fresh
pictures tomorrow and post those and any older ones I may have.
Lots and lots of good things happening today! We even have heat!
Yeah, no kidding! When I went down to lock the gate across the
driveway this evening, I thought it'd be nice to drive up to the lodge
and see how far everyone got today. I walked in and the first thing I
noticed was, it was warm! Tina and I had been in there for most of
the afternoon building the drawer cabinets for the reception desk,
and while it was nice and warm outside, due to the cold
temperatures last night, it was still quite cool inside the building, and
we were kind of cold! So when I walked in and it was nice and
warm, it put a smile on my face. Things are moving quickly now, and
we're nearing the day when we will announce our grand opening. So
please hang in there and keep an eye on this page! Oh, I was
contacted by a friend who got a New Guinea singing dog puppy from
some place in Canada. She has asked us to plan on keeping Hali in
a few weeks! Hali is five months old and is beautiful! These dogs
are so rare, and definitely not for everyone. Due to their strong wild
traits, one eye has to stay on them at all times.
Mar. 6th: I've put some new pictures up! I'm tired, it's late and I'm
going to bed. Oh, click here for pictures.
Mar. 9th: We have received the final inspection on our plumbing,
and our septic system should be final on Monday. Hopefully the
heating and air system will be finished today and have the final done
early next week. There's only a tad left to do with the electrical, so
that should be finished and inspected early next week. When that's
done, Harry Pierce will come in next week and asphalt the parking
area. The boys from Smith fencing, who, by the way, are awesome,
will be there Monday morning to finish our fencing. My friends, I know
I've said it many times, but we're close, and next week may be OUR
time!
Mar. 10th: Just wanted to let anyone who may be going near
Peachtree City today around lunch to come by Wal-Mart, where we'll
be at SEGA's monthly meet & greet from 11:00 to 1:00. Now, of
course, that's not counting on anything stopping us, which, as you
might guess, happens a lot lately. Today the electrician, who has
been great the entire time, and one of the bright spots during our
project, will be here today to get the electrical part finished. And,
we'd like to announce, we have our first boarder! No, it's not what
you think. Some kind soul left us with their puppy a couple of days
ago, and I found her on our front porch when I went up to the lodge
after eating breakfast Thursday morning. She appears to be very
healthy, extremely happy and well adjusted, we have her in a safe
place to make sure she stays safe. We'll get her to the vet to make
sure she is indeed healthy, and we'll begin training her for
socialization and manners, so she'll make someone a wonderful pet.
Mar. 11th: The electricians finished the work they're doing for the
builder yesterday evening around 9:00 last night. Although they have
finished their contract work, they will return early this coming week to
do a thing or two...or three, for Tina and I. They have the heat pumps
hooked up and ready to be cranked into action by the HVAC folks
tomorrow. They have our fancy new generator all hooked up and
ready for action. This thing is neat, folks, and will automatically crank
upon its detection of a power outage, only allowing a brief flutter of
the lights in the building. It's really boiling down to the final stages,
friends, and we're genuinely expecting to be open in time for spring
break. So, if you'd like, we'll take your reservations. But, just to be
prudent, you could make reservations elsewhere and cancel them in
plenty of time once it becomes apparent that we will be open. Over
the weekend we had two pet owners who came by to get a tour of
our new place. These are friends who have been buying Canidae
dog food from us for some time. We really like showing the place
off! Oh, our new visitor, Dottie, as we've named her, is still enjoying
being the first to stay at the lodge. What a perfect little lady! Taking
in strays is such a rewarding experience. You can see it in their eyes
how much they appreciate being loved and fed well, probably for the
first time in their life. We're still "evaluating" Dottie, a period that
usually ends in, yeah, you guessed it, an increase in our dog food
bill. That's okay, though, that's what we do. We will be watching
Dottie for the next couple of days for any signs of illnesses before
introducing her to our pack. Once that happens, we can learn more
about Dottie's seemingly perfect manners. If she passes the
socialization test, she will make someone...or us, an unbelievably
great little girl. Being as young as she is, we're hoping that she may
have missed last year's mosquito season, possibly saving her from
being infected with heartworms. In the south, if a dog isn't on
heartworm preventative, it's virtually a certainty they will have
heartworms. We will take Dottie this week to the vet to have her fully
checked out. It doesn't appear as though she has been spayed, so
that will be one of the first orders of business. Don't worry, we're
keeping a close eye out for signs or reports of anyone looking for
their lost dog. If that doesn't happen, we'll get her well on her way to
being placed in the perfect home for such a sweet little girl.
I was happily surprised while out doing some tractor work in our yard,
when a pickup loaded with gutter material, downspouts and stuff,
pulled into the lodge driveway. A young man hopped out and asked
if there was any possible way he could get back to the lodge to finish
the little bit of downspout work left to be done. I told him, "Shoot
yeah!" and I gladly unlocked the gate. To tell the truth, I didn't tell him
how I really felt about what he asked me. I really wanted to grab him
and kiss him flush on the mouth for showing up today, but I figured
that wouldn't be viewed as being cool, so we'll stick with the "Shoot
yeah!" Things are rolling along now, folks, and the list of "things left
to be done" is getting shorter and shorter!
Mar. 12th: I was introduced to concrete work today! Our dumpster
slab needed to be made larger than we had Johnny Wells make it a
few weeks ago, and it was such a small job that I didn't want to
bother Johnny with it. I mean, he would have done it, because that's
the kind of guy he is, but it wouldn't be right, you know? So I formed
it up, even laid reinforcing wire in place and had the good folks at
Wayne Davis Concrete come out with about a bucket full of concrete.
Nah, it was more than that, but not so much they could shut the plant
down and go on vacation for a week. As the boys from Smith
fencing were busy working on our fencing, the Wayne Davis truck
pulls up the big hill. Now, these guys were great, and they realized
that there are entire libraries of books on what all I don't know about
concrete pouring. Well, knowing that, they helped me pour it to
where it didn't look nearly as bad as it would have had I done it all on
my own. The first thing they asked me was if I had any concrete
tools. Tools? I had a rake and a shovel and that was it. After we
were through, they came inside the building for a tour. Great guys.
It's been a good day.
Mar. 13th: It's been a long day. Lots and lots of things going on. I
spent all day at the lodge, and Tina was mostly here at the house
spending all her time on the telephone. We both were so beat, we
completely forgot about an important Humane Society meeting this
evening. We are both moving, and thinking, in a dozen different
directions at once, and I've got to tell you, we can't wait until we're
open so we can rest. I know that sounds a little funny, but we're trying
so hard to be open for Spring Break, and it's sometimes like pushing
on a house, but we ARE going to make it! And by rest, I mean it will
be a relief - mental relief - to be able to finally do what we have
planned to do for a long, long time: share our lives with your pets.
The lodge will soon be complete, and then we can move on to the fun
part! Okay, here's my report on Dottie, our little abandoned puppy.
That is the happiest dog I've ever seen! I have fed her every meal
out of my hand since Thursday morning when I found her waiting for
me, and her tail is going ninety or nothing the entire time. The pants I
wear each day end up with dozens of muddy paw prints by evening. I
know, I know, letting her do that probably wouldn't please the Dog
Whisperer, but I've got to tell you, I'd feel like a perfect heel not letting
her do it. Sometimes you've just got to let them be happy.
Mar. 15th: It was a quiet day today. We had hoped the electrician
would have shown up to finish a few things he's going to do for us,
but we didn't hear from him. I hate to stick my neck out like this, but
feeling confident that we will be open in the next couple of weeks, we
are waiting on a semi delivering some supplies we ordered. He
called a few minutes ago from I-75 below Morrrow, heading in this
direction. He'll be here between 8:00 and 8:30 this evening....if he
doesn't get lost! I gave him directions by way of the South Fulton
Parkway, but he's from Spartanburg, SC, and I'd say the chances of
him not getting lost are slim. The place is looking good, and work on
the building is just about complete. Smith Fencing has another day
or two to finish, the parking will be paved next week, we have a lot of
landscaping to do, then one major cleanup, along with some
paperwork at the courthouse, and we'll be near wrapping things up.
Mar. 16th: We met the fellow from the credit card processing
company we have chosen this morning at the lodge. We signed
some papers, discussed some details, and have them set up to
come in next week once we have our phone jacks installed at the
reception desk. Only a few minutes later we were happily surprised
when our builder called to find out if we were ready for Dave (job
supervisor) to return and get this thing knocked out. While up there
this morning, we noticed a few drips in the floor from the rain we had
overnight, so Dave will have to get on the roof with a water hose,
locate those few leaks and get them fixed. The builder said he'd
contact our electrician and the heating and air folks and get them to
get everything wrapped up. It seems to us everything is working
out...finally, and we'll be mopping up the last of those things that have
to be done over this next week. We've had a good bit of interest for
boarding over the first week of April (Spring Break), as well as a few
times during the spring and early summer! It seems all our efforts to
get the word out about our place has indeed raised interest. And if
any of you have told friends and family, and, well, those who fit in
categories other than friends and family (you know who I'm talking
about), about us, we appreciate it so much! Please remember, word
of mouth is probably our best means of advertising, so talk a
LOT!
Mar. 18th: Okay, the next two weeks should be extremely busy
around here. The electrician, who was supposed to have contacted
us on Friday but didn't, called this evening, apologized and said he'd
be here tomorrow to do what we need him to do so we can open.
Fantastic! Once he mounts telephone outlet boxes for us, we can
have Greystone/EMC finish our security system, our credit card
processing company, Heartland Payment Systems, can install their
equipment and we can hook up and network our computers. We are
expecting our Dave (job supervisor) to return after being gone for
about a month, to finish up the few things they have left to do. I hope
our paver will call tomorrow and schedule paving our parking lot.
That doesn't have to be done until early next week, but it'd be nice to
have it done later this week. Dottie, our little stray, and I had a ball
playing after she ate her supper this evening. After a good game of
chase, she laid on her back in my lap and I rubbed her stomach until
she went to sleep. She's the sweetest little dog! Being used to
greyhounds, and other prey driven dogs, Tina and I are so used to
never letting them be off leash when outside our fenced yard. Dottie,
however, shows no interest in leaving my side, and I am having a ball
being around a dog who can be trusted off leash. Number 15,
perhaps? I won't mention that to Tina...yet. Tell me, why is it ME who
always finds stray dogs? It's never Tina! And as soon as I see them
and they see me, I don't know, there's a sudden inseparable bond
created. It's been that way whole life. That's okay, if you've got to
have faults, that's not such a bad one to have. I've found some of my
best friends as abandoned puppies on dirt roads. We are still
confident we'll be open by the 30th!!! I know, I know, reading back
over the progress pages, there have been many times we felt we'd
be open by a certain date, but this time, like no other, sees very little
left to be done before we can open our doors!
Mar. 20th: Lots of things happened today, most notable was
receiving the final approval on our heating and air system, which, by
the way, is a doozy! Tina and I worked all day there, well, except for
the time I'd stop to play with Dottie. Tomorrow, as is planned, our
paver will pave our parking lot, the electrician should finish and call
for the final inspection for the electrical, we're getting a dumpster,
we're having our propane tank buried, and Tina and I will begin
cleaning the place up. The propane tank is only for our generator,
so, hopefully, one tankful will last forever. Oh, tomorrow will be the
day that Johnny On The Spot will come to remove the portable toilet!
Tina talked to the Douglas County Arborist today about what will be
expected of us as far as landscaping. Not too much is expected, in
fact, less than what we have planned. Perhaps all things planned
may have to wait for a little while, but we plan to have the place
looking very nice before long.
Mar. 21st: We have a super looking paved parking lot! Man, Harry
Pierce and team did an outstanding job! We'll have to be careful
and not let any heavy vehicles drive on it for a couple of days,
because they put the asphalt down so thick, it will hold the heat and
stay soft for a long time. Let me tell you, when Harry paves
something, it stays. I know, when you come to the lodge and see our
unpaved home driveway, you're going to ask why we didn't get Harry
to pave it while they were here. Well, we had the choice to do a thin
paving job for the lodge and have our home driveway paved, or we
could do an outstanding job for the lodge and drive on gravel at
home for awhile longer. That's okay, there's something old fashion
about a gravel driveway, and that's the kind of guy I am....never mind
what Tina thinks about it. Anyway, Blake and Justin, our super
electricians, worked today to get the electrical portion done, but they
have a little bit more to do first thing tomorrow, then have it inspected
tomorrow afternoon. Oh, James Brooks, our plumber, came early
this morning, before Harry Pierce arrived with the paving equipment,
and buried our LP tank....and we had a big dumpster brought by
West Georgia Waste Containers before Harry came. The mess that
we'll be cleaning up is the builder's responsibility, but they've
decided to bypass that, as well other responsibilities, like having us
open by last Labor Day. Yes, we were to be happily in business by
the end of last summer, but they didn't think that was important. My
mom and dad are coming tomorrow to help us begin the big clean
up. Typical of a construction job, especially one this size, there is
quite a mess.
Mar. 23rd: I didn't write yesterday? Hmm....I guess I've been
slacking. Yesterday my folks came over from Wedowee, AL and
helped Tina and I immensely. Dad and I have the reception desk
nearly finished and got it ready for our electricians to be able to
mount telephone jacks today. Mom and Dad were introduced to
Dottie yesterday, and were amazed how great a girl she is. Anyway,
today was a long, long day, but a good one! We had our electrical
inspection done and everything passed with flying colors! We said
good-bye to Blake and Justin (electricians), who had been on our
project for months, and it nearly brought tears to our eyes, as if they
were family leaving. They were some of the best subs to work on our
place, and were a big part of us keeping our sanity. We learned
from our builder today, after a long conversation Tina had with him,
that we are pretty much on our own now. Did we expect to be
treated like this? Nope. So, as our first act as kennel builders, we
called for the final inspection, which will be done Monday. The
inspector will be the same great guy who inspected our heating and
air system and our electrical system today, and, having already seen
everything, he said we're looking good to have our certificate of
occupancy issued Monday afternoon. This would mean we can,
hopefully, have our business license issued to us on Tuesday! The
past three days have seen many great things take place at the lodge,
and the place is really looking sharp now. The sound system Best
Buy installed a few weeks ago didn't sound just right, so I called
them, told them what I was hearing, and they rushed right out, found a
couple of wires out of place, and have it sounding great! Great
guys. This weekend we'll finish striping the parking lot, doing some
odds and ends painting inside, finishing the rest of the landscaping,
to have it all ready for the final on Monday. Things are really going
our way now, now that we've taken over the job of builder, which
we've actually been doing without knowing that's what we were
doing, for the past several weeks. We are so looking forward to
having our first guests check in around the middle of next week, to
mark the end of a long, distressing ordeal, and the beginning of what
promises to be the realization of our dream, and a fantastic place for
your pets. OH, since we now FINALLY have telephones, by
tomorrow around lunch we'll have a fax machine on the job. Our fax
number is (770) 577-5568, and don't forget our telepone number is
(770) 577-STAY (7829). Have you got it?!
Mar. 24th: We worked all day today at the lodge, and have another
long day tomorrow getting things ready for our final inspection
Monday, hoping to receive our certificate of occupancy. One slight
kink is, tomorrow is our day for our monthly Southeastern Greyhound
Adoption Meet & Greet at Petsmart on Chapel Hill from 1:00 to
3:00. I know Tina will be there, but I may have to stay here and work.
I have several things to finish tomorrow, but if I get an early enough
start, I may be able to make it. Please come join us, or Tina,
tomorrow at Petsmart! If you'd like, come close to 3:00 and follow
Tina back here and check out the lodge! Of course, please tell her
you're following her, or she may pull a Jim Rockford (Rockford Files),
jam it to the floor and try to lose you. Nah, just joking.
Mar. 25th: This is, uh, may be, a huge week, y'all! Believe it or not, I
even had to put up a stop sign beside our driveway at Capps Ferry
today. Yeah! Can you believe it? Oh well, got to do what we've got
to do. Hopefully, tomorrow will see the lodge pass its final
inspection, we receive our CO, then Tina and I head to the
courthouse and get our business license. As I said yesterday, our
fax machine is up and running, and we're ready to take reservations!
So plan your vacations now....nice long ones, and we will take
wonderful care of your kids, giving them the kind of attention they
deserve.
Mar. 27th: Okay, today was another good day. Even though not all
the inspectors had finished their, well, their inspecting, we applied for
our business license today, and heard nothing but positive,
supportive comments from the good folks at the courthouse. Now, it
just may be that all the inspectors did make it out by this afternoon,
and I truly believe they did. We do know of only one who hadn't
made it out as of this morning, but we talked to him at the
courthouse, and that's when he told us he'd get out here this
afternoon. Anyway, although we can't say that we have our CO yet,
there's an awfully good chance we do. We'll know first thing in the
morning when we call the folks at the courthouse to find out. I feel
sure that if we aren't "official" yet, we will be by tomorrow afternoon.
We're carrying on as though we are, and we spent a good while in
Sam's today buying office items, shelving and this and that. Man,
this and that sure adds up! This is the first day we've been able to
pry ourselves away from the lodge to do things we should have been
able to do weeks ago, but we've been having to wear the hat of the
builder....since he decided not to come back. Trust me, there will
come a time when I will spell out exactly what happened. The last
thing I would ever want to happen is for ANYBODY to make the same
mistake we did. I won't bore you with that at this time. I am VERY
happy to say that we were contacted several times today by folks
wanting to board their pet(s) with us! Three years of planning, land
buying and stuff, and one looong year under construction, to get to
the part that Tina and I have been craving for so long. We are
smiling.
Mar. 29th: We have our first boarders! Yep, things are working
smoothly and we're having a ball! I do have a lot of computer setting
up to do today, as well as getting our kennel music set up, simply
because we and the guests are tired of local FM stations. Heck, I
was tired of them 20 years ago!
Mar. 30th: Although we had boarders come in yesterday, today was
our absolute, sure enough, first day of business! And I guess you
noticed the change of our home page song. I swapped Spanky and
Our Gang's 1967 hit, "Lazy Day" (one of my all time favorite songs)
for Styx' 1978 hit (the year Tina and I met) "Sing For the Day", which
seems to me to be the most appropriate song I could think of. We
met some wonderful new friends today, that we hope we will have a
very pleasant, life long relationship with. I want to thank all of you
folks who have patiently waited for us to open, and who have made
all my ramblings a regular read. And I have to give a VERY special
thanks to my parents, who, without their help, we would have never
made it. I hope that Tina and I will fulfill the hopes of all the pet
owners who have supported us during this long, extremely
aggravating time.
April 4th: So far we've been dealing with some great dogs....and
owners, and have finally started seeing that all the trouble we went
through, although some of it inexcusable, will eventually fade away as
a bad dream. Now, some of it we won't forget, and will be trying to
straighten out with those responsible for some time to come. Some
of it is irresponsibility and some of it is considered downright dirty
dealings. In the days to come, I will, as they say, spill the beans as to
what we've been through. I feel that anyone even thinking of doing
business with one of two of these companies should be made aware
of who they're dealing with, and what trouble they may encounter.
Believe me, they will thank me for letting them know.
Greystone/EMC finished the installation and activation of our security
system yesterday, so we're totally secure and protected.
system! Well, I'm pretty sure he has. I went to check on his progress
this afternoon, and found that he had already left for the day. But it
looks to me everything's in place, just not covered with dirt yet. I'm
sure the dirt part won't happen until the county inspector does what
inspectors do: inspect. Once he's given it his blessing, I'm sure
Tommy will cover his new masterpiece with dirt. How would you like
it if all your hard work, everything you've done for years and years,
was never seen by anyone, but lies underground full of....never mind.
ANYway, once the septic system has been fixed and everything
drains as it should, hopefully, the plumber will come in and complete
their work, the remaining electrical work is done, then the parking lot
gets paved, then a few odds and ends remaining undone are
completed, and, folks, dare I say it? "It's SHOW TIME"!!!! Nah, I
won't say it. It may jinx things, then Tina would blame it on me and I'd
never hear the end of it. Phew,glad I caught myself! One slip-up like
that and I'd pay for it the rest of my life!
Mar. 1st: Talked with the plumber today, and he said he should be
finished Friday, and if not, Saturday. Nice guy. Found out he went to
the same high school Tina did in Riverdale, so they had a lot to talk
about. The septic system has been finished and ok'd by Robert
Gore, the great inspector for Douglas County and Cobb County.
We're just knocking out problems left and right! I called the paver
today and he will meet me Saturday to take a look at what's to be
done, then plan to pave the parking lot next week. Woops, lightning
hit fairly close, so I'd better shut the computer off. I'll be back
tomorrow!
Mar. 3rd: I didn't quite make it back yesterday. We were pretty busy
all day and I just couldn't find the time. This is going to be a more
laid back weekend....I hope, but we still have things to do. Our paver,
Harry Pierce, with Pierce Paving and Seal Coat, is meeting me here
today after lunch to talk about coming in (maybe next week) to pave
the parking lot. We've been waiting until we were nearly done to
have the parking area paved, and I believe the time is right. All the
heavy trucks are gone and it seems like a safe time to lay some
asphalt. Tina and I have been put in the position, with help from our
banker friend, Tandy, of making sure all the subs have been paid.
It's one of those "if you want something done right, do it yourself"
situations. I don't know, I've always felt that way, anyway, so at least
we know doing it this way, there'll be no legal problems and no hard
feelings once the project is complete. It's ashamed it has come to
this, and Tina and I are very disappointed and upset, but at least we
know we've done what's right. I just wanted you to know that the two
of us are doing everything within our power to make this the best
place in the world for your pets, a place that will go far beyond just a
boarding facility. If "just a boarding facility" was all we had in mind, I
doubt we could even get excited about it, and certainly couldn't have
stuck with our dream after four long years of planning. One thing's for
sure, we are extremely excited, even after all the hoops we've
jumped through to get to this point. I'm trying to get Tina to stand
beside Capps Ferry at the mailbox the day we open and hold a
banner and wave at all the cars, but she said she'll have none of that.
Mar. 4th: More and more, folks are seeing us driving around
Douglasville and other areas, and recognizing the "Beechwood
Trails" graphics on our Trailblazer. We met a super lady yesterday
that followed us into the Eckerds parking area on Hwy. 5 at Central
Church Road. She lives in the Newnan area, had been behind our
Trailblazer and was curious about where we are located. Since it
was pretty much on her way back home, we suggested that she
follow us back to our place and drive up to check out the lodge. She
was very excited about the place and seemed pleased that she had
found a place like she'd been looking for for her and her husband's
special dog, Sarge. So, anytime, anywhere, if you see us, please
feel free to stop us! We are more than happy to talk about how great
our place is going to be! It's so close to being finished now, it's very
easy to show it off!
Mar. 5th: Lately, we have gotten many folks asking why we (me)
haven't posted any new pictures in a long while. It's true, I know. To
tell you the truth, Tina and I both got a little, alright, a lot, discouraged
over the past few months at how slowly things were moving, and I just
stopped taking the camera up there. I do believe, though, that I have
some photos still in the camera, and I promise I will take some fresh
pictures tomorrow and post those and any older ones I may have.
Lots and lots of good things happening today! We even have heat!
Yeah, no kidding! When I went down to lock the gate across the
driveway this evening, I thought it'd be nice to drive up to the lodge
and see how far everyone got today. I walked in and the first thing I
noticed was, it was warm! Tina and I had been in there for most of
the afternoon building the drawer cabinets for the reception desk,
and while it was nice and warm outside, due to the cold
temperatures last night, it was still quite cool inside the building, and
we were kind of cold! So when I walked in and it was nice and
warm, it put a smile on my face. Things are moving quickly now, and
we're nearing the day when we will announce our grand opening. So
please hang in there and keep an eye on this page! Oh, I was
contacted by a friend who got a New Guinea singing dog puppy from
some place in Canada. She has asked us to plan on keeping Hali in
a few weeks! Hali is five months old and is beautiful! These dogs
are so rare, and definitely not for everyone. Due to their strong wild
traits, one eye has to stay on them at all times.
Mar. 6th: I've put some new pictures up! I'm tired, it's late and I'm
going to bed. Oh, click here for pictures.
Mar. 9th: We have received the final inspection on our plumbing,
and our septic system should be final on Monday. Hopefully the
heating and air system will be finished today and have the final done
early next week. There's only a tad left to do with the electrical, so
that should be finished and inspected early next week. When that's
done, Harry Pierce will come in next week and asphalt the parking
area. The boys from Smith fencing, who, by the way, are awesome,
will be there Monday morning to finish our fencing. My friends, I know
I've said it many times, but we're close, and next week may be OUR
time!
Mar. 10th: Just wanted to let anyone who may be going near
Peachtree City today around lunch to come by Wal-Mart, where we'll
be at SEGA's monthly meet & greet from 11:00 to 1:00. Now, of
course, that's not counting on anything stopping us, which, as you
might guess, happens a lot lately. Today the electrician, who has
been great the entire time, and one of the bright spots during our
project, will be here today to get the electrical part finished. And,
we'd like to announce, we have our first boarder! No, it's not what
you think. Some kind soul left us with their puppy a couple of days
ago, and I found her on our front porch when I went up to the lodge
after eating breakfast Thursday morning. She appears to be very
healthy, extremely happy and well adjusted, we have her in a safe
place to make sure she stays safe. We'll get her to the vet to make
sure she is indeed healthy, and we'll begin training her for
socialization and manners, so she'll make someone a wonderful pet.
Mar. 11th: The electricians finished the work they're doing for the
builder yesterday evening around 9:00 last night. Although they have
finished their contract work, they will return early this coming week to
do a thing or two...or three, for Tina and I. They have the heat pumps
hooked up and ready to be cranked into action by the HVAC folks
tomorrow. They have our fancy new generator all hooked up and
ready for action. This thing is neat, folks, and will automatically crank
upon its detection of a power outage, only allowing a brief flutter of
the lights in the building. It's really boiling down to the final stages,
friends, and we're genuinely expecting to be open in time for spring
break. So, if you'd like, we'll take your reservations. But, just to be
prudent, you could make reservations elsewhere and cancel them in
plenty of time once it becomes apparent that we will be open. Over
the weekend we had two pet owners who came by to get a tour of
our new place. These are friends who have been buying Canidae
dog food from us for some time. We really like showing the place
off! Oh, our new visitor, Dottie, as we've named her, is still enjoying
being the first to stay at the lodge. What a perfect little lady! Taking
in strays is such a rewarding experience. You can see it in their eyes
how much they appreciate being loved and fed well, probably for the
first time in their life. We're still "evaluating" Dottie, a period that
usually ends in, yeah, you guessed it, an increase in our dog food
bill. That's okay, though, that's what we do. We will be watching
Dottie for the next couple of days for any signs of illnesses before
introducing her to our pack. Once that happens, we can learn more
about Dottie's seemingly perfect manners. If she passes the
socialization test, she will make someone...or us, an unbelievably
great little girl. Being as young as she is, we're hoping that she may
have missed last year's mosquito season, possibly saving her from
being infected with heartworms. In the south, if a dog isn't on
heartworm preventative, it's virtually a certainty they will have
heartworms. We will take Dottie this week to the vet to have her fully
checked out. It doesn't appear as though she has been spayed, so
that will be one of the first orders of business. Don't worry, we're
keeping a close eye out for signs or reports of anyone looking for
their lost dog. If that doesn't happen, we'll get her well on her way to
being placed in the perfect home for such a sweet little girl.
I was happily surprised while out doing some tractor work in our yard,
when a pickup loaded with gutter material, downspouts and stuff,
pulled into the lodge driveway. A young man hopped out and asked
if there was any possible way he could get back to the lodge to finish
the little bit of downspout work left to be done. I told him, "Shoot
yeah!" and I gladly unlocked the gate. To tell the truth, I didn't tell him
how I really felt about what he asked me. I really wanted to grab him
and kiss him flush on the mouth for showing up today, but I figured
that wouldn't be viewed as being cool, so we'll stick with the "Shoot
yeah!" Things are rolling along now, folks, and the list of "things left
to be done" is getting shorter and shorter!
Mar. 12th: I was introduced to concrete work today! Our dumpster
slab needed to be made larger than we had Johnny Wells make it a
few weeks ago, and it was such a small job that I didn't want to
bother Johnny with it. I mean, he would have done it, because that's
the kind of guy he is, but it wouldn't be right, you know? So I formed
it up, even laid reinforcing wire in place and had the good folks at
Wayne Davis Concrete come out with about a bucket full of concrete.
Nah, it was more than that, but not so much they could shut the plant
down and go on vacation for a week. As the boys from Smith
fencing were busy working on our fencing, the Wayne Davis truck
pulls up the big hill. Now, these guys were great, and they realized
that there are entire libraries of books on what all I don't know about
concrete pouring. Well, knowing that, they helped me pour it to
where it didn't look nearly as bad as it would have had I done it all on
my own. The first thing they asked me was if I had any concrete
tools. Tools? I had a rake and a shovel and that was it. After we
were through, they came inside the building for a tour. Great guys.
It's been a good day.
Mar. 13th: It's been a long day. Lots and lots of things going on. I
spent all day at the lodge, and Tina was mostly here at the house
spending all her time on the telephone. We both were so beat, we
completely forgot about an important Humane Society meeting this
evening. We are both moving, and thinking, in a dozen different
directions at once, and I've got to tell you, we can't wait until we're
open so we can rest. I know that sounds a little funny, but we're trying
so hard to be open for Spring Break, and it's sometimes like pushing
on a house, but we ARE going to make it! And by rest, I mean it will
be a relief - mental relief - to be able to finally do what we have
planned to do for a long, long time: share our lives with your pets.
The lodge will soon be complete, and then we can move on to the fun
part! Okay, here's my report on Dottie, our little abandoned puppy.
That is the happiest dog I've ever seen! I have fed her every meal
out of my hand since Thursday morning when I found her waiting for
me, and her tail is going ninety or nothing the entire time. The pants I
wear each day end up with dozens of muddy paw prints by evening. I
know, I know, letting her do that probably wouldn't please the Dog
Whisperer, but I've got to tell you, I'd feel like a perfect heel not letting
her do it. Sometimes you've just got to let them be happy.
Mar. 15th: It was a quiet day today. We had hoped the electrician
would have shown up to finish a few things he's going to do for us,
but we didn't hear from him. I hate to stick my neck out like this, but
feeling confident that we will be open in the next couple of weeks, we
are waiting on a semi delivering some supplies we ordered. He
called a few minutes ago from I-75 below Morrrow, heading in this
direction. He'll be here between 8:00 and 8:30 this evening....if he
doesn't get lost! I gave him directions by way of the South Fulton
Parkway, but he's from Spartanburg, SC, and I'd say the chances of
him not getting lost are slim. The place is looking good, and work on
the building is just about complete. Smith Fencing has another day
or two to finish, the parking will be paved next week, we have a lot of
landscaping to do, then one major cleanup, along with some
paperwork at the courthouse, and we'll be near wrapping things up.
Mar. 16th: We met the fellow from the credit card processing
company we have chosen this morning at the lodge. We signed
some papers, discussed some details, and have them set up to
come in next week once we have our phone jacks installed at the
reception desk. Only a few minutes later we were happily surprised
when our builder called to find out if we were ready for Dave (job
supervisor) to return and get this thing knocked out. While up there
this morning, we noticed a few drips in the floor from the rain we had
overnight, so Dave will have to get on the roof with a water hose,
locate those few leaks and get them fixed. The builder said he'd
contact our electrician and the heating and air folks and get them to
get everything wrapped up. It seems to us everything is working
out...finally, and we'll be mopping up the last of those things that have
to be done over this next week. We've had a good bit of interest for
boarding over the first week of April (Spring Break), as well as a few
times during the spring and early summer! It seems all our efforts to
get the word out about our place has indeed raised interest. And if
any of you have told friends and family, and, well, those who fit in
categories other than friends and family (you know who I'm talking
about), about us, we appreciate it so much! Please remember, word
of mouth is probably our best means of advertising, so talk a
LOT!
Mar. 18th: Okay, the next two weeks should be extremely busy
around here. The electrician, who was supposed to have contacted
us on Friday but didn't, called this evening, apologized and said he'd
be here tomorrow to do what we need him to do so we can open.
Fantastic! Once he mounts telephone outlet boxes for us, we can
have Greystone/EMC finish our security system, our credit card
processing company, Heartland Payment Systems, can install their
equipment and we can hook up and network our computers. We are
expecting our Dave (job supervisor) to return after being gone for
about a month, to finish up the few things they have left to do. I hope
our paver will call tomorrow and schedule paving our parking lot.
That doesn't have to be done until early next week, but it'd be nice to
have it done later this week. Dottie, our little stray, and I had a ball
playing after she ate her supper this evening. After a good game of
chase, she laid on her back in my lap and I rubbed her stomach until
she went to sleep. She's the sweetest little dog! Being used to
greyhounds, and other prey driven dogs, Tina and I are so used to
never letting them be off leash when outside our fenced yard. Dottie,
however, shows no interest in leaving my side, and I am having a ball
being around a dog who can be trusted off leash. Number 15,
perhaps? I won't mention that to Tina...yet. Tell me, why is it ME who
always finds stray dogs? It's never Tina! And as soon as I see them
and they see me, I don't know, there's a sudden inseparable bond
created. It's been that way whole life. That's okay, if you've got to
have faults, that's not such a bad one to have. I've found some of my
best friends as abandoned puppies on dirt roads. We are still
confident we'll be open by the 30th!!! I know, I know, reading back
over the progress pages, there have been many times we felt we'd
be open by a certain date, but this time, like no other, sees very little
left to be done before we can open our doors!
Mar. 20th: Lots of things happened today, most notable was
receiving the final approval on our heating and air system, which, by
the way, is a doozy! Tina and I worked all day there, well, except for
the time I'd stop to play with Dottie. Tomorrow, as is planned, our
paver will pave our parking lot, the electrician should finish and call
for the final inspection for the electrical, we're getting a dumpster,
we're having our propane tank buried, and Tina and I will begin
cleaning the place up. The propane tank is only for our generator,
so, hopefully, one tankful will last forever. Oh, tomorrow will be the
day that Johnny On The Spot will come to remove the portable toilet!
Tina talked to the Douglas County Arborist today about what will be
expected of us as far as landscaping. Not too much is expected, in
fact, less than what we have planned. Perhaps all things planned
may have to wait for a little while, but we plan to have the place
looking very nice before long.
Mar. 21st: We have a super looking paved parking lot! Man, Harry
Pierce and team did an outstanding job! We'll have to be careful
and not let any heavy vehicles drive on it for a couple of days,
because they put the asphalt down so thick, it will hold the heat and
stay soft for a long time. Let me tell you, when Harry paves
something, it stays. I know, when you come to the lodge and see our
unpaved home driveway, you're going to ask why we didn't get Harry
to pave it while they were here. Well, we had the choice to do a thin
paving job for the lodge and have our home driveway paved, or we
could do an outstanding job for the lodge and drive on gravel at
home for awhile longer. That's okay, there's something old fashion
about a gravel driveway, and that's the kind of guy I am....never mind
what Tina thinks about it. Anyway, Blake and Justin, our super
electricians, worked today to get the electrical portion done, but they
have a little bit more to do first thing tomorrow, then have it inspected
tomorrow afternoon. Oh, James Brooks, our plumber, came early
this morning, before Harry Pierce arrived with the paving equipment,
and buried our LP tank....and we had a big dumpster brought by
West Georgia Waste Containers before Harry came. The mess that
we'll be cleaning up is the builder's responsibility, but they've
decided to bypass that, as well other responsibilities, like having us
open by last Labor Day. Yes, we were to be happily in business by
the end of last summer, but they didn't think that was important. My
mom and dad are coming tomorrow to help us begin the big clean
up. Typical of a construction job, especially one this size, there is
quite a mess.
Mar. 23rd: I didn't write yesterday? Hmm....I guess I've been
slacking. Yesterday my folks came over from Wedowee, AL and
helped Tina and I immensely. Dad and I have the reception desk
nearly finished and got it ready for our electricians to be able to
mount telephone jacks today. Mom and Dad were introduced to
Dottie yesterday, and were amazed how great a girl she is. Anyway,
today was a long, long day, but a good one! We had our electrical
inspection done and everything passed with flying colors! We said
good-bye to Blake and Justin (electricians), who had been on our
project for months, and it nearly brought tears to our eyes, as if they
were family leaving. They were some of the best subs to work on our
place, and were a big part of us keeping our sanity. We learned
from our builder today, after a long conversation Tina had with him,
that we are pretty much on our own now. Did we expect to be
treated like this? Nope. So, as our first act as kennel builders, we
called for the final inspection, which will be done Monday. The
inspector will be the same great guy who inspected our heating and
air system and our electrical system today, and, having already seen
everything, he said we're looking good to have our certificate of
occupancy issued Monday afternoon. This would mean we can,
hopefully, have our business license issued to us on Tuesday! The
past three days have seen many great things take place at the lodge,
and the place is really looking sharp now. The sound system Best
Buy installed a few weeks ago didn't sound just right, so I called
them, told them what I was hearing, and they rushed right out, found a
couple of wires out of place, and have it sounding great! Great
guys. This weekend we'll finish striping the parking lot, doing some
odds and ends painting inside, finishing the rest of the landscaping,
to have it all ready for the final on Monday. Things are really going
our way now, now that we've taken over the job of builder, which
we've actually been doing without knowing that's what we were
doing, for the past several weeks. We are so looking forward to
having our first guests check in around the middle of next week, to
mark the end of a long, distressing ordeal, and the beginning of what
promises to be the realization of our dream, and a fantastic place for
your pets. OH, since we now FINALLY have telephones, by
tomorrow around lunch we'll have a fax machine on the job. Our fax
number is (770) 577-5568, and don't forget our telepone number is
(770) 577-STAY (7829). Have you got it?!
Mar. 24th: We worked all day today at the lodge, and have another
long day tomorrow getting things ready for our final inspection
Monday, hoping to receive our certificate of occupancy. One slight
kink is, tomorrow is our day for our monthly Southeastern Greyhound
Adoption Meet & Greet at Petsmart on Chapel Hill from 1:00 to
3:00. I know Tina will be there, but I may have to stay here and work.
I have several things to finish tomorrow, but if I get an early enough
start, I may be able to make it. Please come join us, or Tina,
tomorrow at Petsmart! If you'd like, come close to 3:00 and follow
Tina back here and check out the lodge! Of course, please tell her
you're following her, or she may pull a Jim Rockford (Rockford Files),
jam it to the floor and try to lose you. Nah, just joking.
Mar. 25th: This is, uh, may be, a huge week, y'all! Believe it or not, I
even had to put up a stop sign beside our driveway at Capps Ferry
today. Yeah! Can you believe it? Oh well, got to do what we've got
to do. Hopefully, tomorrow will see the lodge pass its final
inspection, we receive our CO, then Tina and I head to the
courthouse and get our business license. As I said yesterday, our
fax machine is up and running, and we're ready to take reservations!
So plan your vacations now....nice long ones, and we will take
wonderful care of your kids, giving them the kind of attention they
deserve.
Mar. 27th: Okay, today was another good day. Even though not all
the inspectors had finished their, well, their inspecting, we applied for
our business license today, and heard nothing but positive,
supportive comments from the good folks at the courthouse. Now, it
just may be that all the inspectors did make it out by this afternoon,
and I truly believe they did. We do know of only one who hadn't
made it out as of this morning, but we talked to him at the
courthouse, and that's when he told us he'd get out here this
afternoon. Anyway, although we can't say that we have our CO yet,
there's an awfully good chance we do. We'll know first thing in the
morning when we call the folks at the courthouse to find out. I feel
sure that if we aren't "official" yet, we will be by tomorrow afternoon.
We're carrying on as though we are, and we spent a good while in
Sam's today buying office items, shelving and this and that. Man,
this and that sure adds up! This is the first day we've been able to
pry ourselves away from the lodge to do things we should have been
able to do weeks ago, but we've been having to wear the hat of the
builder....since he decided not to come back. Trust me, there will
come a time when I will spell out exactly what happened. The last
thing I would ever want to happen is for ANYBODY to make the same
mistake we did. I won't bore you with that at this time. I am VERY
happy to say that we were contacted several times today by folks
wanting to board their pet(s) with us! Three years of planning, land
buying and stuff, and one looong year under construction, to get to
the part that Tina and I have been craving for so long. We are
smiling.
Mar. 29th: We have our first boarders! Yep, things are working
smoothly and we're having a ball! I do have a lot of computer setting
up to do today, as well as getting our kennel music set up, simply
because we and the guests are tired of local FM stations. Heck, I
was tired of them 20 years ago!
Mar. 30th: Although we had boarders come in yesterday, today was
our absolute, sure enough, first day of business! And I guess you
noticed the change of our home page song. I swapped Spanky and
Our Gang's 1967 hit, "Lazy Day" (one of my all time favorite songs)
for Styx' 1978 hit (the year Tina and I met) "Sing For the Day", which
seems to me to be the most appropriate song I could think of. We
met some wonderful new friends today, that we hope we will have a
very pleasant, life long relationship with. I want to thank all of you
folks who have patiently waited for us to open, and who have made
all my ramblings a regular read. And I have to give a VERY special
thanks to my parents, who, without their help, we would have never
made it. I hope that Tina and I will fulfill the hopes of all the pet
owners who have supported us during this long, extremely
aggravating time.
April 4th: So far we've been dealing with some great dogs....and
owners, and have finally started seeing that all the trouble we went
through, although some of it inexcusable, will eventually fade away as
a bad dream. Now, some of it we won't forget, and will be trying to
straighten out with those responsible for some time to come. Some
of it is irresponsibility and some of it is considered downright dirty
dealings. In the days to come, I will, as they say, spill the beans as to
what we've been through. I feel that anyone even thinking of doing
business with one of two of these companies should be made aware
of who they're dealing with, and what trouble they may encounter.
Believe me, they will thank me for letting them know.
Greystone/EMC finished the installation and activation of our security
system yesterday, so we're totally secure and protected.