Family and friends in York, England thought the Owen family was losing its mind when they announced they were leaving the UK to buy a business in the U.S. It had always been husband and wife Roger and Barbara Owen’s plan to buy a boarding kennel in the UK but when their daughter Claire found land and kennels for sale in the U.S., they immediately jumped on the possibility.
Within a week, they had found flights to Orlando and accommodations near Brooksville and set out to explore this new opportunity.
That was in 2008 when they fell in love with the Brooksville property and business they found.
“It was an incredibly complicated and lengthy process before the purchase and immigration rules and regulations were completed,” said Roger Owen. “But the new Panacea Pet Resort was finally opened in 2009.”
Roger Owen, a retired professional jockey and racehorse breeder and trainer, and daughter Claire Owen, a forensics psychologist, are the owners of the business. Barbara Owen, Roger’s wife, has a teaching background in the UK and taught for over 30 years. Roger also bred and trained dogs for many years.
Since the launch of their business, the Panacea Pet Resort, the Owens have built up a large, loyal clientele of dogs and cats whose owners drop them off either for longterm stay or for day care.
The Panacea Pet Resort is situated on a beautiful 5 acre property and is a safe and secure environment for pets. And, as the Owen family actually lives on the premises, they can attend to their guests 24 hours a day if necessary.
The family has accommodations at the pet resort to suit all sizes of dogs. Standard and deluxe suites are available and dogs from the same family can be together or board separately.
Panacea Petite Paws is a recent addition to the resort.
“It’s an area where we care for smaller dogs weighing less than 15lbs,” said Claire Owen. “It’s away from our larger guests and quieter,” she said. “Plus, they have their own fenced play area.”
The main resort features climate controlled suites with indoor and outdoor areas. Each suite has a large outdoor cement patio area accessed by a doggy door. Deluxe suites are double the size of the standard suites and have two outdoor patio areas.
Feline guests at Panacea nap in spacious multi-level kitty condos in the air-conditioned Contented Kitten Cattery.
A typical day at Panacea begins at 6.30am with doggie guests being ushered into a large, grassy, fenced-in play area for the first time of the day. While the dogs are out of their suites, staff set to work to fully sanitize each suite, including a change of water bowls and bedding as necessary.
Doggie guests enjoy lots of play sessions throughout the day — usually six or seven times — and if the pet is sociable, they can spend their play times outside with other doggie friends. Play areas are always supervised by a resort team member.
Breakfast is served at around 8 a.m. and dinner around 3:30 p.m. At bedtime each guest is given a treat and the night lights are turned on.
“We know every dog and cat’s name and after they’re fed and exercised, we always take the time to say goodnight to each of them,” said Roger Owen. “It’s very personal and I like to know they’re settled for the night.”
Since 2009, Panacea has built up a regular clientele of owners who drop off their dogs every day for doggie day care. The Owens offer this service seven days a week.
“Our doggie day care customers love that we offer this service,” said Barbara Owen. “It gives dogs the chance to play and socialize rather than be lonely and bored at home.”
Rates for day doggie care start at $14 per day. Boarding rates begin at $15 per day for dogs depending on size. Cat boarding is $12 per day. Panacea also offers a full range of grooming services 7 days a week.
“The company currently has seven full-time employees,” said Claire Owen. “And we’re are still growing,” she said.
“Most of our business comes our way through word of mouth,” said Claire Owen. “It shows our customers are happy customers with happy pets.”
IF YOU GO
Panacea Pet Resort is located at 6372 Goodway Dr.,
Brooksville, FL 34602
Phone:
(352) 345-8025
email: mail@panaceapetresort.com
Hours: 7am-12pm and 4pm-7pm.
7 DAYS A WEEK
Closed for drop off and pick up on the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.