Newsletter
September/October 2017
BOARDING, DAYCARE, OBEDIENCE TRAINING, GROOMING BY K9TLC
A familiar face to
many in the dog world
of Mankato and
surrounding
communities;
Maureen Rodriguez,
the Matriarch of the
family business in
obedience training,
Maureen Rodriguez
dog behavior and
doggy daycare.
Maureen started training dogs in the late
1980s. What started out as training her own
dogs, to guiding friends and neighbors to
train their dogs, developed into a canine
career.
Not only was she the pioneer of puppy class
in the area, she is responsible for opening the
first doggy daycare in Mankato. For several
years she was member of Therapy Dog
International, visiting nursing homes,
hospitals, etc. with her dogs. Maureen was
an evaluator for both therapy dogs and the
canine good citizen test.
To stay current and knowledgeable, Maureen
regularly attended seminars and took classes
on dog behavior and training techniques.
Amongst her other community involvement,
she did 4H dog testing, demos for Boy and
Girl Scouts, managed Madison Avenue Pet
Grooming, morning radio Q&A with TJ and
Lisa, and has shown dogs in both the
obedience and the show rings.
Maureen and her husband Bob have raised 6
shelties over the years. They lost two shelties
this past year; Ryver at 17 years old and
Willow, 16 years old. Currently they have a
Sheltie, Timber (14) and a Golden Retriever,
Scout (11) that they rescued from RAGOM
(Rescue a Golden of Minnesota).
Although she has retired she cant seem to
keep her paws out of the business. You will
still see her attending all the obedience
classes. At times you will also see both
Maureen and Bob helping at the daycare.
Elite Canines of Southern MN
Elite Canines
opened its doors
May 2017, Owned
and Operated by
Torrey Walrath
supported by his
wife Heather, their
two daughters
Savanna (3) and
Brooklyn (2) and
their two Golden
Retrievers, Silver
and Ozzie. In
addition to his dog
business, Torrey works for Invisible fencing
where he installs the underground fencing
and trains the owner and dog how to use it.
Torrey is also a North Mankato Volunteer
Fireman, and avid duck/goose hunter.
Issue #1
INTRODUCTORY ISSUE
As the grandson of Maureen, Torrey began his
dog training career at the age of 12. The first
dog he trained was the family dog, Cody, a
black and white Shetland Sheepdog. When
Cody was only 10 months old, working with
Torrey, he passed the Canine Good Citizen test.
Torrey (12) and Cody were the youngest team
to qualify for a Therapy dog certification.
Although they qualified, per regulations Cody
was not able to be officially certified until he
turned a year old. Thanks to Torrey, Cody was
always a happy boy, he enjoyed life to the
fullest, he was content and never asked for
much.
After graduating from high
school Torrey adopted his
first dog to call his very own,
a Golden Retriever, Chevie.
Chevie was trained to
perfection in obedience and
hunting, she went
everywhere with Torrey and Heather. Chevie
was the first Moon Dogs mascot. Torrey and
Chevie even got an
autograph and
photo taken with
Harmon Killebrew at a
Moon Dogs game.
Chevie left us far too
soon, her pawprints paved their way to
everyones heart.
Torrey has worked with his grandma for over
20 years and is now following his dream to
keep the family legacy thriving that Maureen
started.

K9TLC - Grooming
Katie Corr, Owner and
Operator of K9TLC.
Katie has been working
in the dog daycare and
grooming business for
over 11 years. Her
passion for animals
began when she was 9
years old. She thanks her Grandma Maureen
Rodriguez for introducing her to a life
devoted to dogs. At 9 years old, grandma
took her to obedience classes with her where
she watched and learned then soon began
training her own dog.
Her grooming skills were acquired while
working at grandmas former business, Me
and My Master Canine Connection. After
grandma retired in 2009 she wanted to keep
the business alive. With the support and
encouragement of her grandparents Bob an
Maureen, Katie began her career as a
business owner and opened K9TLC.
Many get confused by the two business
names at the new location. As Katies
grooming business continued to grow, it was
getting to be a big job independently
operating all aspects of the business;
grooming, daycare, and boarding. In May
2017, her cousin Torrey stepped in and took
over business ownership which is now Elite
Canines of Southern MN. K9TLC operates as
an independent contractor within Elite
Canines. The family works as a team to help
each other out as much as possible.
Katies experience has allowed her to share
her skills and train several people basic dog
grooming skills, some of them have used
their skills and turned grooming into their
own careers. Katie loves the career path she
chose and cant imagine doing anything else.
When Katie is not grooming dogs, she is a
busy mom of two girls, Kaly 11 and
MacKenzie 1 years old. Katie and her
husband Brandon in Elysian with the two
girls and their 8 year old Golden Retriever
Posi.
Danica Gessner, a warm welcome to Danica,
our groomer in training. Danica grew up in
Mankato and recently moved to St. Peter
with her husband, Chad, two boys Orrin and
Jace and two young four-legged babies; a
yellow lab named and Lyric Rain and a black
lab named Mia Morgan.
Danica is most
definitely a dog person
and been around dogs
since she was 9 years
old. Danica entered
the dog grooming
profession by accident
when a friend
suggested grooming to her since she had a
talent for looking at crafty things and then
making it happen. She then volunteered
some time at the shop and fell in with her
time there.
Her favorite thing each day is knowing she gets
to do a complete makeover on a dog and make
them feel like a million bucks. The next best
thing is the look on the dog owners face when
she presents their beautiful baby to them all
fresh and clean.
I am very thankful to have an amazing team to
work with and get to spend quality time with
each fur baby that walks through the door!
Danica will be training one on one with Katie
three days a week; Monday, Tuesday and
Wednesday. She is expected to complete her
training and start taking clients of her own in
March 2018. In the meantime, Danica is
available on Thursdays to take appointments
for basic baths and nail clipping.
Family Visitors
To those of you that go
all the way back to Me
and My Master there is
another familiar face
you may run into at
times is Bobby.
As a boy Bobby had a strong connection and
soft spot with any dog that he came across.
Currently he does not have a dog, he lost his
Hunter about a year ago. We all know being in
the presence of dogs is therapeutic so he stops
by to get his doggy fix and chat with our guest
dogs. He is a seasoned dog owner and always
has advice to offer. Bobby has raised several
of his own dogs, yellow labs seem to be his soft
spot. Bobby has the touch for keeping his dogs
strong and healthy to live to a ripe age 16 years
old. They grayed and hobbled a little but they
thrived right up until the end. If you see him be
sure to ask what his secret is.
Editor of this
newsletter and
daycare/boarding
Volunteer/assistant,
Cindi Rodriguez
-proud to say I am the
mother of Torrey and
Aunt to Katie.
2
As often as possible I will be greeting you in the
mornings when you arrive. This my happy
place, nothing better than starting your day
out with wagging tails, lots of doggie hugs and
kisses, and of course the sound of their voices
as they express their excitement, I dont even
mind the little surprises they leave me at
times. What better way to enjoy this fall
weather and get some serious steps in than
walking all your four-legged kids.
I have two four legged senior kids of my own;
Mercedes (12 ) and Player the Beagle (12),
they make my life whole, they always happily
greet me when I come home, they comfort me
when Im sad and lonely, were all a little slower
now but they still love to run and play with me,
take long walks, and they boss be around like
clockwork when its dinner time.
Both my fur kids are rescues and have
struggled with different forms of anxiety.
Which led me on multiple trips to Colorado to
take training and become certified in small
animal massage therapy and Reiki.
Massage therapy is different from petting or
scratching, it is touch with intention, a
purpose. When done regularly massage
relieves stress and anxiety, it is soothing and
comforting, improves temperament, reduces
pain in stiffness.
Reiki provides all the same benefits as massage
but is a hands-on healing method that
channels energy through the hands of the
practitioner to the animal through a light
touch. There is no manipulation of skin/tissue
like massage, Reiki will never harm your pet in
anyway. Dogs are very receptive to the gentle,
loving touch of Reiki.
By request and as I am available, one of the
perks for you to take advantage of is that both
massage and reiki are available to your pet
during their stay with us. I am also available to
teach techniques in both therapies for you to
do at home.
 3

CHARLI
E
MUZZLE
OF THE
MONTH

This is Charlie, he is a very special boy with a Charlie is about 8 years old, he found his
special story that his mom has graciously furever home with Molly about 1 years
shared. ago.
 4

The journey only Charlie knows during his

first 6+ years may never be forgotten to him
but his new life of lots of love and affection
has allowed him to put the past behind him.

Charlie grew up as a stray on the Pine Ridge

Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Molly
believes that he had to fend for himself to
survive while he was there. It is known that
he had been shot at more than once and was
run over by a car.

Light Shine rescue and the Lakota Animal

Care Project rescued him and brought him to
Minnesota. Charlie was brought to Mankato
and taken in by Mending Spirits Rescue Obedience Training
where Molly adopted him from.

Charlie attends obedience classes with Torrey

and boarded with us for several days in Six-week Obedience Training classes
September. It was such a pleasure to get to are started October 2nd
know this boy and to be entrusted with his
care. We had beautiful weather during his Classes are held Monday evenings at
stay and he took us for some long nature
6:30pm and 7:30pm
hikes. He loves his walks, we put on many
miles and it wasnt always easy to get him to
go back indoors even after several miles. He
Watch for upcoming class dates for
loved his bones, kongs and toys and having the next class around the end of
his butt rubbed, he really enjoyed being November.
around people of all ages, even little ones.

Despite his rough past, he adores people and

has grown to be very affectionate. He is
learning to get along with other dogs. He is
getting along well in obedience class at Elite http://www.mendingspirits.org/
Canines and was well taken car e of when
boarded there, meeting new people and dog
friends. Charlie is a special, loving dog. Molly Mending spirits animal rescue
 5

Halloween Basket Give Away Thursdays:

Danica will be available by

appointment for Basic bath and nails
only. Call for prices.

To be enter in the drawing come in

for a full-service groom

Drawing will be held on October 23 rd

Groomed by Katie

Did your dog dress up for Future Issues:

Halloween?

Send us photos and tell us about

your Halloween event to share in the Boarding and Daycare Birthdays
next issue.
Training news

Daycare stories

Grooming news

Muzzle of the month

Specials for the month

Recipes

Crafts

Your suggestions, pictures and

stories are most welcomed!