Find the Saint Bernard
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Sewing Machine & Vacuum Sales & Services is a family-owned and operated business located on East Edgewood Drive in Lakeland, Florida. Mark Hagen, proprietor, is a second-generation vacuum and sewing machine vendor. Mark employs another second-generation vacuum cleaner professional, Bob Gregor. Bob's St. Bernard, Inga, accompanies him to work every day.
Bob is knowledgeable and Inga encourages customers and their children to give her a scratch between the ears or a nice tummy rub. The capacious store has new and used vacuums and sewing machines plus hard-to-find replacement parts. Try to find the Saint Bernard among the merchandise.
If you are in the market for a vacuum cleaner that is good at sucking up pesky pet fur, Mark and Bob recommend either of the two Simplicity models pictured with Inga.
Bob & Inga
Bob grew up with St. Bernards. His father, at one time a divisional manager for Singer Corporation, bred St. Bernards as a hobby. Bob presently owns two other dogs that stay at home—Shadow, a German Shepherd, and Bonnie, a Chow Chow.
Inga is three years old. She loves children, especially babies. When she is not at work, she enjoys playing with her other pack mates.
Aside from being passionate about dogs, Bob has extensive experience in film and video production, flying small aircraft, and community service. He has degrees in photography and business, and is about to complete coursework for an M.S. in information technology. Bob is a font of knowledge and Inga is a font of fur. They are a good pair.
A Retired Public Servant
Sunday, July 17, 2011
K-9 Bask is a retired public servant. He served on the Lakeland, Fla. Police Department for five human years — or about twenty-five to thirty-five dog years, depending on how one equates canine years to human years. Hip dysplasia forced him into early retirement.
His human partner, K-9 Officer Rob Manrow, describes Bask's transition to civilian life. "I built a divider in the kennel in the back of the patrol car. Bask continued to work for three or four months while my new dog, Qanto, learned the ropes and went through the process of getting his state certification."
K-9 dogs not only work with their human partners, they also live with them. They are part of an officer's family, just like any beloved pet. Since they work together for twelve-hour shifts, fourteen days a month and live together during off-duty, it is in the best interest of an officer to become actively involved in selecting a good K-9 partner. Officer Manrow looked at thirteen dogs before picking out Bask.
Bask was born in 2002 in the Czech Republic. Police and security dogs often originate from Eastern Europe — Qanto, Manrow's current partner, is from Hungary. The dog broker that imported Bask to the United States originally planned to market him as a "bomb" dog. A dealer in Florida purchased him from the importer. He recognized Bask's outstanding qualities and intended to keep him rather than sell him.
At the same time the LPD was looking to acquire a dog for Officer Manrow, it was helping another Polk County police department select two dogs. The K-9 dealer had several fine dogs available. While the other PD had settled on two dogs, Officer Manrow wanted Bask. At first, the dealer was reluctant to let Bask go, but eventually he relented. After all, it was good business to sell three police K-9s in one day. As it turns out, the LPD had tried once before to buy Bask — a clear indication of this dog's obvious and extraordinary qualities.
Incidentally, LPD has a worldwide reputation for being meticulous about the quality of its dogs. This has been demonstrated enumerable times by accolades and awards that the department K-9s have accumulated over the years. Bask has done the department and the citizens of Lakeland proud by winning national and regional competitions
Choosing a K-9 Partner
Choosing a trustworthy and hardworking K-9 is a discriminating process.
1) The dog must be able to demonstrate ability to learn criminal apprehension, bomb sniffing, narcotics detection, etc.
2) The dog must possess a dual personality. Meaning that it can be sociable with family, friends, and strangers at one moment, and then, without a nanosecond's hesitation, act on command to aggressively apprehend a suspect.
3) The dog must demonstrate drive — a willingness to fetch, hunt, and search without giving up. A common way to test a dog's hunting instinct is to throw the dog's favorite toy into a wooded area with thick brush. If the dog persists and finds the toy, he is a good candidate. If he gives up, he lacks drive and is not suitable for police work.
Loyalty
It is hard to say who is more loyal. On the job, both the officer and the dog watch out for each other. At the end of the shift, the officer and the K-9 go home together — to family and perhaps other household pets. Even though Bask is retired, he still lives at the Manrow house. "He is a part of our family," said Officer Manrow. "I never thought for one second about giving him up. We take care of all of his needs — food, veterinary expenses, and companionship."
One tattoo is worth a thousand words. Officer Manrow and Bask are true blue pals.
Good Dog Grace
Monday, May 30, 2011
Grace greets customers with a big smile, a swish of her tail and subtle hints for tummy rubs. She is the official warm and fuzzy yellow Labrador Retriever of Home Essentials in downtown Lakeland, Florida.
Proprietress Marni Johnson is no stranger to the artisan and retail community of Lakeland. She opened a stained glass business in 1997, and then a kitchen store, Essentials, in 1994. She moved to her present location at 314 N. Kentucky Avenue in 2001, and renamed the store Home Essentials. Grace has been the essential graphic element of the store's logo ever since.
I love taking pictures of dogs that go to work with their masters. When I heard about that "sweet" dog at Home Essentials, I decided to check out the store to meet the owner and her dog. We have all heard the adage, "You only have one chance to make a first impression." The store made a delightful impression — acoustical jazz softly wafting through the whoosh of ceiling fans, an explosion of colorful merchandise, and exquisite décor. "This," I thought, "is the creation of someone that has a unique flair for creating a sumptuous retail environment."
Grace's AKC registered name is "Sweet Princess Grace." Marni said that she often calls her "Graceful." I figured she meant it as an ironically endearing moniker, as Labs often have "happy tails" that wreak havoc wherever they wag. Home Essentials sells top-of-the-line china dinnerware sets and the first thing that coursed through my head was the "Bull in a china shop" syndrome. "On the contrary," explained Marni, "Grace is graceful. She has not destroyed any merchandise. I call her Graceful because she is graceful. … She uses her paw to flip her food or water dish on its side so that she can pick it up with her mouth and bring it over to me for refills."
Grace has a good life. She works nine months out of the year and takes summers off. Good dog Grace.
Big Chihuahua Minds the Store
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Weighing in at sixteen and a half pounds, Buddy is a giant among Chihuahuas. (His registered AKC name is Gore's Little Buddy.) Buddy is a working dog. He has been greeting customers at Gore's store for most of his twelve years. His owner and boss, Jim Gore, praises him, "He's an excellent employee who rarely ever takes a day off."
Jim Gore's father, Marshall, was an entrepreneur. After returning from military duty in World War II, he moved back to Polk County. His ambition was to obtain training to become an electrician. Finances were tight — his only means of coming up with tuition for technical school was to sell his pet dog. Upon completing school, he found work as an electrician at the phosphate mines in Polk County. Soon, he went out on his own and founded Gore Electric in the early 1950s. By the mid '50s, Marshall Gore's business began to specialize in heating, refrigeration, and air conditioning. Due to advances in refrigeration and cooling technology and increased demand for climate-control in the hot and humid South, his business prospered. Commercial establishments realized that to attract customers, they needed to air condition their stores and restaurants and to make sure their establishments had walk-in and reach-in coolers to preserve food and keep beverages ice-cold. Over time, Gore's expanded and began selling restaurant and bar supplies to the eateries and watering holes it had been serving over the years.
Jim took over the business over thirty years ago, when Marshall passed away. The store has been at 238 N. Massachusetts Ave, downtown Lakeland for decades. Jim, pictured above with Buddy, sees irony in the fact that his father had to sell his pet dog to start his career, while he brings Buddy to work every day.
Buddy enjoys schmoozing with the customers as much as they enjoy his pleasant demeanor and ceaseless but endearing habit of grunting. There is no other way to describe this sound. It is neither growl nor bark, but a leisurely grunt-like noise emanating from a sixteen and a half pound Chihuahua.
Buddy enjoys an occasional sip of Coca-Cola and he likes his tea sweet. His favorite pastime is to ride a mule. "Not an animal, a lawnmower," Jim chuckles, "the kind of lawnmower that road crews use. He might have just a little bit of redneck in him."
Dog Clerk and CFO
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Sparky is the CFO (chief fuzzy officer) of The General Store on Kentucky Avenue in downtown Lakeland, Fla. One of her important duties is to make sure customers get their daily "dog fix." She is Dauchier — short for Dachshund, Chihuahua, and Terrier mix. Sparky works every day but Sundays and Tuesdays, when she spends time with her playmates — two dogs and one cat. On top of her duties as a store clerk, she is a registered support dog. (Support dogs help their humans by giving emotional support and thus a better quality of life.) Proprietress Terisa Glover claims, "Sparky rescued me from animal control."
The General Store lives up to its name. It stocks a variety of sundries, from extension cords to bottles of RC Cola and Nehi. "There's nothing in here that we haven't sold one of," says Ms Glover. I believe her.
