Countryside Kennels Reopens in Rural Northfield

Dog and cat owners will be glad to know that Countryside Kennels in rural Northfield reopened Aug. 1.

The kennel facility, now owned by Dr. Rich and Virginia Lorang of Countryside Animal Hospital, is a new branch of the animal hospital. The vet clinic, located in Dundas, and the kennel will operate under the name Countryside Animal Hospital & Kennels. 

Funny thing is many people already thought the two businesses were combined because of “Countryside” in their names. 

Over the years, Deb Graff, who owned and operated Countryside Kennel until last fall, and Dr. Rich Lorang and his staff at Countryside Animal Hospital redirected many phone calls to the “other” Countryside business.

With the common name and people often thinking they were the same business anyway, “when the opportunity came up to buy the property we decided it was fate and we jumped on it,” said Virginia Lorang.

The Lorangs took ownership of the boarding facility, located four miles west of Northfield at 8300 Baldwin Avenue, on June 17. 

“We are excited to offer this wonderful country space to our clients and the greater Northfield community,” said Virginia Lorang.

Before they could reopen the facility, the Lorangs had a lot of work to do. They hired Michael Gunderson as their general manager and since mid-June Gunderson and his crew have been busy getting the 25-kennel facility in optimum shape.

Grass was knee-high in the yard and thistles were shoulder high in the outdoor kennels so Gunderson and crew got to work to remove brush and get the grass under control. They checked fences and cleaned outdoor kennel runs. To take advantage of the vast grassy space surrounding the kennel building, they trimmed trees and bushes and fenced it in to create a shaded outdoor dog play area.

The office area had a makeover as well. With a new tile floor, paint, wood trim and large desk, people walk in to a professional and welcoming office area when they come to drop off their pets.

Next to the office is a cat kennel room and a grooming room. The cat room, nearly complete, will house cats in their own kennels well away from the dogs. Dogs who stay more than two nights are bathed before going home and Gunderson hopes they will have a groomer on site in the future. Other future plans include a dog park for kennel clients and doggy day care.

Inside the 25-kennel facility, which boasts heated floors and air conditioning for perfect temperatures year-round, Gunderson and his crew cleaned and painted the kennel walls and floors. Inside it’s bright and clean and each kennel has a raised therapeutic pet bed. There are four sizes of kennels to choose from and dogs from the same family can share a kennel if the owners prefer. At night calming music plays throughout the kennel to lower anxiety and keep the dogs content.

“We’re confident the pets will be happy here,” said Gunderson.

And Gunderson, who has paid attention to every detail from the look and feel of the boarding facility to the quality of the six staff members he’s hired, is confident that pet owners will be happy with Countryside Kennels as well. 

For more information, call Countryside Kennels at 507-645-5051 or visit their website.