Welcome to May, when we all feel a little more footloose. If you’re a pet owner contemplating a Wine Country sojourn, there’s good news this season: Your four-pawed companions now have a resort to call their own.
Human visitors to the Napa Valley have long had their pick of lodging places, from basic motels to luxurious inns. But for quadrupeds, there haven’t been so many options—until now. Meet Theresa and Shane Holden, who consider their two sleek pugs, Ella and Ned, to be full-fledged family members who deserve the finest accommodations. What’s more, the young couple figured they couldn’t be the only people to feel that way about their pets. Thus, Ruff Dog Daycare + Hotel, Napa County’s first all-inclusive resort and daycare center for dogs.
“It was a small idea that became a really big, fabulous project,” says Theresa. “Ned and Ella are part of our lives, and we wanted a facility in Napa that would be what we’d want them to have.”
Theresa’s father, the gifted Napa craftsman Rick Arrieta, designed and built Ruff’s facility at 29 Enterprise Court (reached from Kaiser Road). It features spacious, individual cubicles with designer cushions, painted wooden walls and airy screened doors. Some spaces even have flat-screen TVs to entertain their canine occupants.
“We wanted dogs to have a very similar life to what they have at home,” Theresa explains. “We have rooms that look, actually, like rooms, as opposed to kennels or dog runs.”
When they’re not resting or eating in privacy, visiting dogs socialize and play together in a two-level, 1,500-square-foot playroom and adjoining 4,000 square feet of grassy run, complete with a wading pool.
“They’re enjoying their time just as much as their parents who are away,” says Theresa, adding that extra services—treats, special games of fetch, grooming and baths, for instance—are available á la carte.
Along with overnight stays, Ruff offers daycare for dogs whose owners are at work (or at play) in the Napa Valley. Day dogs can join the boarders in social frolicking or receive more individual attention through Ruff’s Personal Service Program, which provides one-on-one care away from other guests.
The lobby boasts a small but well-chosen collection of unusual dog toys and treats, and even a selection of elegantly designed scratching posts for cats (Ruff has a section of private cubicles for cats as well).
Finding the hotel—though it’s just off the Napa-Vallejo Highway—can be a little tricky for newcomers, so it’s a good idea to make contact first: (707) 258-2020. Rates vary.
Jobs await officer trainees from NVC
If you and your family are still calling Napa Valley College “the JC,” the whole gang might want to take a fresh look at who’s actually studying there—and what they’re learning.
While it’s true that Napa County’s only college is still the traditional “junior college” choice of local high school graduates preparing for transfer to a four-year school, these teenagers share their south Napa campus with hard-working moms, retirees and even little ones from the daycare center.
And then we have the students in uniform learning (among other things) to handle guns: Forty-five cadets signed up for the latest full-time police academy at the Napa Valley College Criminal Justice Training Center, where classes run six days a week. The college has also added academic programs in juvenile corrections, adult corrections and probation—all fields with thousands of job vacancies waiting for qualified candidates.
“It’s a really booming industry,” explains Greg Miraglia, dean of the training center. In fact, he says, many corrections-academy students are already on the clock: “We’re getting a lot of people sent by jails, because there’s so much hiring going on. It’s a high-turnover job, because people get hurt in these jobs. There’s a massive workforce.”
Miraglia estimates some 10,000 current vacancies on city and county forces across the state. The recruitment competition is fierce for NVC cadets, who graduate from a well-respected academy.
At NVC, “they have to demonstrate competency in all the essential skills. If a person can’t write, or they don’t have the physical abilities, or they can’t problem-solve,” that cadet won’t receive a certificate. “It’s going to ensure that high standards are maintained across the board,” Miraglia explains.
And “across the board” encompasses many skills: Napa Valley College police cadets learn to handle sidearms, shotguns, batons and stun guns. Hours of weaponless defense training are also on the curriculum, and every student learns how to disarm a suspect— even when the air is full of pepper spray. The cadets’ driver training includes evasive action and high-speed pursuit.
Academy cadets are easy to spot on the Napa campus in their new uniforms; you can also observe them in the classroom via a Webcam that updates every 10 seconds at www.nvccjtc.org.
But what goes on inside an officer’s head is also an important part of the Napa Valley College program. Miraglia has developed a statewide reputation for an enlightened approach to police training that includes an emphasis on diversity and racism. As part of the academy, and at no extra cost, cadets take a field trip to the Simon Wiesenthal Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles to take part in an interactive program designed specifically for law-enforcement officers.
For more information about the Napa Valley College Criminal Justice Training Program, visit www.nvccjtc.org or call (707) 253-3255.
