Club PetDogs, other animals lead life of Riley at 4-star lodge
By Encarnacion Pyle, Scripps Howard News service
Motel 6 it isn't.
Multistory condominiums. Luxurious lodges. Intimate bungalows. Sweeping pastoral vistas. Fountains. Lush, picturesque grounds. Pick up and delivery of guests. Beauty salon. And gourmet dining.
Not quite Club Med, but it's a place to be pampered -- that is, of course, if you're a pet. This vacation getaway nestled amongst the hills and orchards of Somis, west of Moorpark, Calif., is "not open to people" -- a fact owners Ed and Aleida Lukas publicize in their slick, glossy brochures and business cards.
A Somis landmark for well over 35 years, the Balcom Canyon Pet Lodge didn't become the resort it is today until the Lukases bought it eight years ago. He was an electrical contractor; she, a real estate agent looking for something to do to while away the seemingly endless hours of their newfound retirement.
At the time, the kennel was nothing more than a shabby paddock badly in need of a new coat of paint and much repair. A photograph of the rundown building still hangs in the kennel office, a constant reminder of the work and, consequently, sweat the Lukases have put into the four-acre property.
"Whenever the wind blew, the building shook," said Lukas, 65, who's better known to family, friends and clients as "Uncle Ed." "The place wasn't fit to live in."
A lifetime craftsman, it didn't take Lukas long to spruce up the place. He rebuilt the main kennel, or "care center," with 15 indoor-outdoor runs and added a pampered pets wing with lots of windows, skylights, individual runs, beds and a patio. Oil and watercolor paintings, charcoal portraits, plants and the soothing sound of classical concertos set a mellow atmosphere for the lodge's smallest guests.
Over the years, Lukas has added three other buildings: the Wings and Park buildings and the Parker House. The Wings Building shelters medium-sized dogs with indoor-outdoor runs that are heated and air conditioned. The Park Building and Parker House were built with large dogs in mind. Each sports spacious runs with roll-up exterior walls that are open during the day and closed at night, allowing fresh morning breezes in while keeping out nippy night air.
There are also 35 exercise yards and two catteries, which feature condo-type runs with a lower sleeping area and an upper window view of the kennel's many manicured lawns and vividly colored flower beds.
"This is like coming to never-never land," Lukas said.
He has further fostered that feeling by installing a real red fire hydrant, dog-crossing signs and two doggy fountains on the grounds. He also tells children he's run the kennel so long that he's buried a grandmother of his beneath a tombstone that is shaded by a large willow-like tree and watched over by a troll with a red-lighted lantern.
"It's all in good fun," he added.
While Lukas' hands have built the lodge from the ground up, it is his wife's soft spot for animals that lends a human touch to the surroundings.
Aleida Lukas, 65, has never met an animal she didn't instantly love, from macaws to pot-bellied pigs and chinchillas to wolves. In addition to caring for her own pets, which include a 9-year-old Pomeranian named Trixie, a cat, three kittens and two blue-and-gold macaws, she finds the time to affectionately caress most of the animal boarders each day. Of course, there's also always time for Ed's two miniature horses, Holly Hobby and Snap To.
On a recent morning, Aleida Lukas made the rounds of the pampered pets wing and stopped to talk to each of the dogs, many of whom talked back to her with their barks, whines and wails.
She threw a Sylvester the Cat chew toy for Tobie, a tannish-white Pomeranian. She scratched the head of Daisy, a light brown Chihuahua, and cooed at Popeye, a black miniature pinscher with a penchant for jumping.
The dogs showed their appreciation with a few gracious licks or sloppy kisses.
"I grew up on a farm and we had cows, sheep, pigs ... everything," she said. "So you see why I love animals."
Less than a minute later, she had scooped up two King Charles spaniels -- Giocoso and Misha -- in her arms. "You two look like toys -- the fluffy kind you'd put on the bed," she said.
The Lukases also operate their own kitchen and laundry facilities with a staff that includes an extended family of four brothers, a wife and a daughter: Arturo, Marciano, Ereberto, Manuel, Maria and Marisol Pompa.
The dogs are given lamb and rice kibble topped with a lamb and rice gravy. The meal is served on paper plates so as not to spread diseases or cause diarrhea. Veterinarian-prescribed foods are dished out to animals needing special care.
The Pompa family also helps exercise each of the dogs, who are taken out one at a time to romp in a fenced yard. Other dogs with grooming appointments are taken to the lodge's beauty salon, presided over by groomer Susan McCoy, where services range from pedicures and haircuts to baths and styling.
The Lukases will do just about anything to make sure a client is happy, including taking the phone out to the kennels whenever owners call from overseas wanting to speak to their pet. And whenever an animal receives mail, the couple reads it to the animal personally.
For their troubles, they're often rewarded with thank you cards.
One such card, featuring a golden retriever on the cover, reads like this:
"To My BC Friends: I was so excited to get home, but I wanted to say Thank You for taking such good care of me. Ten days was a long time! I've never been away from my mom and dad for so long. My mom said I looked like I was taken good care of and that my grooming was great. I'm beautiful! I know I'll be back to see you again. Keep my kennel warm! Katie Rasmusson."
Photo by Scripps Howards News Charcoal portraits and picture windows, as well as piped-in classical music, add to the ambiance of the kennels for Balcom Canyon Pet Lodge's guests. |  |
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