An Amazing Experience

The lobby has a Pottery Barn feel as the furnature has that black matte and chrome look. The fireplace gives of a bit of heat and its only when you get close that you realize it is fake! The overstuffed chair is comfy and there are magazines on the table. The staff is friendly and when asking "who is checking in today" they beam as they look down at the guest: your dog or cat!

Welcome to the PetSmart PetsHotel! A daily or long term boarding facility, the hotel is a welcome spot for pet parents to drop off their loved ones for a play date or sleepovers when they go out of town for the weekend or in some cases, weeks at a time! Staffed by pet lovers and owners, dogs and cats are taken care of and loved on as only pet lovers can do!

It was a year and 8 months ago when I was looking for a part-time job to pay off my credit cards. I fortuitously looked in the Times classifieds and there it was: an add to work with pets at the new PetSmart not far from my house! I thought "how perfect". As an occasional dog sitter, I knew I loved being around dogs! But that gig wasn't steady and I was really looking for a way to make extra money. I called and got an interview. I knew from the minute I walked in the job was heaven sent! Wonderful atmosphere, working with and for others who spoiled and loved their pets as much as I do! How perfect!

The staff that was hired back in 07 with me helped open the hotel as we were brand new store with the only Hotel for miles! Summer, Andrea, Monica, Mark, Michael...anyone that has been with the hotel since the beginning will tell you stories of the "growing pains" that got the hotel to the success it is today! They will also be the first to say that job isn't all fun and games! There are baths to give, feedings to do, floors to mop, poop to scoop! Sure, supervising dogs in day camp, watching them play...sounds ike fun...and it is. Yet it is also breaking up heated discussions between dogs or solving the issue of which dog gets the big Kong toy (none of them if it's causing a problem). Doggie Day Camp is much like playtime at a preschool! It is hard work! I will be the first to admit that sometimes I had it easier as I mostly manned the front desk instead of working in the back of the facility. However, there were days that I would have rather scooped poop than deal with the agitated pet parent who is running late and will miss their flight if I don't hurry up and check in their beloved and "perfect" pet into the hotel! Like any job there were good days and bad ones, ups and downs. There are also rewards! At the PetsHotel, those rewards come with seeing a puppy grow into a loving dog or getting your morning hello lick from a pet eager to go play with their friends! All is done for the love and care of the animals and the staff in Canoga Park truly loves animals and does what it takes to make sure the guests are taken care of!

As much as I knew the job was made for me, I had no idea what an impression the dogs would leave on my heart! Each one of them has a personality and a spirit that only the loving nature of a dog could have! Unique in many ways but also united in the simular characteristics of their breeds! There are the sweet Poms: Cinnamon and Gara, the fun loving puggles: Jaxson, Sammie, Jakey and Maui, the crazy Labs: Bonnie and Missy, the energetic Beagles: Sox, Cosmo, and Biscuit and the mellow bulldogs Bowie and Katie (who is so sweet with her "brother" Benji). Then there is the princess of the hotel, the oh so adorable Chloe, the Bichon Frise and crazy, loving Stanley (its hard to tell who is more excited when Stanley does tricks, Stanley or his pet parent Kim...LOL)! In fact, two of the sweetest dogs frequenting the hotel are of a breed most people wouldn't expect! Kudos to Judy and her very sweet Jemma and JB for bucking the stereotype and misconceptions people have of Pit Bulls!

The "regulars" become like family! We morn with Beagle Bubba Joe when he lost his human brother to a brain condition. We rejoice at the news that Missy the Lab will be getting a new human sibling soon. We cheer when Sox the beagle got a brother of his own species and breed when Cosmo joined his family! We are filled with joy when Rex, a pit bull puppy abandoned at the hotel is finally adopted and placed in his forever home! We laugh at the crazy things that happen in day camp like crazy Noodles getting ahold of the elastic in my pants and trying to pull them down or little chihuahua Joey acting like the playground cop, policing the yard over dogs twice his size! These aren't the only dogs that have made an impression (shout out to Cassidy, Mariah, Audi, Pizmo, Max and Molly). Every dog that has come in for a day, a week, a month is special!

It has taken me hours to write this as I can't stop tearing up! Why? I am writing this at the beginning of my first weekend free of the part-time job I didnt know I loved so much! I achieved my goal of paying off the cards and then some so it is time to leave PetSmart! After a year and 8 months, I need a break from the two job grind. It wasn't until now that I realized just how much I will miss the comradere among pets and those that love them! To quit was a hard decision to come by as I will miss the licks, the wags, the joy and smiles on the dogs faces when they go home! I will miss the humor and unconditional love of the animals as well as working with the dedicated, hard-working and pet loving staff at the Canoga Park PetsHotel! But it's time to move on! I believe that when you make a right decision, you know its right but that doesn't mean it will be easy!

I will absolutely never forget my experience at the PetsHotel as the job was more than just a paycheck. Being around animals and those that love them truly lifted my spirits. My full-time job is for the paycheck, my job at PetSmart was for my heart! Each animal I came in contact with left pawprints on my heart that will never go away! I am grateful to have had a job that validated my belief that people that love animals are the best people of all!