Dogs may howl, cats may meow as pals retire

THANK heavens dogs and cats don’t read. The Redlands would have suffered a chorus of howling and meowing if the canine and feline communities had caught up with the recent public notice announcing the closure of Woofers Kennels and Cattery, Victoria Point.
About 4000 dogs and hundreds of cats of all shapes and sizes have been guests at the Worthing Road kennels that Ray and Cherry Norris opened in 1994.

AFTER 15 years in a "24/7" business, the couple has decided to claim their lives back from those two branches of the animal kingdom.
"It’s like running a farm but someone must be on the property all the time," Cherry says.
"We can’t go out anywhere together. We can’t attend parties or barbecues.
"It’s very tiring and after so many years I’m just about burnt out.
"We want to give some time to the family. We have decided at this moment to close our doors and retire but we will retain the (business) licence and maybe down the track we’ll assess the future."

CHERRY and Ray migrated to Australia in 1981 from the north-west England industrial city of Barrow-in-Furness.
They were escaping a gloomy time in England. "The cold war was bubbling along and there was the possibility the US and Russia would shoot themselves to bits over England; there was economic doom and gloom, with strikes and sackings all the time," Cherry says.
"We came out on holiday to stay with Ray’s brother, who lived at Capalaba. We liked it here and organised our migration."
She says Ray, then a bricklayer, is still very proud of becoming a licensed builder in Queensland while the couple lived at Cleveland.
The decision to open the kennels followed their purchase of the Victoria Point acreage property when Ray began suffering from "bricklayer’s back".
The home-based business was wonderful at first and although the demands have become too much she still loves "all types of animals".

CHERRY’s vast experience with dogs has given her an insight into pet ownership.
She says anyone wanting a dog should consider small- to medium-sized shorthaired breeds with upright ears.
"For practicality in this day and age, these types of dogs generally will have fewer health problems and are easier to look after," she says.
"The pointy ears are less susceptible to infection and the short hair means they don’t get tangled up in grass seeds, for instance.
‘Ticks are easier to find."
The Norrises, who will close the business on April 30, have issued "a very big thank you to past and present clients for their valued support".

Thanks for joining me to meet the great people in the marvellous community of classified advertising. This column has appeared in The Redland Times, a Fairfax Media newspaper.

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