All Aboard at Kennels : There’s No Vacancy at Many Animal Shelters as Owners Pack Off Pets for the Holidays

STANTON — It’s not so bad being away from home for the holidays--not when you’ve got your own fluffy bed with you--the way April does. Or your “mom’s” homemade bread--the way Brownie does. Or a home-cooked turkey leg--the way Katie does.

Those dogs found a spot at the Mission Gate Kennels in Stanton while their owners spend New Year’s weekend away from home. But now there’s no room at the (dog) inn, said Kim Luke, manager at Mission Gate.

She and managers of other pet clinics across the county turned away panicky owners Friday who had made last-minute New Year’s weekend plans. “It’s hard,” said Luke, who has a waiting list of three pets. “We feel really bad. We get a lot of calls at the last minute: ‘You’re full? What do you mean?’ ”

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At Grand Avenue Pet Hospital in Santa Ana, the kennel has been packed with cats, dogs and birds since Thanksgiving, manager Amy Nguyen said. Some pets stay for a couple weeks every Christmas. Others are New Year’s Eve regulars who cool their haunches at the pet hotel while their owners party at home.

“The day before New Year’s, sometimes, [owners] are too busy cooking, and they want the dog to be safe [from] everything--fireworks make the dog nervous, a lot of friends come over and make the dog nervous,” Nguyen said.

AnimaLodge in Irvine (“Ask about our penthouse suites”) is just about booked up with dogs, said receptionist Amy Adams, but “it would depend on what size.” Maybe there’s room for another small one, she said.

At Mission Gate, kennel workers gussied up the place for the holidays to make the owners feel better, Luke said. But the 61 dogs don’t care much about the wreath on the front door decorated with rawhide bones, or Mandy the basset hound, who got her nails painted green for Christmas, or cocker spaniel buddies Bart and Sam, who arrived with matching red holiday collars.

Still, the owners leave behind Christmas stockings for the dogs or bring them souvenirs from their vacation when they return after New Year’s Day. One woman brought a stuffed flamingo from her cruise for her Labrador-shepherd.

On Friday, Jim and Judith Brennan dropped off their daughter’s dogs, Rialae, a black Shar-Pei-Labrador, and Ana, a blond Labrador. Judith Brennan, the mayor of Norwalk, toted the dogs’ bed and a bag of treats.

Their daughter, Theresa Tariq, was away for the holidays, and the Brennans, who own three dogs, had a hard time caring for two more.

The Brennans said their daughter will call every day to check on the dogs--from Jordan.

Mission Gate co-owner Pamela Perkins is used to doting dog owners, especially around the holidays.

“The dogs, it’s like, they don’t care,” she said, “but for the owners, for the holidays, their hearts are always with their loved ones and the dog, since the dog is part of the family.”