Lifestyles of the furry and frenetic

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A pair of dogs play together at Canine Connection in Malibu. More than a haven for man’s best friend, the doggie daycare center offers an insight into the people of Malibu. Photo courtesy of Canine Connection

One doggie daycare at Cross Creek offers perhaps the best window into the people of Malibu: the playground of their pets.

By Darlene Ricker / Special to The Malibu Times

Peter Fleming got more than he bargained for when he started taking his Australian shepherd to doggie daycare in Malibu. He got a fianc/e.

Fleming, the owner of Malibu Electronics, walked into Canine Connection one day with his dog when a music attorney from Point Dume was dropping off her two Aussies. It turned out they had a lot more in common than the breed of their dogs. The two were the same age, equestrians, in the music industry (Fleming is a singer/songwriter and sound engineer)—and single. They chatted, went to Starbucks while their dogs played, and the rest is history.

That was six years ago, and connections of all sorts have continued to take place on the sand lot tucked behind Malibu Animal Hospital at Cross Creek and PCH. Founded in 1999 strictly as a doggie daycare business, Canine Connection unwittingly morphed into its own name over the years as its two-footed clientele starting turning it into a resource center for everything from finding new friendships and making doggie play dates to doing big business.

Fleming said he forged an important business relationship there with a top voiceover artist whose daughter’s dogs were daycare regulars. “Guys like me are in the studio most of the time. We don’t cross paths with the talent. And I end up making one of my best connections at doggie daycare?” he said with a laugh.

Given Malibu’s demographics, and the fact that everyone here seems to own a dog, perhaps it’s not all that surprising that doggie daycare has been involved behind the scenes in Hollywood. One successful screenwriter even found his muse there. When his dog (which had been a Canine Connection regular) moved to New York with his ex-wife, he needed something to fill the void. Not ready for another dog of his own, he asked if he could “borrow” a dog from daycare to keep him company while he finished writing a scene. Amy, the furry matriarch of Canine Connection, went home with him for the day and several years later continues to do so on occasion, particularly when he hits a snag in a script. (Despite her creative contributions, Amy doesn’t get an executive producer credit.)

Amy’s owner, Leslie Moskowitz, co-owns the doggie daycare business with Jenny Axelrod. The two have become adept at helping people from all walks of life who find themselves in one dog-related dilemma or another.

Malibu being Malibu, the “SOS” calls sometimes come in unusual forms. Among them:

-A distressed driver whose dog had recently enjoyed a play day at doggie daycare: “I’m driving past you right now, and my dog won’t stop shrieking and jumping up and down. I think he knows where we are. Can I bring him there for a few minutes? The entire PCH is giving me dirty looks!”

-A woman who had moved from spacious digs in Monte Nido to a beach condo with no yard. She panicked when she learned that doggie daycare was closed Christmas Day: “What am I supposed to do with these dogs? They’re going crazy in here. You’ve got to find someone to take them before I have a nervous breakdown! I’ll pay someone to adopt them if I have to.”

-A man whose dog had so much anxiety that it started chomping on the window sills (a canine version of biting your fingernails to the quick) and then decided to turn a few tasty pieces of designer furniture into a platter of appetizers. Next came the main course: “Now he’s eating through the drywall, for God’s sake – make him stop!”

Generally, though, clients voice more mainstream needs, most of which dovetail with normal doggie daycare services, said Axelrod. The vast majority of her clients work weekdays in offices and bring their dogs to daycare five days a week. Others work from home but find their dogs need to socialize with other canines on a regular basis. Some dogs in a single-dog household become bored, depressed or destructive, said Axelrod, who has seen a change when a dog gets a dose of diversion with furry companions.

Canine Connection, which this month celebrates its 13th year in Malibu, was born and bred, so to speak, on the very spot where it sits today. Moskowitz and Axelrod were experienced veterinary technicians at Malibu Animal Hospital when they got the idea of starting a related business. Their opportunity was staring at them right through the window: the empty field behind the animal hospital.

The two struck a deal to lease the property, which they developed into a state-of-the-art doggie daycare facility. Today it sports canine cabanas with beach umbrellas, wading pools, doggie chaise lounges and agility obstacles for the athletic set. Dogs bark and cavort to their heart’s content in their own little strip of “old Malibu,” which sits literally in the shadow of the trendy Malibu Lumberyard shopping complex.