Heather Latter
Shane and Leanne Mose love dogs.
So after hearing from many that there is a need in the district for another kennel, they decided to turn their love of the four-legged animal into a business venture.
They opened the doors to “Signature Kennels”—located in Devlin—this spring.
“It’s something we thought about for quite a while,” said Shane Mose.
They got started on constructing the building to house their canine guests last fall, he noted, but did plenty of research prior to that.
“We wanted to do it right,” he stressed, saying they visited a number of kennels in nearby cities to get an idea of their facilities and how they operated.
“Everywhere has a different way of doing thing,” Mose explained. “So we just took what we thought were the best parts of each of them and incorporated it into our own.”
“The last thing we wanted was to build it and it not be efficient,” said Leanne Mose.
One of the ideas they opted for was including a doggy door leading to the outdoor runs that can be opened without entering the pen.
“Sometimes dogs are not friendly with anyone except their owner, or it just takes them a while to adjust,” noted Mose.
“Sometimes they are scared—there are a million reasons—so we wanted to set it up so no one gets hurt,” he explained, adding he simply can use the pulley mechanism to raise the door while staying outside the pen.
Leanne Mose said they also chose sliding doors for the pens as another safety measure.
“If a large dog jumped up on a swinging door that wasn’t latched properly or while you were entering, it would open right up and someone could get hurt,” she noted.
“Signature Kennels” has a total of 12 pens—each with its own individual outdoor runs.
It also includes an office area, with a large bin assigned to each dog for food or other items it brings along, as well as a wash area to clean the dogs.
Mose said the facility also includes easy-to-clean walls to keep each pen clean, as well as in-floor heating and air conditioning so it will be climate-controlled year-round.
He also plans to spend the next few weeks installing fencing around two large areas on either side of the building for a play area for the dogs.
“It’s very important because dogs need exercise,” Mose stressed, saying presently any dogs they have had stay have been walked every two hours for exercise.
“But we’re really looking forward to having the play areas and the dogs will have schedule exercise time each day,” he noted.
The couple also has trails where they will take dogs for nature walks—for an added fee.
“They really like the trails,” Mose remarked.
The Moses also have four children who will be helping out with the new business venture—Walker, 10, Garret, nine, Nelson, eight, and Jenica, six.
“They all love dogs and are very eager to help out,” Leanne Mose enthused.
“It is a real family business.”
They already have had a few reservations, and have enjoyed getting to know the few dogs that have stayed there to date.
Even ones the owners claimed might be difficult to care for.
“We just spent some time with him and he warmed up to us,” Shane Mose said.
But they really are hoping the pens will start to fill up.
“We hadn’t been really promoting it too much yet because we wanted to make sure everything was ready before we had too many reservations,” Leanne Mose reasoned.
Once the fencing is up for the doggy play areas, the couple plans to hold an open house so people can check out the facility for themselves.
They also indicated fees for the kennel will be very comparable to others in the area.
“We’re just very excited for this new venture,” Shane Mose said.
“Signature Kennels” is located at 1052 Pyne Rd. in Devlin.
Head to the end of Cemetery Road, then turn left onto Pyne Road.
The Mose property is located at the end.
For more information, call 486-1495 or e-mail signaturekennels@bellnet.ca
