Gromit

After nearly 10 years of playing with pups in Mequon, we have become like a family. We hope you all know how much we come to love your dogs and seeing all of you on a weekly basis. What we do is more of a passion than a job. It’s rewarding and heartbreaking all at the same time. Over the years we have had to say goodbye to many dogs that have stolen our hearts. It never gets easier and often time seems harder as the pack we once knew slowly fades away. This one hit us especially hard last month…
Six days a week for over 9 years…2,777 day care days to be exact, we cared for, played with, worked with and unconditionally loved Gromit Lagarde. You know, that dog under the counter you would often hear whining or barking. People would often ask, “Who is that and why is he up front?” Gromit suffered from severe anxiety and literally could not be left without human companionship. His days at day care were a necessity for his own health and wellbeing. He worked hard to earn his keep and thus we treated him like royalty. Until he recently “retired”, he helped everyday with assessments for new dogs on their first day. Chances are the first dog your dog met on their first day was Gromit! He would continue his day on “patrol” – helping to teach the younger pups appropriate play and respect, helping the shy dogs come out of their shells to play, breaking in the new staff and snuggling up to everyone anytime he could. He walked with us in many Fun Before the Fourth parades, worked many events with Nicole including the State Fair, and even helped train new franchisees within the Central Bark system from all over the nation. And at the end of every day, he would not leave without his pay…a treat or two or three from the front counter. If there ever was a real life mascot for Central Bark, it was Gromit!
Some of Gromit’s favorite long time pals were: Jil, Roxy G., Shaylee, Harley, Nesta, Dee-O-Gee, & Scout S. Gromit had a following of many; too many to even count over all of the years. His favorite human friend was of course the owner of Central Bark Mequon, Nicole. He loved her so much that he followed her from the former Northside location, where she was the manager before opening the Mequon location with Hilary. We will forever have the sound of Gromit’s excitable scream for Nicole embedded in our heads!
It’s an amazing gift to have witnessed Gromit with his pack for so long. Going through all of our pictures we realized that Gromit never was dog of the month. Seems strange knowing the impact he made on a daily basis. But seeing his face on the wall for the next month will give us some comfort as time begins to heal our broken hearts. Thank you to Kathy and Paul for sharing your Grom Grom with us for all these years. We will forever cherish our memories of Gromit & all he has taught us. We miss him more than words could ever express. We promise to live by his motto, go forward now with love…