Sausage Trip & Doggy Daycare

A few months ago we picked up a brochure about a place called Swiss Meat & Sausage Company in Swiss, Missouri, out near Hermann. Having just read about this place in the paper, their huge selection of sausages was too much to pass up. So today we drove out to Hermann with my dad, took the tour at Stone Hill, sampled wine (nothing like wine at 10 AM), ate a hearty German lunch, and then drove down to Swiss to buy sausages. If you live in Missouri and like meat, you have to check this place out. We now have a freezer filled with various types of sausages… bratwurst, bockwurst, andouille, and so on. Mmmm good. We even picked up a special treat for Collen:

While we were out in Hermann, Collen was at day care. We dropped him off for the day at a place called Happy Tails which opened recently, just a few minutes from our house. It is a cageless facility which offers boarding as well as day care, training, and grooming services, among others. Dogs are segregated by size, and each group has their own indoor and outdoor play area. We visited during their Open House when they first opened and were very impressed by the people and the facility. For example, staff members are there with the dogs 24 hours every day, and you can drop off/pick up your petwhenever you like. Getting home at 3 AM from a trip? No need to wait for the next day to pick up your buddy as you would at most kennels.

We dropped Collen off around 7 AM this morning, and as we left he was watching us go from the “meet and greet” area where he and the other dogs get to know each other before the new dog is allowed into the main area. We picked him up ~8 hours later, and found out that he had a great time, getting along great with the other dogs. Apparently he spent much of the day playing with one dog in particular. We plan on taking him for day care now and then to give him a break from the normal routine and provide regular opportunities to socialize with other dogs.