by Randi Bildner

It's quite befitting that Honey, a yellow lab mix, now calls Pampered Paws Doggie Daycare and Kindergarten home. Dubbed the "daycare diva" by her Training Partner, Cathy Jacobs, Honey is very much in her element.

Jacobs laughs, as she describes Honey, prancing with her front feet as she heads up the daycare’s "welcome center." "She loves to show the new dogs around." Jacobs imagines that Honey is telling them, "Hey, let me show you where the toys are."

Dr. Karen Dashfield who runs the facility, (K-9 Care Center in Newton, NJ) that Honey came from, agrees, “She is really a party hostess at heart, so we knew she would be thrilled to be the meeter and greeter at the daycare.”

Life has not always been a "party" for Honey and her pal Harley, a German Shepherd mix, also from the K-9 Care Center. Both dogs are part of Best Friends Training Partners Program and are Hurricane Katrina rescues.

Dr. Dashfield was happy to provide some background information on the two dogs.

"Honey is a wonderful female lab mix who came to us in January with 9 puppies in tow. Honey along with her pups was adopted, but sadly she was returned. Honey, who was picked up pregnant in December, loves other dogs. Due to her prolonged period of abandonment in New Orleans after the Hurricane, she has become quite adept at escaping from yards and crates in search of food, even if she doesn't need to eat. She is quite overweight these days and further suffers from separation anxiety. You can’t blame these dogs; their owners really did walk out the door and NEVER came back. Cathy Jacobs' doggy daycare seemed like the ideal situation for Honey to get over her abandonment issues.”

“Harley is a great little shepherd mix who also came to us in January. He was picked up in New Orleans early in October. Harley is a super sweet dog in public. He loves hugs and kisses and gets along well with most other dogs. He was adopted by an older couple and was very gentle, but displayed aggressive behavior when anyone came near their house or car, this included their children and grandchildren. Out in public he would be a perfect angel. He was most likely a yard dog in New Orleans, kept out in the back yard purely to protect his home and yard, and hence has been taught that it was his job to guard his home and his people. The doggy day care set up at Cathy Jacobs' seemed ideal for Harley to learn that lots of people and animals come and go, and that this is okay.”


Jacobs, a talented trainer who recently became part of Best Friends Animal Society’s Training Partners Program is the owner of Pampered Paws Doggie Daycare and Kindergarten, located in Farmington NM, just south of Durango Colorado.

Her facility has full-time day care and training programs. Jacobs, who is the sole trainer, is a very special and dedicated individual. The daycare dogs are separated into three “free run” groups according to size and temperament. Obedience classes are divided into two groups according to age; six months and under and those who are over six months.

Jacobs traveled to New Jersey to accompany her “partners” back to her facility. She noticed that initially Honey was shy while it was immediately apparent that Harley loved people and dogs.

Jacobs, whose husband and daughter picked them up at the airport, was amazed that neither dog urinated in their crates. On the drive home they stopped at Wendy's, where Cathy’s husband Jake, (now sitting in the middle of the two dogs) shared his extra large vanilla frosty with them.

Jacobs noticed the dog’s personalities start to emerge almost immediately. She has also started to notice some progress, “Harley has not growled and he quit peeing on the walls.” She is continuing to work on his protection issues.

Honey can probably go into a home but Jacobs wants to make sure she has additional obedience training and does not want to uproot her. “She has been to obedience classes, and people just love her! It would be beneficial for both dogs to be adopted into homes where they would have other dogs to play with."

She reported that Harley also attended obedience class, stating, “Harley is just Harley wagging his tail and giving big kisses.”

Jacobs feels that part of the dog’s progress can be attributed to not being in a kennel anymore. “Here they have room to run, meet new friends, and watch supervised television shows such as Animal Planet and Doggie Sitter videos from Petco.”

Jacobs, a former high school biology teacher, sees great things in store for both Honey and Harley. She believes that Honey is the perfect candidate for one of her favorite hobbies: freestyle dance. Her current dance partner Barlo, one of her four Japanese Chins is also a certified Delta Society Agility dog. Jacobs feels that Harley would really excel in this area. She also believes that Honey has the potential to become a therapy dog just like one of her other Chins, who is known as the “hairy therapist.”

Jacobs jokingly tells us that she sleeps on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 2 and 4 am, adding she does not have time to go the hospital with her therapy dogs, but makes the time.

She is happy to be working with Best Friends and thinks that the Training Partners Program is great. She is currently thinking about the possibility of applying for an additional “partner.”

Jacobs work has been extremely diverse. For fifteen years she has been involved with the 4H Pooch Patrol. Her responsibilities include overseeing 103 kids in this program. "The kids learn dog obedience, showmanship, and training." Jacobs was recently inducted into the 4H New Mexico Hall of Fame.

Cathy Jacobs is a wonderful addition to the Training Partners Program. She wanted to mention that she learned quite a bit from the time she spent with Dr. Dashfield and was impressed with both the Doctor and her facility.

Dr. Dashfield would like people to know, "We still have Katrina dogs in need of homes, the majority of whom really need training partner placements."

For more about these dogs please visit www.k9carecenter.org

Stay tuned for future updates from Cathy Jacobs about Honey's and Harley's progress.

Story by Randi Bildner

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