A Pawsitive Profession – Woodcrest in the News!

Woodcrest is in the news yet again, this time in an all around article about our business as an all breed dog boarding and grooming facility as well as breeders of Airedales. The article is published in the August 20th edition of The Bridge.

For those of you outside our region who do not receive The Bridge Weekly newspaper, you can read the full article below:

A Pawsitive Profession

By R. Atwood

20 August 2009

I remember sitting at the dining room table many years ago drawing what would become the logo for Woodcrest Kennel.  We were about to turn what had been just a family hobby into an actual business.

When my Mom was a kid she had an Airedale Terrier named Mandy and my parent’s first dog together was an Airedale from the Humane Society named John Sebastian Buckwheat, or Buck for short.  As any owner of Airedales knows there is just something about the breed and it was that ‘something’ that created a lifelong love affair that lasts to this day.

We had other breeds and mixed breeds of dogs when I was growing up, but my parents always came back to the Airedale.  We got our first show dog, Zeke, in 1994 and soon we were discussing what our kennel name should be.

Wood- came from part of our last name, Atwood, and the –crest was derived from the breed’s origins in the UK.  Woodcrest seemed like a proper kennel name for the breed.  I started handling in Juniors and my father showed our first Airedale to a top ten ranking.

We groomed our own dogs then and continue to do so now.  Grooming an Airedale for show is no small task as the show coat on the breed is never touched by a scissor or clipper blade and is all worked by hand, I have the calluses as proof.

At the time both Jay and Colleen worked at Dartmouth-Hitchcock.  We had modest success with our first dogs in the show ring and news got around at work that we were dog people.  It was not long before the requests started coming in for us to groom other people’s dogs.

Our small space which had been for just our own use to groom and prepare our dogs for the show ring turned into a place for customer’s dogs as well.  Word of mouth continued and before long we were getting requests to take care of grooming client’s dogs while they were away.  With hard work and an excellent reputation it did not take long for us to outgrow the original seven runs that was our first kennel and in 2001 we expended into what is our current facility in Orford, NH.

We now board dogs of all breeds year round in a thirty run state of the art kennel that was designed by Jay.  The kennel is complete with indoor/outdoor runs, radiant heated floors, air conditioning, full sanitizing wash down system, and industrial grade air exchanger.  We groom all breeds of dog and specialize in breed styled trims and even groom other people’s show dogs of various breeds.

Today our accomplishments in the show ring include Best in Show and Specialty wins with many of our Airedales.  We average about two new conformation champions per year and have campaigned several dogs to top ten rankings.

Our most accomplished dog is Striker, a Best in Show and Specialty winner with both American and Canadian Championship titles.  His full name is BIS AM CAN CH Penaire Star Struck at Woodcrest.  Striker exhibited at Westminster and the AKC/Eukanuba National Championships, two of the most famous shows in the US.  Through his own merits Striker also obtained two consecutive and coveted invitations to Crufts, the world’s most prestigious dog show.

Many puppies bred at Woodcrest are actively involved in various working and sporting activities.  We have litters about once a year which are whelped and raised in our home.  Our top priority is the health and temperament of every Woodcrest Airedale.

We are very lucky to have a business that we love which involves working with animals.  After a long day, coming home to puppy breath and play bows makes ours the best work in the world.