Rover Oaks Katy Opens Soon!

In just a few weeks, pet owners of Houston, Katy and the surrounding areas will have another Rover Oaks Pet Resort to take care of all their boarding, training, grooming and doggie daycare needs. If you've been reading our email newsletters, you already know that the Rover Oaks Katy project was launched in April 2005 when 17 individuals (including 14 Rover Oaks clients) decided that this area needed another premier pet resort…. and that group has privately funded the entire project (a huge "thank you!" to those clients/partners).

The thought of expanding to a second location was initiated back in 2004 when Rover Oaks distributed a client satisfaction survey and was overwhelmed by the number of clients asking us to consider developing a Rover Oaks on the west side of town. If there are no unexpected delays due to extreme weather conditions or any county restrictions, ROK is expected to open in late August. Except for a few minor improvements, Rover Oaks Katy is an exact duplicate of the Rover Oaks Pet Resort on West Bellfort that our clients and their pets have grown to love. The Katy location will offer the same luxury and standard boarding; high quality grooming and pet styling; expert behavior counseling and obedience training; and, of course, the fun and excitement of Doggie Daycare. And clients who patronize our Katy facility can also expect the same high quality customer service, caring and friendly staff; and 24-hour on-site supervision 365 days each year.

Joy Lee, Co-owner and General Manger, and Shannon Smith, Director of Pet Services, are the principals responsible for managing Rover Oaks Katy. You can learn more about Joy and Shannon in a follow-up article in this newsletter. To make reservations, or for more information about Rover Oaks Katy, call (281) 693-7687 or send an email to joy@roveroaks.com.

Grand Opening Celebration!

Don’t forget to put September 9 on your calendar!   The new Rover Oaks Pet Resort that is opening in Katy is inviting all clients, prospective clients, friends, and family members to attend our Open House on Saturday, September 9 from 9:30 - 4:30 p.m.  This will be a fun event for the entire family, and the theme is “Come adopt your new best friend at our Grand Opening Celebration.”  The entire day is being planned as a charitable event to benefit both the Houston Humane Society and the Citizens for Animal Protection (CAP), so there will be lots of pets available for adoption.

In addition, we’ll have pet demonstrations, activities for the kids, door prizes, and food. Plus...we'll have a very special guest attend our big event: Radar, the Channel 2 weather mascot!  So drop by our Grand Opening Celebration for a tour of Rover Oaks Katy on September 9 ….and think about bringing a wonderful new pet companion into your family!
 
Rover Oaks Katy is located at 1011 South Katy Fort Bend Road only 2 blocks east of Katy Mills Mall.  Click here for a map.

Boarding Your Pet During Hurricane Season

Hurricane season is beginning to heat up, but are you really prepared to board your pet during the next few months? Rover Oaks always urges each customer to provide us with a reliable and informed “emergency contact” who is authorized to make decisions regarding their pet(s) when the owner is away or unreachable by phone. However, during hurricane season, each emergency contact has an equally vital role to play in the health and safety of your pet. It is imperative during this time of year that each emergency contact is available to pick up the pet from Rover Oaks and care for the pet in the event of a near-by hurricane strike.

Last year, our staff was shocked at the number of “emergency contacts” who were called before the expected arrival of Hurricane Rita and who did not know that they were designated as emergency contacts. Of greatest concern was the fact that several of these individuals were not available to pick up the designated pets because they had already evacuated themselves….or were on vacation. As a result, the management staff of Rover Oaks strongly urges each boarding customer to confirm the availability of your emergency contacts today! Since pet resorts like Rover Oaks are not constructed to be a safe haven in case of a near-by hurricane strike, all pets must be evacuated for their own safety; and last year offered insight that mass transportation of our boarding guests would be impossible or impractical at best. Thank you for your cooperation, and for thinking about the safety of your pet!

Meet Joy Lee and Shannon Smith

Joy Lee and Shannon Smith are the principals who will be managing Rover Oaks Katy. Joy (pictured on the left) joined Rover Oaks Pet Resort near Reliant Stadium in April 2005. In addition to 20+ years of business experience, she brought her passion for pets to Rover Oaks along with several years of experience as a full-time volunteer working for the Humane Society of Missouri. Shortly after joining the team, Joy was promoted to Director of Operations and was responsible for the boarding, daycare, grooming, and customer service departments….as a prelude to her accepting a new and exciting position as part-owner and General Manager of Rover Oaks Katy.

Shannon Smith (pictured on the right) came to Rover Oaks with an extensive background in animal care including training, kennel operations, grooming and veterinary technician experience. We are extremely fortunate to have found Shannon, who joined the team earlier this year and did an excellent job in training, kennel management and doggie daycare for our location on West Bellfort. In her new role with Rover Oaks Katy, she will manage all pet-related services. Prior to joining Rover Oaks, Shannon and her husband owned and operated Sharock Kennels and K-9 Academy in Tyler, Texas, with programs such as obedience training, AKC Good Citizenship and therapy dog certification and training of police K-9s and search and rescue dogs. She has done extensive volunteer work with rescued dogs, and has received numerous awards for her work.

Congratulations, Joy and Shannon!