Each prospective canine guest and owner must visit the facility for an interview and onsite orientation: what Linda and Don call a “Sniff-Out-the-Resort” visit. Once the Lechers determine that the dog will be a good fit, they view the dog as well as its owner(s) as part of their family.

Don says that working with dogs is somewhat like working with young children, and he sees Linda’s experiences as a pre-kindergarten teacher as having been particularly helpful. Like children, the dogs spending time at the resort are given special attention. They are each given their own canvas tote bag—with their name on the side.

Owners dropping off their dogs are asked to use their cell phones to call the resort when they’re about 10 minutes away thus avoiding having to ring the doorbell which stirs up the guests. This paragraph from the 11-page information/instructions packet elaborates: “When on Nokesville Road VA-28; just before the electric light in the tiny town of Nokesville--as you pass the Green Barn on the left with a singing cow, dancing pig, and happy duck painted on the side--is the place to phone the resort. Calling after that area might prevent a cell phone contact.”

The Lechers think of everything, but the result is that while you’re off on a trip, you don’t have to think (and worry) about your dog.

But what if your dog weighs more than 25 pounds, or you don’t have time for a lengthy interview? Many dog owners swear by Country Club Kennels and Training. With two facilities, one also in Catlett and the other in Locust Grove in Orange County, Country Club offers considerably more than most traditional kennels, as the name “Country Club” suggests.

Carla Nammack-Wenger owns and operates the Catlett branch, while her brother Austin and his wife run the facility in Locust Grove. Both kennels offer what Carla describes as a “country” environment. Country it is. With 45 acres of welltended pasture, barn plus other outbuildings, pond, even grazing horses, the kennel complex looks like a 19th Century farm in a Currier and Ives print.

Country Club can accommodate 80 dogs at one time. Even when every kennel is occupied by at least one dog, there’s a sense of order and good management. The kennel employs a staff of eight young people to help take care of the large assortment of canines, and each member of the staff works from a detailed checklist to keep track of feedings, meds, exercise, cleanups, and other duties.

From her desk in the office, Carla is able to monitor every area of the operation with closed-circuit TV cameras. A computer helps her to track reservations, arrivals, departures, and other aspects of administration.

While the interiors of the buildings housing the kennels look a little like the prison mentioned earlier—lots of bars and cement floors--cleanliness prevails. Some smaller dogs are housed in more private rooms or suites, equipped with dog beds and sofas. Dogs judged to be friendly and sociable toward other dogs are housed together, two or three in one suite, oft en entertained with TV or classical music.

“We work hard to provide a loving, stress-free environment,” says Carla, who makes sure that dogs are exercised at least six times daily in eight different well-fenced paddocks. Outdoor play groups are wellsupervised and organized according to dog size and disposition.

On my visit, I was repeatedly nuzzled by Angel, a brown mongrel with a disfigured, broken jaw. Eager to make friends, Angel kept me busy stroking and scratching her head. In a crate in a corner was another dog, a poodle mix, also disfigured, a large tumor growing on the front of its head overshadowing both eyes. These dogs and others are the result of Carla’s passion—canine rescue. A member of the board of the Fauquier County SPCA, Carla also operates The Chance Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to finding adoptions for those dogs least likely to be chosen by visitors to the SPCA.

Carla’s interest in hard-to-adopt dogs began in 2000 with an encounter at the SPCA with an elderly dog that had spent many months waiting to be adopted but had had no real prospects. It was four days before Christmas and this dog, 14 years old, deaf, blind, and lying in its own urine, was literally minutes away from euthanasia. “All I could think of was that no dog deserved to die like that without knowing that it was loved,” remembers Carla, who took him home and named him “Chance.” Chance enjoyed over two good years before dying. While much of the funding for The Chance Foundation comes from profits from the kennel, donations play a major part and are welcomed.

Carla says that most of the kennel’s customers are regulars with a large percentage coming from the Northern Virginian suburbs. Some regular customers have been known to make reservations for Thanksgiving or Christmas a year in advance.

More Information

Top Dog Resort
Catlett
Boarding fee: $45 per night, all inclusive
Phone: 540-788-4837
Web: www.topdogresort.com

Country Club Kennels and Training
Catlett location:
Phone: 540-788-3559
Locust Grove location:
Phone: 540-854-6000
Boarding fee: $30 per night with discounts for two or more, all inclusive
Web: www.countryclubkennels.com