Murphy’s New Year’s Adventures at Bark!

Canine Club & Resort

by Elisa Eames

My name is Murphy, and I’m a five-month-old sheepadoodle! My mom and my friends call me Murph. I’m so excited because Mom and I are going on a trip! It is New Year’s Eve, and Mom says that I get to go to a doggie resort while she goes to the Rose Bowl. I don’t know what a resort is, but it sounds like fun. (I also wonder if there will be any food for Mom in this bowl that she’s going to or if there will only be roses.)

We arrive at a place called BARK! Canine Club and Resort in Mesquite. This is my first time being away from my mom, but I’m not scared as we walk out of the cold into the bright, warm building. Suddenly, I can smell so many new and amazing things! I can’t wait to investigate. A nice lady named Susan stoops down to say hello and welcome me. She smells wonderful! Smiling, she scratches behind my ears. (Getting my ears scratched is my favorite.) Susan’s friends come to say hello. They smell great, too! I lick everyone’s hands as they pet me. I love new friends. Everyone makes me feel right at home, and I know I’ll love it here at BARK!.

Here comes another friend! I run up and sniff her. She smells fantastic! Her name is Lucy, and Susan says that she is a Portuguese water dog and that she is one year old. That’s only a little older than I am! Lucy is my new best friend (except for Mom, of course). We get to run and run and play together. I haven’t had this much fun since Mom played with me this morning!

(Gasp!) More friends come! Here are some other dogs near my age. They both smell incredible! Susan says that Daisy is a goldendoodle and that Bella is a black lab. I show off a little for all the ladies and hop forward on my back legs. Mom calls this my “bunny hop,” and everyone loves it, including Susan and her friends. I am so proud of myself! My dog friends and I run and play and chase each other. I haven’t had this much fun since I played with Lucy!

Soon, it’s time for bed, and guess what? Susan and her friends are all so good at cuddling that I don’t even miss Mom or worry about how she might have to eat roses from the bowl. Susan’s friends give me so many pets and cuddles that my tail almost wags right off. I haven’t had this much fun since I played with my new dog friends right before bedtime!

The next few days are filled with lots of playtime with all my new human and dog friends. The outdoor park is the biggest space I’ve ever seen! We can all play safely there, chasing balls and running as much as we want. Lucy is my special friend, so we always sniff each other out and play together. I’m having so much fun here that I become positively chatty, vocalizing often for any human or dog friends within earshot. I tell everyone that this doggie resort is the best!

But I only get to stay a few short days at BARK!, and soon, it’s time for me to go. Susan’s friends give me a bath before Mom comes. The water is so warm and feels so nice, and the soap in the bath smells amazing. They give me lots of pets as they wash me and say that I’m such a good dog (I don’t tell them, but I already know.) Then they blow-dry and brush my fur until it’s as soft as Mom’s cheek. I am so handsome!

Smelling so nice with my soft, clean fur, I wait proudly until Mom arrives. She is so happy to see me, and I tell her that I haven’t been this excited since I got my bath! I am so glad to be with my Mom, but I can’t wait to come back to BARK!. I hope Mom had fun at the Rose Bowl, but I think I had a much better time because I heard her say that the Utes lost. On the way home, I nuzzle Mom to comfort her. I don’t know how Mom lost her Utes in the bowl, but I’m sure I can help her find them.V

With 24-hour staff, BARK! Canine Club and Resort offers grooming, daycare, boarding, training, and so much more! They are temporarily located at 770 Cimarron Court in Mesquite, Nevada, while their new facility is being built on a 14-acre parcel on Isaac Newton Drive.