Located just a few miles from The Mountain Headquarters in southern New Hampshire is a place where four-legged friends outnumber humans and there is no shortage of puppy love. Sound like the happiest place on Earth? It just might be, according to the owners of Mukota Kennel, a dog boarding and daycare kennel facility celebrating its 15th year in business this October.

Above: Daycare dogs enjoying a romp in 1 of 3 play yards

For the Love of Dogs

This summer has been the busiest on the books for the small, family-owned kennel. The steady flow of new customers isn’t something owners Jess Hendelman and Deb Harmon could count on in years past. "The most recent recession hit us pretty hard," said Hendelman. "That event, along with the fact that a brand new boarding and daycare facility was built less than a mile away from us around the same time, presented some difficult times."

But in 2010, when the kennel was struggling to attract new business, the opportunity to partner with the New Hampshire-based dog rescue For the Love of Dog (a Rottweiler and pitbull rescue organization) presented itself. "We were asked to serve as the rescue’s official quarantine facility and state approved shelter," said Harmon. “It really was a turning point for our business."

Since then, the kennel thrived and even received enough votes from the community to win the Bronze award in the "Best of Monadnock" Readers Poll for both the dog boarding and dog training categories.

"This was truly an honor for us,” said Hendelman, who also provides private training lessons for people whose dogs have serious behavioral problems like aggression. “The fact that so many members of our own community value what we do and the service we provide is extremely special."

Local Matters

For the owners of Mukota Kennel, maintaining a small hometown feel is an essential part of their business. When customers walk in, they are greeted with the same smiling faces who have been there since the beginning.

"By knowing all of our customers’ names and all of their pets’ quirks, likes and dislikes without hesitation, we really establish a lot of trust," explained Harmon. "When we say we strive to treat their pet as if it were one of our own, that isn’t just a line - we truly mean it."

Never has the team at Mukota felt so grateful to be part of a small community than on October 17, 2014. That’s when a late-night fire destroyed the barn used as the rescue quarantine facility.

Above: Damage from the barn fire

Ordinarily, there would be anywhere from 10-20 dogs staying in that building for their quarantine period that night, but for various reasons only three dogs were scheduled to be in the barn. By pure luck, Mukota staff were able to make room in the main building for those three dogs as they were walking all the dogs for a final time about 9 p.m. that same evening.

"I don’t know what made us rearrange the dogs in the main kennel building to make room for these dogs," Hendelman said. "I have to believe someone was looking out for us and the animals that night."

In the end, thanks to the response of local fire departments, only the barn was lost in the fire.

Looking Ahead

As the 2017 summer comes to an end, the team at Mukota is going to spend the slower fall and winter seasons making plans to expand the kennel by potentially adding another building in the spring. “We are exploring our options and thinking about the value that adding another building would bring to our customers,” Harmon said.

Currently, Mukota does not have an indoor daycare and training space for the harsh New England winters. "We have really great customers who still bring their dogs out during the winter months," said Harmon, "but an indoor space would really allow us to deliver the best service possible, and that is what we are always trying to do."

Everyone on the Mukota team are big fans of The Mountain and our graphic tees. "I wear a Mountain T-shirt to work every day," said Crystal Dodge, an employee of Mukota. The sole cat lover of the group, she added that her current favorites are the new collection of Pounce T-shirts by Seth Casteel.

Above: Pounce Peeps T-Shirt

As for the rest of the team's favorite Mountain T-Shirt? Dog Is Love by Dean Russo, of course.

Above: Dog Is Love T-Shirt