Kennels

Jackpot Kennels (Kingsbury East) is located between Atlanta and Athens in Dacula, Georgia.

Wilbur Sept 11 2010 001

Our kennel is our pride and joy. We didn’t intend it to be so big, or to have completed all the phases at once, or to have built it to commercial standards. But it is and we have the certificate of occupancy. Our ‘kids’ and boarding visitors love it!

Features

The kennel floors are a sanded epoxy that’s easy to clean and the rest of the floors are tiled. It’s heated and cooled (separate, 2 ton heat and A/C units for the front and back). Water is sourced from the same well that feeds our home. We play music 24 hours and discovered that the vaulted ceilings that make it airy and loft-like also make it a great echo-chamber – so the open-air we’d imagined for warm Southern nights was quickly closed in by windows. We found the most important thing was to have electricity and water (safely separated, of course) available almost everywhere; that’s been key.

Routine

This is “Baby”, one of our Harriers. You can see from the blurs, he has a hard time holding his tail or his tongue! We like keeping the water inside, and each run has indoor and outdoor rest benches. The indoor benches can easily flip-up for cleaning.

inside run1

Crates

Here you see some of our built-in, professional stainless-steel crates. Our beagles each have a crate where they eat and settle down to chew a bone for a couple of hours each day, while we clean indoors & out. Guests are never crated – they are fed in their runs.

feeding crates

Lighting and Security

The outdoor runs are well-lit and secure. Play yards are just past the kennels.

1a

 

Indoor-outdoor runs

This is the indoor view of the indoor-outdoor runs. We like the vaulted ceilings, and the fan both cools and helps keep it dry. We also like the pressure washer, handy to the runs so that every day they’re soaped and steam-cleaned.

1d    1b

The finer things

Pictures and big, bright windows make the kennel a pretty place to spend some time. We line up the food, treats, and paperwork for each boarder on the buffet.

1c

We use top-quality food (brands change as the formulations change) but we focus on  effective feed (our ‘kids’ all have terrific coats) with high-food value, so you don’t get a lot of waste, which is  important when you’re feeding so many.

Bath-time

This is the main area up front, useful for grooming, playing, laundry, and scheduling, all with a few pups comfortably underfoot.

1e

Whelping room

This is a top-view photo taken from the ceiling of the ‘whelping room’ where puppies are born & raised. Ceiling-mounted video cameras give us a constant view of babies so we can keep an eye before, during, and after birth without intruding. Like the whole kennel, the area is air conditioned and heated. The clean, concrete runs in this area are handy for older or more delicate visitors.

whelping box sam