Kennel Thirteen

"A kennel with 1000 dogs?!" you simply can't believe what that woman told you, and those words repeat in your thoughts.

Your driver slows down as they take a right turn, and you see a large, black iron gate with purple lettering that reads: KENNEL THIRTEEN.

As you stare in awe of the massive gate, your driver punches in the gate code on the key pad. After a light "ding" the gate begins to swing open, inviting you inside.

The paved path is just big enough for your car, and is lined with thick trees. Pines, willows, oaks.. so many variations. Finally, a clearing approaches and you can see a vast valley, filled with training courses with people and dogs inside them, working diligently. In the distance, a large warehouse with a mural of various dog breeds on the side. You can just make out the signage on the front: Indoor Training Facilities.

After the valley, you travel through more trees as the car climbs uphill. Nearing the top of the hill, the trees start to part, making way for the beautiful Magnolia trees in full bloom, and a glossy black iron fence lining the road.

"Now," your driver draws your attention, "where would you like to start?"

Seeing your confused expression, they chuckle and explain, "There's a farm house, a lake house, a mansion, the training facilities, the working dog kennels, oh, and there's a cabin, but it's farther up the road by about 50 miles, and on a snow-covered mountain. There's also a separately-managed kennel 50 miles down the road, closer to the beach."

They smile at you as you stare at them in disbelief.

"We'll just start here," they say as you pull into the driveway of an older, ranch-style brick house. A woman opens the door to greet you as you step out of the car, and a red and white Staffy mix waddles up to you, her tail a blur as she sniffs all over your legs.

The woman walks up and shakes your hand. "Welcome! I'm Tza, and this is Kennel Thirteen. Oh, and that's Dori. She loves to greet people." The little red and white Staffy mix smiles up at you, her tail still a blur.

As she begins the tour, she explains the history of the kennel, and answers your questions.

"It all started on a dusty little plot of land, and well, in that brick house. Only had a few dogs, but quickly built up to hold more. Used to specialize in Siberian Huskies, German Shepherds and Chihuahuas actually. Now that house holds lots of smaller breeds, and I've expanded the Kennel quite a bit. I guess that began when I started to rescue unwanted dogs."

You look at her with a questioning glance.

"Yeah, sometimes people can't take care of all their dogs, sometimes they just don't want them, other times they are shutting down their kennels with nowhere for the dogs to go. So, I started taking some in. I would also check the Humane Society occasionally and take homeless dogs home with me. I didn't really do the whole 'adopting out' thing, I just held on to every dog I took in, trained them, took great care of them, and showed them until retirement."

You can see the pride in Tza's eyes as she continues her story.

"And then one day, I took in a little orange and white Pitbull. Her name was Takk."

Tza glances over at Dori.

"Takk opened up the idea of owning Pitbulls to me. I know they have a bad reputation, and a lot of people think they're bad dogs, but Takk showed me how great of a breed they actually are. She was actually spayed by the time I got her, but after her retirement, I got a couple of Pitbull puppies and thus began my line of Takk Pitbull Terriers in both her memory and honor."

Tza stops and you realize where you've walked to. In front of you is a large play-yard with several Pitties running around.

"This is only our first stop," Tza smiles at you. "There are several play-yards here, to keep the dogs happy and active. It may be called Kennel Thirteen, but the dogs don't actually stay in kennels very much."

She takes you to a small garage and opens it to reveal a glittery purple golf cart. "Hop on!" she motions for you to join her and scoops up Dori to sit her in the back. As the tour continues, Tza tells you all about the lines on the main property.

"Of course the Pitbulls are the main, but there are beautiful American Indian Dogs, German Shepherds, Boykin Spaniels, Catahoulas, Australian Shepherds, and Siberian Huskies in this part of the kennel too."

Eventually, you reach a large lake, and can see a beautiful white, two-story house sitting right behind it, surrounded by a white picket fence, and followed by rolling hills.

"That's the Lake House. The "outdoorsy" dogs live there. Retrievers, Spaniels, Carolina Dogs... breeds like that."

You continue on and see where the rolling hills turn to flat farm land. There are several barns and pastures, as well as some crops.

"This is the Farm. Mostly herding dogs here, and actual farmers using the land!"

Further down the road, a ginormous gray mansion sits in a very well-landscaped yard, fenced with a well-trimmed hedge.

"That's where many of the larger breeds stay. The ones who aren't really a good fit for a farm, or a cabin, or a lake environment. There is of course, several doggie doors for them to enjoy the outdoors at their leisure."

Tza turns off the main road and starts down a dirt path. Eventually, you arrive at a large, yellow colored Craftsman style house and can hear the welcoming sound of hound dog bays.

"This is what I call "the Woods," where the hunting dogs live, play, and work."

The golf cart continues on, as the dirty path loops back around to the main road, and directly in front of the intersection sits a large race track, with a Contemporary-style home on the side.

"That's the Track! For dogs who love to race. Don't worry, several of the most comfortable couches are in that house for their off days."

Continuing on, a brick building lined with kennels sits to the right. You can hear the barks of various working dogs.

"That's the working dog center. They are trained in Schutzhund and Tracking. Sometimes local police departments borrow them for their newer handlers so they can get experience. The trackers are loaned for Search and Rescue missions as they arise."

Tza takes a left and you see a cul-de-sac creeping into view. Five houses sit on at least an acre each in the large half-circle.

"This is a fairly new addition. Well, other than that one house in the middle. That house was built for rescued Bully breeds. It's called Dori's Sanctuary. The rest were added on simply because I needed more space for more dogs." Tza chuckles and keeps explaining, "That house there is for Mini Bull Terriers, that one is for Border Collies, this one is Korean Jindos, and that one is for Lagotto Romagnolos."

Tza looks over to you.

"We'll head back to where we began, and your driver can take you to the Cabin. That's where the sled teams stay. Don't forget to head down to see the Riptide Pitbull Kennel as well!"

As you leave the massive Kennel in the rearview mirror, you notice a quick shadow cast across the vehicle. You glance up to the sky to see, and... "Was that a dragon???"

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