Newspaper Page Text
Trainer Angus Garay has been training
dogs since he was 18 years old.
The Champion, Thursday, June 11 - 17, 2015 BUSINESS
Page 21A
Kennel Manager Ashley Wells, left, and front desk employee Lona
White say playing with the dogs is a favorite part of their jobs.
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According to officials at The Ark, its kennels are state-of-the-art. Photos
by Kathy Mitchell
The Ark brings flood of animal care services
by Kathy Mitchell
After 10 successful years
in Chattanooga, Tenn., the
most recent two marked by
recognition in The Chat
tanooga Free Press's “Best
of the Best” competition,
The Ark Pet Spa & Hotel
has opened its first Georgia
location.
The pet facility opened
April 25 in Doraville, offer
ing boarding, daycare, train
ing and grooming for dogs,
cats and other small pets at
its first facility outside Chat
tanooga.
“What makes us stand
out from other businesses
of our type is our free-play
philosophy. Dogs that are
left with us won’t be cooped
up in a kennel all day. We
let them run and play with
staff and with other dogs of
similar size and tempera
ment. We believe this makes
them better dogs. They are
healthier, happier and more
social with humans and with
other dogs,” said Adam
Harbin, marketing director
for The Ark.
Dogs initially go through
an assessment period, Har
bin explained, to establish
that they are friendly with
people and other pets. They
then are allowed to join
free play, running, jumping
and romping under watch
ful eyes of professionally
trained staff members.
Trainer Angus Garay
works with dogs that need
help before living comfort
ably with humans or other
animals. “I’ve been training
dogs since I was 18,” said
Garay, who recently moved
to Georgia from Los Ange
les. “When I saw this place
I was struck by what a nice
facility it is. It’s clean and
well designed. There’s an
air of permanence. I felt like
it’s here to stay.”
“All of us love animals,”
said employee Lona White.
“Everybody on staff really
enjoys playing with the
dogs and the other animals.”
Most of the staff do volun
teer work with rescue dogs
in addition to their jobs, she
said.
Kennel Manager Ashley
Wells, who was assistant
manager at one of the Ten
nessee locations, said she is
impressed with The Ark’s
business model. “Every
thing we do is geared to
ward making the animals
happy and making the cus
tomers happy.”
The entire facility can
be viewed on pet cams that
allow customers who are
given a user identification
number and a password to
see what their pets are doing
at any time—24 hours a day.
“Even if the customer is on
vacation in England he can
log on and watch his pet,”
White said.
While dogs are a spe
cialty, a wide range of pets
are welcome, Harbin said.
“We’ve had chickens, pot
belly pigs and, of course,
cats. The cats have a room
with cat trees for climbing.
We have an African grey
parrot that’s been [at one of
the Chattanooga locations]
for six months,” he contin
ued. The facility is equipped
to accept reptiles, monkeys
and a variety of other ani
mals.
“If we don’t know how
to care for a particular
animal, we’ll learn,” Har
bin said. “We are, after all,
The Ark.” Animals can be
boarded for a day, a week or
months, he said.
White said the Peachtree
Industrial Boulevard loca
tion was chosen because
there were few pet care fa
cilities in the area. “We’re
near the Doraville/Dun-
woody line and there are
lots of people with pets in
the area. Also, we’re near
1-285 and 1-85 so we’re
easy to get to. People tell
us they’re glad we’re here
because before they were
taking their dogs a long way
to board them or have them
groomed.”
The Doraville facility
has a 6,000-square-foot
building with what it calls
“state-of-the-art” kennels
for dogs of all sizes as well
as housing for cats and
other animals. “The dog
area opens into the outdoor
play area, which features
pet turf—not grass,” Harbin
said. “The advantage of pet
turf is it’s cleaner and safer
than a natural surface. It’s
antimicrobial and it’s easier
to keep germs to a mini
mum. Also, if there’s been
a hard rain, the area doesn’t
get muddy so the dogs stay
cleaner. Their owners appre
ciate that.”
There is a small retail
area that offers pet-related
items from odor-removing
candles to pet food. “All of
our food is high-end and
grain-free,” White noted.
A second building on the
property is approximately
4,000 square feet and is be
ing built out to allow The
Ark to expand.
NOTICE OF PROPERTY TAX INCREASE
The DeKalb County Board of Commissioners has tentatively adopted a millage rate which
will require an increase in property taxes by 40.00 percent.
All concerned citizens are invited to the public hearings on this tax increase to be held at the
Manuel Maloof Auditorium, 1300 Commerce Drive, Decatur, GA 30030 on June 23, 2015 at
10:00 am and 6:00 pm.
Times and places of additional public hearings on this tax increase are at the DeKalb County
Manuel J. Maloof Center Auditorium, 1300 Commerce Drive, Decatur, GA 30030 on July 14,
2015 at 10:00 am.
This tentative increase will result in a millage rate of 11.683 mills, an increase of 3.338 mills.
Without this tentative tax increase, the millage rate will be no more than 8.345 mills. The
proposed tax increase for a home with a fair market value of $175,000 is approximately
$111.36 and the proposed tax increase for non-homestead property with a fair market value
of $250,000 is approximately $273.72.
This increase is due to a temporary shift in millages done in FY 2014 to keep the total tax rate
constant or smaller. DeKalb County has seven basic tax levies. Only two are used in this
required calculation. In 2014, these two rates combined went down from 11.51 to 9.02 while
other rates were increased temporarily. In 2015, the two rates combined went back up to
11.28 which still are below the 2014 rate. This upward shift requires an advertisement of an
increase. When all seven levies are added together the typical resident will see a decrease
from 21.21 to 20.81 mills in 2015.
INCLUSIVENESS
DeKalb Chamber of Commerce • Two Decatur Town Center, 125 Clairemont Ave., Suite, Decatur, GA 30030 • 404.378.8000 • www.dekalbchamber.org
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