Pet Hotel Is More Camp Than Kennel

The sign outside the Branson Pet Resort, showing a dapper dog and cat in sunglasses, is the first hint that this is no ordinary kennel.

Inside there’s another clue: a wall of autographed celebrity photos. Branson’s thriving music and theater scene draws top national performers, and with them come some top dogs and cats--the pets of the rich and famous.

“Those are Tony Orlando’s dogs,” resort owner Caroline Roden said, pointing out a big friendly Labrador with the nameplate “Leo Orlando” on his shelter. Next door were two hyper Maltese dogs: Babe and Belle Orlando.

Andy Williams’ dog, Molly, wagged her tail across the way. Country star Mickey Gilley and romance novelist Janet Dailey have their dogs groomed here. Musician I.J. Ganem drops off his cats, named Taffy, China and Prissy.

“And I always know what Wayne Newton is doing, because his trumpet player brings his dog here when he’s going out of town,” Roden said.

A perky little Yorkshire terrier bounced by, wearing a red bandanna and acting as if he owned the place.

“That’s Oliver,” Roden said. He belongs to Shoji Tabuchi, a popular Branson fiddler.

Whenever Tabuchi is busy or out of town, this secluded spot in the foothills northeast of town is where Oliver beds down. It’s his home away from home, complete with a yard to play in, people to toss him a ball and room service, which includes his food of choice and up to three cookie breaks a day.

“I kind of like the idea that the people can have a resort and the pets can too,” said Roden, a friendly, enthusiastic woman whose voice bears traces of her native Scotland.

When she started the business three years ago, she intended it as a hotel for pets of visitors who weren’t allowed to have pets at their own hotels. That still represents much of her business.

But in a town where hundreds of entertainers work odd hours, word quickly spread locally about this high-class hotel for pets. The result: A stroll down the Branson Pet Resort’s dog run is more like a trip down Celebrity Lane.

“The first time we ever went in there, we noticed Andy’s dog was there, and the Osmonds’ and Bobby Vinton’s,” said Tony Orlando after returning to pick up Leo, Babe and Belle. “It was like Beverly Hills Pet Shop. It was fun to see.

“We have a 7-year-old, Jenny Rose, and you know what dogs can mean to a child,” Orlando said. “Those two Maltese, especially Belle, are very much Jenny Rose’s. And she never thinks twice about leaving them there because she knows the place.”

Keeping dogs at the Branson Pet Resort, added Orlando’s wife, Francine, is more like sending them to camp than to a kennel.

Roden said running the resort is a labor of love. She had boarded animals for years in Maryland until retiring in 1991.

“Retirement didn’t take,” she said.

But during the few years she tried it, she and her husband, Alex Nicol, visited Branson often to catch shows at the town’s dozens of theaters. It always struck her as odd that there weren’t more facilities for pets in a tourist town catering to empty nesters and families.

When she heard of a kennel for sale, she bought it.

The pets of the famous and the anonymous alike now romp in a fenced, grassy play area. They relax in a large inside area, eat special meals and get bathed and groomed--with hypoallergenic shampoo if they have especially sensitive skin.

Pets that stay often, like those of Orlando and Tabuchi, are given the run of the place. They wander leisurely in and out of the grooming rooms and Roden’s office.

And some, like musician Doug Gabriel’s dog, begin to act like they’re in charge.

“Doug Gabriel’s dog jumps up on the counter and goes ‘Woof,’ if we don’t come right out,” said groomer Susan Marr.