|
By RYAN MENARD
The door to the Land of Pawz outdoor kennel swings open and a frenzied pack of 20 black, brown and blond dogs pours in.
Standing in the middle of the whirlpool of noses and tails, a man rallies them around, pats a few inquiring heads and leads them to another area.
In an indoor play space reserved for smaller dogs, Buddy, a Dachshund, closes in on Jake the Shih Tzu and lunges, sending them both tumbling on the ground. After sparring a few minutes, Jake’s had enough and leaves Buddy to sniff at a yellow chew toy.
These scenes, usually afforded only to the caretakers, were broadcast live Monday morning on the Weymouth kennel’s Web site, one of only a handful of such sites in the state.
Two Sony cameras were installed in May, allowing anyone to peek in on the puppies during store hours. With the built-in controls, users can digitally zoom in on certain canines or have a screen-shot saved to the desktop in a single click.
Land of Pawz owner Tom Fleming said what started as an experiment caught on and has become a big hit.
‘‘I have received nothing but 100 percent positive responses,’’ said Fleming, 51, who opened the ‘‘doggie day care’’ and boarding kennel five years ago. ‘‘It gives (our clients) humor and another little bond with their pets ...It gives them peace of mind that (the dog) is not home bored, destroying the house or lonely.’’
That feeling was confirmed recently when Fleming received a call from China from a client who had dropped off her dog just days before and was overjoyed to watch her pet frolicking from halfway across the globe.
Parents have always wanted a watchful eye over baby sitters and caretakers, but the concept of live monitoring over the Internet is rare, even to child care providers. Fleming said the cameras help his business earn clients’ trust.
‘‘Pictures don’t lie and they can see the quality staff working here,’’ he said.
Streaming video is years-old technology, but faster Internet speeds and cheaper technology have propelled the concept into an international phenomenon.
The popular site YouTube.com, which lets anyone submit their own videos, posts 65,000 new videos daily and is considered one of the Internet’s most popular and strangely appealing time-wasters.
Fleming says the kennel cams are also great entertainment.
‘‘It’s addictive,’’ he said. ‘‘I’m sitting here on my computer and pull up the webcam and say, ‘Here’s my dog.’ You’re looking at 20 dogs chasing balls.’’
Since the cameras were installed, the Web site has been visited 4,300 times and Fleming has seen a 24 percent increase in business.
He also hopes to install one or two new cameras this fall.
After all, Fleming’s dogs are at the kennel every day, and if he had to leave them, he’d want to check in too.
‘‘All of our own dogs are there,’’ he said. ‘‘We are through and through dog lovers.’’
Copyright 2006 The Patriot Ledger
Transmitted Thursday, August 31, 2006
|
