Hi all - I’ve been a bit overwhelmed with travel and family outings so I apologize for not doing much on my blog lately….I’ll get back in the swing of things within the next few weeks - look for a new blog around the first of August.  Thanks for your patience and have a dog gone great summer!

So I have been completely overwhelmed lately…doing what I can to handle franchisee demands, my tapped out team, my 12 year old daughter’s crazy social schedule and the pressures of a tightening economy on our business.

I’ve been doing what I can to keep my head above water…and today I literally had to do just that.

Jason and I decided at the last minute to enjoy a day free of work by heading up to the mountains and rafting for an afternoon. I had been several times before - Jason had never been as he recently moved to Colorado after growing up in St Louis.  We confidently jumped into the 40 degree water to wade to the raft after a 30 minute lecture on safety (why do they keep talking about “out of boat experiences”?? geez - how bad can it be?)  About 30 minutes into a 2 hour raft trip we headed into the beginning of the Class 3-4 rapids.  The river was high and pretty crazy.  We were just starting to have some fun when our very experienced guide led us right into a big old rock in some crazy rapids that ejected two of us on impact. 

It was surreal and rather violent - I found myself pushed under the turbulent water and unable to get above to the mountain air…I was swiftly dragged down stream and farther away from the boat - there was yelling and panic in the background that I was vaguely aware of. For the first time in my life I was afraid - I had always been a risk taker - I have done stunts in a bi plane 3,000 feet in the air, driven 130mph in a stock car and risked everything to start my business.  I was eerily calm but panicked at the same time.  Time after time I tried to get my head above water and find some refuge - the rope thrown to me was let go of by the rescuer after he almost fell in and I couldn’t get my momentum moving toward the shore.  I finally spotted a raft ahead and with lightheaded optimism I pushed their way.  They pulled me in - I was exhausted and scared. I barely had a moment to catch my breath before the boat headed into another set of Class 4 rapids. 

I made it through the rest of the ride - cold, scared and wanting to just feel the ground under my feet. I came out of with a suprising clarity about things.  All the stress and negativity of the last few weeks was suddenly in the past.  Mother nature had knocked me around and reminded me that I could live above all of that - I could keep my head above water every day by living a life of gratitude and excitement that I have a wonderful family, great friends and the opportunity to live out the dream I’ve fought so hard for recently and make it better than ever!

Sorry to be a bit sappy but I’m here to remind you - don’t sweat the small stuff….and everything but family, friends and our own health and happiness is indeed small stuff. Have a dog gone great week - and good luck keeping your head above water!

A friend of mine forwarded this to me.  The more I contemplated what it says the more I think this truly hits the nail on the head about why some people are hugely successful and others like deers in headlights. I think being decisive can be learned….and I think it’s do or die for an entrepreneur to be able to make quick, sometimes very difficult, decisions.

Accurate analysis of over 25,000 men and women who had experienced failure, disclosed the fact that lack of decision was near the head of the list of the 30 major causes of failure. This is no mere statement of a theory - it is a fact.

Procrastination, the opposite of decision, is a common enemy which practically every man must conquer.

Analysis of several hundred people who had accumulated fortunes well beyond the million dollar mark, disclosed the fact that every one of them had the habit of reaching decisions promptly, and of changing these decisions slowly, if, and when they were changed. People who fail to accumulate money, without exception, have the habit of reaching decisions, if at all, very slowly, and of changing these decisions quickly and often.

Napoleon Hill
From Think and Grow Rich

May 30, 2008

That - if you didn’t know - is the subtitle for the new Alvin and the Chipmunks movie….it’s also the sound my 3 lb Maltese makes throughout the night ferociously guarding the house! Actually, it’s more like a chicken squawk - but don’t tell Scout I said that - he’ll get a complex!

Anyway, two other guys got their squeak on last night - David and David! I haven’t been a big American Idol fan until this season.  It’s been so interesting watching the dynamics of the press, my friends, my daughters friends, my employees….I think people are more passionate about their opinions on Idol than they are the election!!  My big take away from last night was a reminder that things in life can change on a dime.  You’ve got to be open to whereever life takes you - whether you are launched from being a bartender to an American Idol or a business owner who is suddenly facing a challenging economy and a different set of rules about how to do business….

Charles Darwin said “It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change. “  From my experiences, change is what it’s all about.  Life was not meant to be stagnant or easy - it was meant to be challenging and full of experiences to learn from.  The paths you choose make you the person you are - so grab change with a feeling of zest and excitement! Fear of change will paralyze you while welcoming change will allow you to evolve and keep life interesting!

Carpe Diem! : ) 

So it’s been a long hard two years as a cheer mom…cheerleading that is. Tori proclaimed to me at the beginning of the two years that this was her dream - her ambition - to be a competitive cheerleader!

I remember thinking…huh? Since when is cheerleading a sport? I now know the answer - obviously since I was one! It’s tumbling, stunting, conditioning, hip hop dance….it’s quite an ordeal. My friends and I were all cheerleaders and dang, it wasn’t much more than putting on a skirt, showing up looking cute and cheering with some pom poms! Boy have things changed.

So since that first conversation it’s been…driving the 20 miles back and forth 2-3 times a week - right in the heart of traffic, giving up most weekends during the 9 month competition season to last minute practices, getting up at 6am on Saturdays before a competition to do hair and makeup for my daughter and my friend’s daughter (it takes TWO hours!!!) and giving up two vacations to Mexico to accommodate rule changes that the girls can’t miss a practice two weeks before a competition. Ok, so I’m venting….I would do just about anything to support my daughter’s dreams and ambition to be what she wants to be.

What was terribly painful was to support my daughter’s involvement in a club that seemed to care more about winning than about the fragile preteen egos placed in their care for many hours a week. In some cases I’m sure the cheerleaders spent more time with their coaches at the club than with their own families.  They had to show up if they were sick, they were not allowed to miss practice for any school events that were not absolutely mandatory, they had to be completely totally devoted to the place.  I started to think, how odd, I’m so all about girl’s self esteem and making them believe they can do anything - and yet my own daughter was being drawn into the opposite thought patterns.

After venting to my mom and dad, my boyfriend, fellow moms…I realized I needed to let it play out and let Tori do her thing. I also acknowledged that the club made it clear if we didn’t like the rules we could leave.

A few weeks after I did that, on mother’s day to be exact, my daughter shocked all of us at the dinner table by announcing she was taking a break from cheerleading.  I beamed with pride - Tori had figured it out all on her own.  The self esteem and pride I had worked so hard to instill in her came shining thru as she took a huge step by walking away from an unhealthy situation.  What a great gift for me!

I have been struggling since Saturday about what to write about this…but I knew I wanted to say so much. I was at a huge Derby Party in Denver watching the race with millions of others around the country when I was horrified to see the beautiful filly go down.   I love horses as much as I love dogs, but had never put much thought into the horse racing issue.  As a newbie to this animal rights stuff, I am taking one step at a time…after my trip to Greece last year I’ve been transforming one step at a time.  I recently became a vegetarian after reading the best seller “Skinny B” about the meat industry.  I have become much more vocal about my thoughts on animals where before I would sit silently not wanting to “upset” anyone by calling them out on the issues.

So rather than formulate my own words, I found someone who framed my thoughts perfectly….check it out and post your comments.

http://msn.foxsports.com/horseracing/story/8105724?MSNHPHCP>1=39002

My days start with a lick and a nudge from a big black wet nose…Ray Ray my lab has an internal alarm clock like the official international time clock! Soon afterwards,  my iPhone chirps away with the sounds of iPhone’s crickett noises - much to the delight of Scout, my lil 3 lb maltese rescue that wakes to that sound each morning and truly believes the lil critters are hopping around evading him and looking to play!

As my boyfriend kids, from the moment I wake my brain starts with “dogs, dogs, dogs, dogs, breakfast, dogs, dogs, dogs, Tori school, dogs, dogs, dogs, dogs, drive to work, dogs, dogs, dogs, dogs, franchising…

I arrive at the office to find about 40 emails and 10 voice mails - even though I left the office at 6pm the night before! I try not to work in the early evenings but spend time with Jason, Tori, Raider and Scout - hiking, making dinner, watching our goofy favorite shows (should I admit we love American Idol? We flip between that, the basketball playoffs and CNBC in any given hour…) or playing games on the Wii…after the rest of the house is fast asleep I get some time to catch up on emails from the day and work on various projects or programs.

The days fly by with meetings and short sessions of return phone calls and emails - today my meetings ranged from a quick muffin for breakfast with my in house counsel to quickly review documents, a meeting of our franchise relations and real estate teams to discuss some new programs to speed the openings of our Camps and lower budgets, a quick session to discuss a potential partnership on a new dog movie, a phone call about speakers for our coming annual meeting, a photo shoot for some upcoming press and finally to wrap the afternoon up a meeting with our CFO to discuss April Camp data.  Another 100 or so emails flood in throughout the day and my voice mail fills with calls from various vendors, franchisees, team members…

and even with all of these distractions, my thoughts remain….”dogs, dogs, dogs, eat lunch, dogs, dogs, dogs, pick up dry cleaning, dogs, dogs, dogs, create auction package for Tori’s school, dogs, dogs, dogs, walk Rotti our Greekie at Camp, dogs, dogs, dogs, stop and pick up stuff for dinner…

It’s an absolute joy to wake up every day and love what I do.  I love that I have a wonderful family based business that is focused on something I’m so passionate about and allows other to fulfill their dreams of owning a business and caring for our furry friends….it ends with my mind trailing into dream land back to “dogs, dogs, dogs, snooooooooooooze………………..zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz….”

At church this morning with my grandmother, age 84, and my daughter, age 12,  I sat between the two of them and listened to a sermon on hope.  Hope that each one of us could work as individuals, or as a group, to make the world a better place one problem at a time.  I thought about the difference in how each of us interpreted that message – my grandmother focused on hope for the happiness of her family and close friends, my daughter focused on hope of a fun adventurous life ahead, and me – focused on….about 456 things.

 I find myself overwhelmed at times with a responsibility to achieve an incredible amount in my life.  I’m not sure where it came from although my family is definitely filled with dreamers and high achievers.  I worry about the dogs that roam the streets or are abused.  I worry about my daughter and her friends and how they will deal with the overwhelming issues that face them as young people in this crazy world.  I worry about my family, my boyfriend, my good friends – wanting them all to be happy and fulfilled.  I worry about my franchisees doing well and thriving in this time of economic uncertainty.   As my good friend Molly told me once, “worry is a debt you may never have to pay”.  So why worry?

The problem isn’t necessarily that I worry per say, it’s that my entrepreneurial get it done personality feeds a drive to DO something about it.  I can’t just let sleeping dogs lie…I need to find them homes darnit! J All kidding aside, I decided last year to focus on a problem that I have the resources to help solve.  I have 160 franchisees and over 80,000 Camp clients nationwide that can help me make sure that our furry canine friends are taken care of.  Gandhi once said something to the effect that  “a culture is judged by how it treats it’s animals”.  So with all the overwhelming responsibilities us Americans face each day in trying to save the world, or at least the dog world that many of you reading this are a part of,  I believe we can do it one dog at a time.  It’s simple.  It’s not expensive and it’s not time consuming.  By taking the following 5 steps you can change the way our furry friends live. 

1.       Don’t buy a dog – EVER.  From a pet store, from a breeder, from a newspaper ad.  I’ve done it before admittedly, but I won’t ever do it again.  There are thousands upon thousands of puppies and dogs that need homes – purebreds even.  Go on www.petfinder.com and search any kind or size of dog you can imagine that needs a home!  Or just visit your local shelter or rescue.  With the internet there is no excuse.

2.       Spread the word about overpopulation.  Encourage your neighbors, friends, co-workers, team mates, to spay or neuter their animal. 

3.       Support legislation for mandatory spay/neuter of pets.  Many states are considering these laws – just google the info on your local situation and help however you can!

4.       Teach kids how to treat animals/dogs humanely.  There are wonderful coloring books and resources on the internet – the Humane Society and ASPCA has plenty of options.

5.       Don’t travel to countries that treat dogs or other animals without respect.  Greece and China are two to avoid, but there are many.  Send the government an email explaining why you aren’t coming to visit – and spend your valuable tourism dollars in places that do value animal and human life.  All it takes is a simple search on the internet to find out if your destination is one of hell for animals.

My hope….after reflecting on it this morning…is that we at Camp Bow Wow can continue to make a difference one dog at a time.  It’s one of many horrible problems we face in this world – but when you look at your best furry friend curled up on the couch next to you tonight,  I hope you’ll agree it’s a great one to take on!

Our office at Camp Bow Wow corporate is “dog friendly”. That means that at on any given day there are 10-20 dogs milling around the office! Who knew that dogs would create their own office politics and antics just like us human folk? Fancy wood baby gates are set up at each office entrance to keep our “kids” inside their own space. There are treat jars dispersed throughout the office and lots of dog toys to trip over during a tour of our facilities. Water bowls are placed strategically - and the mailman and fed ex guy ALWAYS have treats in their pockets as they make their way to the front desk! Beau and Jackson have some serious puppy resentment towards each other as they try to get the office dog alpha ranking, Scout - our vicious 3 lb furball - barks to alert the rest of the pack of any human entrants into the space. Buddy has his set up under Greg’s desk and ventures out only to alert Greg to get the heck back to work at his desk when he leaves to attend a meeting! Kaya has her own cube - and Sophie prefers to trail her gal Miranda as she travels from meeting to meeting throughout the office. Jason is our Top Dog of the office and resides at the front desk with his human Connie - we know if vendors are a good addition right away by watching Jason’s reaction! Emmitt and Scarlett - our Training Mgr and VP Ops pups - are always on the lookout for new folks on the second floor to give some serious sniffs to - and Lola is definitely our office athlete jumping the gates like hurdles on an Olympic circuit! She also has an affinity for detecting any “trash treasures” in our office! : ) Quigley, Priscilla and Elvis are our resident furry Guide Dogs helping our franchisees and always have lots of wags for visitors to the second floor!

Some visitors may think we have “gone to the dogs” but we feel like having our furry friends around during the week days alleviates stress, forces us to stop and “sniff the roses” a few times a day and always brings a smile to the visitors to our office. We’ve found that typically a vendor that comes in that does not feel comfortable in this atmosphere is probably not someone we would doo doo business with!

I wish everyone could bring their furry friend to work with them like us- what a better place corporate America would be!