K-9 Resorts Featured in Pet Boarding and Daycare Magazine

K-9 Resorts has been featured in Pet Boarding and Daycare Magazine online! To read the full article click on this link!

National Adopt a Shelter Dog Month Tips!

Freehold Patch featured an article about National Adopt a Shelter Dog Month! The article gives great tips on how to educate yourself about making a good decision when adopting your new pet! Click here to read the full article or see below.

October Is National Adopt a Shelter Dog Month
By: Karyn Collier

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) has designated October as National Adopt a Shelter Dog Month. More than three million dogs are currently in shelters across the United States and are in need of a good home.

The month-long observance encourages animal lovers across the nation to raise awareness about the positive aspects of adopting a pet from a local shelter.

It is important to educate yourself before making the commitment to love and care for a pet. Here are some tips to guide you through the process:

• Make sure you are ready for the commitment: A dog is an extension of your family, so it’s important to make sure that you are ready to add more responsibility to your daily life. With good care, most dogs can live 12 to 15 years, so it is critical that you consider what is likely to be happening in your life over the next few years before you adopt a pet. Be sure to discuss the decision with your family and research what breed would work best for you and your loved ones. You can read up on the ASPCA's tips on adopting the perfect family pet, and the American Humane Association's tips on recognizing whether getting a dog is the right choice for you.

• Know the facts: Many shelter dogs are pure breeds, and most will offer additional vetting, with basic vaccinations and microchipping options. Most shelters will also provide assistance and referrals for affordable spaying and neutering. Shelters and rescue groups offer a wide variety of purebreds, mixed breeds and big and little dogs, making it easy to find the perfect dog for you.

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Owners of K-9 Resorts Honored as Fanwood Volunteers of the Month

K-9 Resorts has an article featured in the Scotch Plains - Fanwood Patch titled, Owners of K-9 Resorts Honored as Fanwood Volunteers of the Month. The article discusses how Mayor Mahr called upon K-9's Steven and Jason Parker at a Fanwood Council Meeting to give the two men the title of Fanwood's Volunteer of the Month. To read the full article click here or see below.

Owners of K-9 Resorts Honored as Fanwood Volunteers of the Month
By: Nicole Bitette

At the Oct. 16 Fanwood Council Meeting, Mayor Mahr called upon two business owners as Fanwood's Volunteers of the Month. The brothers, Steven and Jason Parker own K-9 Resorts and co-chaired Fanny Wood Day.

Mahr noted that over 200 residents volunteer in some way for Fanwood and for the first time the council wanted to focus on a local business, following the success of Fanny Wood Day.

"We wanted to acknoweldge those who go beyond just having a business address in Fanwood," Mahr said.

Steven Parker thanked the Mayor for honoring himself and his brother Jason.

"We really appreaciate all the residents and all of our customers."

Steven added that although residents of Scotch Plains, (the council jokingly gasped), they are still proud Fanwoodians.

Councilman Parenti also noted in his reports that he thanks the work the brothers did on Fanny Wood Day and are looking forward to the great ideas they have for upcoming projects.

The Parker brothers business, K-9 Resorts, is a daycare and luxury boarding facility for dogs. It is located on 43 South Avenue, Fanwood.

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Onset of Flu Season Raises Concerns About Human-To-Pet Transmission

ScienceDaily.com has an article featuring flu season and how people who get sick may not realize they can pass the flu not only to other humans, but possibly to their animals, including their pets such as cats, dogs and ferrets, etc. For the full article, see below.

Onset of Flu Season Raises Concerns About Human-To-Pet Transmission

By: ScienceDaily

This concept, called "reverse zoonosis," is still poorly understood but has raised concern among some scientists and veterinarians, who want to raise awareness and prevent further flu transmission to pets. About 80-100 million households in the United States have a cat or dog.

It's well known that new strains of influenza can evolve from animal populations such as pigs and birds and ultimately move into human populations, including the most recent influenza pandemic strain, H1N1. It's less appreciated, experts say, that humans appear to have passed the H1N1 flu to cats and other animals, some of which have died of respiratory illness.

There are only a handful of known cases of this phenomenon and the public health implications of reverse zoonosis of flu remain to be determined. But as a concern for veterinarians, it has raised troubling questions and so far, few answers.

Veterinary researchers at Oregon State University and Iowa State University are working to find more cases of this type of disease transmission and better understand any risks they pose to people and pets.

"We worry a lot about zoonoses, the transmission of diseases from animals to people," said Christiane Loehr, an associate professor in the OSU College of Veterinary Medicine. "But most people don't realize that humans can also pass diseases to animals, and this raises questions and concerns about mutations, new viral forms and evolving diseases that may potentially be zoonotic. And, of course, there is concern about the health of the animals."

The researchers are surveying flu transmission to household cat and dog populations, and suggest that people with influenza-like illness distance themselves from their pets. If a pet experiences respiratory disease or other illness following household exposure to someone with the influenza-like illness, the scientists encourage them to take the pet to a veterinarian for testing and treatment.

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Steven and Jason Parker Featured on MO.com

The founders of K9, Steven and Jason Parker, have been featured in an online article on MO.com. See the full article and interview below. 

K-9 Resorts Daycare & Luxury Hotel Founders

By: MO.com

K-9 Resorts Daycare & Luxury Hotel was founded in 2005 by brothers Steven and Jason Parker in Fanwood, N.J. When in their early teens, their parents denied them a dog of their own, so the entrepreneurial pair opened a professional pet-sitting business to prove they were not only willing, but ready to care for a dog. That business not only became a highly profitable enterprise that they sold for a six-figure sum in 2006, that revenue became the expansion fuel for their burgeoning K-9 Resorts business.

K-9 Resorts Daycare & Luxury Hotel, which is rated #1 in NJ, offers both doggie daycare & luxury cage-free boarding services. K-9 Resorts has cage-free accommodations which are spacious and well appointed. K-9 Resorts is the only facility in New Jersey to have been rated Number 1 by multiple major publications. K-9 Resorts started franchising in 2011, and has been offering franchises throughout the Northeast U.S.

MO: Where does your strong entrepreneurial spirit come from?

Steven & Jason: That’s a good question! We don’t know exactly where it comes from, but we can tell you we’ve both had a very strong entrepreneurial spirit from a very young age. We had lemonade stands, leaf blowing business, snow removal business and a dog walking business all before I was 14 and Jason was 12.

MO: Did anyone think you were crazy when you first started to pitch your idea of a luxury dog hotel?

Steven & Jason: Absolutely! Everyone thought we were crazy! Our parents, our friends, and most banks were not ready to listen. But, then we met a bank who believed in us and our idea and loaned us the money, which enabled us to grow our business and live our dream!

MO: Your facility is pretty impressive and had to be built to specification to accommodate your unique requirements. Can you talk about some of the challenges you encountered along the way and how you overcame them?

Steven & Jason: We had to overcome many challenges. The most difficult one was our age. We knew what we were doing, but convincing a bank to loan a half a million dollars to two teenagers was a different story. So, if I had to pick one obstacle, our initial financing would definitely be high on the list.

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