Hi!  My name is Becky, and I am the owner and operator of ABIGOLD’S BED & BREAKFAST FOR DOGS.  I have lived in Morgantown, West Virginia my entire life.   I have a degree in Psychology from West Virginia University, and I worked 19 years for the Federal Government until I left to pursue my dream job as the owner/operator of a dog boarding kennel.  I opened ABIGOLD, the dog training business, in 1994.  I expanded and opened ABIGOLD, LLC, the boarding kennel, in 1998.  I have over 30 years of dog training experience, and I sometimes teach basic obedience classes during the summer months.  Here is a little information about my life with dogs. 

I think I was born loving animals.  As a child, I had several dogs, cats, and chickens as pets.  Even then I was destined to have a career involving animals.  When I was a senior in high school, I got a collie named Shawn and trained him in obedience.  That was the beginning of my training career. 

In 1979, I purchased a cute little Golden Retriever named Abby who would change the course of my life.  She was a dream dog to train, so I began obedience showing, and she became Pennywate Lady Abigail, CD.  It was only fitting that I would someday name my dog business for her.  Well, I soon found out that no one can have just one Golden.  So, I got Sadie, then Lucie (my once-in-a-lifetime Golden), Megan, Jill, Emily, and Andy.  I am very grateful to Pennywate, Mallaglow, Darbey, and Brynmar Golden Retriever Kennels for these wonderful dogs who have greatly influenced my life. 

After owning Goldens for 20 years, I knew the breed extremely well.  I thought it would be very rewarding to rescue Goldens.  So, along came Katie and Maggie.  They were young Goldens who were no longer wanted by their owners.  I then purchased a gorgeous male Golden from Tammy Tomlinson, Hillock Goldens.  Of course, there were more Goldens to be rescued so Callie and Kevin came to live with us.  Just so everyone knows that I love all dogs, I adopted a very loving Beagle-Corgi mix named Libby.  The most recent Golden rescue to join the family was Cooper.  My family also includes two “golden” tabby cats named Toby Nathaniel and Teddy Einstein. 

For every dog lover, there are certain breeds that just reach out and touch the heart.  Goldens have always done this for me.  The other breed that deeply touches my heart is the Sheltie.  In 2000, I had the good fortune to board a beautiful Himark Sheltie named Gemini.  His owner put me in touch with Himark Shelties in Florida, and the rest is history.  In 2001, Judy Guaraldo sent me a perfect little puppy named Chelsea.  She was everything I hoped for and more.  So, at my request, Jeremy and Jenny also left sunny Florida to live in the hills of West Virginia.  Riley was the fourth Himark puppy to join the ABIGOLD family.  Then littermates Maddie and Grady became part of the pack.  Jackson was the seventh Himark and a great birthday gift to myself.  Most recently Owen,  Jazzie, and Gabe have become ABIGOLD fur kids.  So, now I proudly own ten Himark Shelties! I cannot imagine my life without Himark Shelties!  I want to express my heartfelt thanks to Judy Guaraldo of Himark Shelties for entrusting these brilliant little beauties to me.

 At the present time, I am very fortunate to have the unconditional love of 20 wonderful fur kids!

Abigold's mission is to provide the best boarding services possible by giving excellent, experienced care combined with personal attention and love.  Abigold is a small kennel attached to the owner's home, and we offer more individual care than most kennels.  Your dog will be in the care of Abigold's owner (the dogs know her as Aunt Becky) 7 days a week, all day and during the night.  While visiting, your dog will be part of the Abigold family and will be given lots of love and individual attention.  Aunt Becky has over 30 years of experience in dog pampering and training.  She has 20 pets of her own and knows how to care for multiple dogs while still giving them personal attention and love.  Abigold is a warmly decorated, modern facility, with radiant floor heat, air conditioning, and a professionally monitored fire and security system.

 Your dog's typical day at Abigold: 

7:00 AM - 10:00 AM: Aunt Becky takes the dogs one at a time from their private indoor-outdoor runs to one of the fenced grass play yards for exercise and bathroom necessities. They will each get up to 15 minutes of exercise and playtime.  During this time, Aunt Becky cleans and disinfects the kennel runs and gives everyone fresh water.

10:00 AM - 12:00 PM: Aunt Becky prepares breakfast around 10:00 AM and feeds dogs their morning meal.  We do not want the dogs to exercise shortly after eating because stomach upsets or bloat are potential problems in some breeds.  So, after breakfast the dogs relax in their private runs.  They may quietly play with their toys from home or sometimes carry on a conversation with their next door neighbors. 

These are my own furkids enjoying the play yard.  Abigold's policy is, and always has been, to keep guest dogs separated at all times.  At no time will guest dogs share the play yard with other guest dogs.  At the request of the dog owner, two dogs from the same family may share a kennel run and/or the play yard.  However, Abigold reserves the right to separate sibling dogs if, in our professional opinion, it is in the best interest of the dogs.

12:00 PM - 1:00 PM: Aunt Becky once again takes the dogs (individually) to one of the grass play yards.  Because of the afternoon heat, this exercise time is a brief bathroom break lasting no more than 5 minutes per dog.

1:00 PM - 4:30 PM: The dogs spend time in their spacious indoor-outdoor runs.  The dogs have covered porches, and most of them enjoy lying on the porch and watching for birds, squirrels, or rabbits to pass by.  During this time, Aunt Becky provides a Eukanuba biscuit or Science Diet nugget.

 4:30 PM - 7:00 PM: Once again the dogs go individually to one of the exercise yards, and Aunt Becky sanitizes the runs as needed and gives everyone fresh water.  Each dog spends up to 10 minutes running and playing.  Of course if anyone new comes to visit, the dogs take the time to tell the newcomers all about Abigold and make sure they know what a fun place it is! 

7:00 PM - 9:00 PM: Aunt Becky serves dinner around 7:00 PM.  After dinner, the dogs relax and engage in after-dinner conversations with each other.

9:00 PM - 10:30 PM:  The dogs go outside to the grass yards again before bedtime for up to 10 minutes of exercise.

10:30 PM - 1:00 AM: The dogs get fresh water, have a biscuit, and then go to bed.  They snooze during this time but are occasionally called to duty by a passing deer.

1:00 AM - 2:00 AM: Aunt Becky checks on everyone one last time.  She makes certain they have plenty of water, then gives them a small treat and tucks them in for the night.  The dogs then sleep peacefully until 7:00 AM when the activity begins anew!