After more than 40 years of service, Newhall's Calgrove Kennels is closing

Long time customer Barbara Forletia of Pine Mountain, drops off her dog with Christina Warren for a day visit. The kennel will close June 1, after more than 40 years in Newhall. (Photo by David Crane/Los Angeles Daily News)

NEWHALL - On more than two acres of land off The Old Road, the sight of Mike Lovingood's motley collection of Hollywood props and amusement park cast-offs elicits smiles from some, and tail wagging from others.

There's a hulking, metallic tyrannosaurus rex that looks down on visitors with a toothy growl, a soaring totem pole, a lifesize Bugs Bunny riding a horse, an old steam train once used at Six Flags Magic Mountain, and the rotund heads of Daisy and Donald Duck.

It's taken nearly four decades for Lovingood to transform Calgrove Kennels in Newhall into a kind of canine fantasyland, where he boasts "five-bones accommodations" and emphasizes cleanliness to ease anxious owners who leave their dogs, cats, or even parrots behind.

But despite all the work and years devoted to others' pets, Lovingood said he will close the kennels come June 1, indefinitely.

He's tired, he says. Tired of running a 24/7 business that drains his energy. Tired of the stress that comes with looking after the lives of all those animals, many of them with unique ailments. Tired of foregoing all that vacation time.

And most of all, tired of dealing with government bureaucrats.

The government, he said, including Caltrans, Los Angeles County's Department of Public Works and other agencies, doesn't

seem to understand that keeping his kennels safe is a 24-hour, 365-day endeavor.

Lovingood, 63, said he's tired of bureaucrats dragging their feet while he tries to run his business.

"I've raised many dogs since they were puppies, and so it hurts," he said. "But after waiting for so long, you just give up."

A Vietnam veteran, Lovingood ran a guard dog business before opening Calgrove Kennels in 1974.

Little by little, he created an amusement park-like atmosphere with statuary and other items donated from Hollywood sets and nearby Magic Mountain.

But the government-owned land around his property has plagued him. He says the flood control channel that runs parallel to his site remains stuffed with vegetation and debris. During the last significant rainfall, the channel was so blocked that water edged up over the road that leads to his property.

The county Department of Public Works sent Lovingood a letter in 2004, saying it would place clearing a channel on a list of unmet needs.

But the channel runs through Caltrans land, as well as county property, and so several agencies are involved, including the state Department of Fish and Game.

"That takes a long time to obtain necessary permits, said Bob Spencer, spokesman for county Public Works. "It's very difficult when you're dealing with multiple jurisdictions and multiple agencies. It's no secret, it can be frustrating for citizens to deal with government. This is unfortunately what he's come up against."

Spencer said Lovingood hasn't contacted the department in several years, though clearing debris from the channel remains on a list of unmet needs.

"We were and still are pursuing through the regulatory agencies permits to clear out the soft bottom channel," Spencer said.

Lovingood also said he's been concerned about heavy brush that has grown alongside his property that runs just below the Golden State (5) Freeway.

CalTrans spokeswoman Judy Gish said the agency does clean out the brush, and has even created fire barriers.

"The area is cleaned regularly, as often as can be scheduled under the scarce resources with which we, and other state agencies, are currently dealing," Gish said.

The eventual closure of Calgrove Kennels already is having a ripple effect on other kennels in the area.

"I've received several calls from people who are upset," said Anne Kent, owner of Adler-Stein kennels, also in Santa Clarita. "I've been here for 20 years and he was already in business before that, so he does have a reputation here."

Back at Calgrove Kennels, Lovingood gets a long hug from Barbara Forletta, who drove in from Pine Mountain to drop off her two year old golden retriever named Sam.

"I'm praying for you so that you'll feel good enough to open back up again," she tells Lovingood.

As he made his rounds through the kennels, Lovingood said he didn't know if he would reopen one day. The stress of the job, the responsibility of caring for others' pets, some of which have heart disease, diabetes and other ailments, has placed a lot of stress on him.

"This is not easy," he said. "I've gotten personally involved with so many people. I don't even want to think about where they are all going to go."

Source: http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_18036325?source=rss

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