K9 Center offers ‘everything dog’
K9 Center of East Tennessee Inc. has brought together daycare, training, grooming and dog washing services under one roof at 11225 Threadstone Lane near Farragut.
Its owners — Trish Isbell, Susie Stout, Ace Russell and George Beck — will hold an open house from 1 to 5 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 21.
The center, which opened Nov. 13 with more than 18,000 square-feet, also has a dog-friendly coffee shop for the owners — and it is still growing.
“We say [the facility] is ‘everything dog under one big roof,’” Stout said.
While the facility still is a work in progress, Isbell said it does have the self-serve dog wash, training services and the daycare and coffee shop up and running.
“Daycare is our big business right now,” Isbell said. It is open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday. Dog wash is open from noon to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday.
A groomer comes in from 3 to 7 p.m. each Thursday. A chiropractor and canine massage therapist will be future additions.
The coffee shop also is open from noon to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, and from 1 to 5 p.m., Sunday.
“We have a variety of dogs, small and large, shy, crazy, boisterous and exuberant. A very fun group,” Stout said.
The center also has an outside area, covered with easy-to-clean turf, where dogs can run and play.
“It is great because it drains really well and it’s never muddy,” Stout said. “So, your dog comes home clean.”
“And then, we have the training part of daycare,” Isbell said.
“That’s great socialization for the dogs,” Stout said. “They get trained every day. They get obedience skills plus some manners and good leash walking benefits.”
The center’s daycare, which has about 30 dogs on the books, can accommodate about 40.
“Some dogs come in one day a week, some two days a week, some every day,” Isbell said. “We normally have about 12 to 15 [come in] regularly.”
“We have four different areas,” Stout said. “We have two indoor areas, and we have two outdoor areas, so we can split them up. We have a 9,000-square-foot arena that we do training in.
“We have trainers who come here and train for just about everything that you can imagine.”
Isbell continues to operate Hush Puppies, which provides pet sitting in the Farragut and Knox County areas, while Russell stills runs Meadowbrooke Kennel in East Knoxville, which provides boarding, training and grooming.
More information is available at k9centertn.com or by calling 865-310-2800.
“We’ve got a lot of classes starting up in January that [the public] can go online to see.”
Isbell said there are plans to eventually add a pool to the facility so dogs can train for competitions, such as the Dock Dogs event held last summer in Farragut.
“We’ve still got some growth,” Stout said. “2018 will be the year for us to grow.”
“This is a good start,” Isbell said about the center’s current services. “But, we’ve got a lot of work to do still.”
The owners also are trying to work with dog rescue organizations.
The center, which opened its doors Nov. 13 at the site, located near Gilbert Drive off Lovell Road, was the culmination of two award-winning businesses merging — Hush Puppies and Meadowbrooke Kennel, said Trish Isbell, who also owns Hush Puppies Pet Services, a dog-sitting business that has been in operation for eight years.
Hush Puppies Pet Services, voted Knoxville’s Top Pet Services in 2015, and Meadowbrooke Kennel, voted Knoxville’s Top Pet Services in 2016 and has been in operation for 20-plus years, “joined together to create a brand new corporation called K9 Center of East Tennessee,” Isbell said.
The idea for the K9 Center of East Tennessee came about after Isbell and Ace Russell with Meadowbrooke Kennel and who trained at Hush Puppies for several years, talked about “doing something bigger,” Isbell said, adding, “[Russell], Susie and George are all part of Meadowbrooke Kennel.
“Both [Isbell and Russell] wanted to have this large facility, which would provide everything to dog owners,” Stout said. “It’s kind of a long-term dream for both of them.”
“We invited Susie and George and we are now business partners,” Isbell said.
Even though the two businesses opened K9 Center, Isbell continues to operate Hush Puppies, which provides pet sitting services in the Farragut and Knoxville area, and Russell still has Meadowbrooke Kennel, which provides boarding, training and grooming on the east side of Knoxville, Isbell said.
“It’s been wonderful,” she said about opening K9 Center of East Tennessee Inc.
