As a dog owner, I periodically need to board my pooch when my wife and I take off for a rare weekend getaway or when life is a little too hectic -- like when our granddaughter, Emmy Kate, was born a few weeks ago.

I tend to use several area kennels for our boarding needs depending on which facility can accommodate Rowdy, our border collie. (What can I say? I retired from Southeast Missouri State University's alumni relations department, so I couldn't help but name him "Rowdy," which he is.)

As I have done with four or five previous pets over the years, I often board Rowdy at Busch's Kennel, located behind the home of Bill and Cecile Busch on County Road 313 near Klaus Park, just west of Cape Girardeau. They opened their kennel in 1972, and it's been in continuous operation ever since.

Typically, when I board Rowdy, I drive up to the carport at the Busch home, say hello to Mrs. Busch and hand Rowdy's leash off to her son-in-law, Chris Heisserer, who helps run the kennel.

However, the last time I went to the kennel, I was met with a sign in the driveway that pointed me to a new kennel entrance on the south side of the Busch property. That new entrance led me to the kennel's recently-completed office building, which, I learned, also houses the kennel's new four-story "luxury" cat condos.

"There's nothing like them in the area," Stacy Busch-Heisserer told me. Stacy, who grew up in the kennel business, is Chris' wife and is Bill and Cecile's daughter.

Chris and Stacy took over the kennel's operations just over a year ago. "My parents always worked the kennel out of their home, so when Chris and I took over, we wanted to move operations out to the kennel's new office to give them some peace and quiet," Stacy told me.

Chris and Stacy finished the office building in January and this summer will begin renovations at the canine kennel, which can accommodate about 40 dogs. "Customers will see some exterior changes sooner, but we will get into the interior changes after the summer season is over," Stacy said. "We'll be adding some 'suite-style' accommodations and some other surprises as well."

Chris, Stacy said, runs the kennel's daily operations. "I'm the social media, advertising and bill-paying person, so he definitely has more fun," she said with a laugh.

In addition to Busch's Kennel, they also own two other pet-oriented businesses in Cape Girardeau, Busch Pet Products, now in its 10th year at 1720 Kingsway Drive, and Deer Creek Doggie Day Camp, 2039 Cape LaCroix Road, which opened in 2015.

Busch's Kennel can be reached at (573) 334-1983. Busch Pet Products' number is (573) 335-4076, while the number for Deer Creek Doggie Day Camp is (573) 803-1311. The web address for Busch Pet Products is https://www.loc8nearme.com/missouri/cape-girardeau/busch-pet-products/3076410/.

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Glenn Campbell, a Cape Girardeau entrepreneur and one of the co-founders of Hat World Lids, told me about a year ago he was giving some thought to retirement. Well, last week he apparently made it official with a video announcement on his Facebook page.

In the video, Glenn "tipped his cap" to his company's thousands of customers, his family and everyone who has worked with him over the past 25 years since the company opened its first store at Tippecanoe Mall in Lafayette, Indiana.

I had an opportunity to learn about Glenn and the story of his "lids" in 2017, when I was Southeast Missouri State University's alumni director and Glenn was recognized by the Alumni Association with an alumni merit award.

Glenn's retirement video is well worth a few minutes of your time.

Best wishes on this next phase of your life, Glenn!

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Bill Port

Finally this week, I want to acknowledge the passing of Bill Port who died last week at the age of 89.

Bill was well known in the Cape Girardeau medical community and, along with his late wife, Barbara, was very active in many local civic groups and volunteer organizations, too numerous to list here.

I first met Bill in 1986, when I joined Saint Francis Medical Center as the hospital's assistant "public relations" director. Bill, at the time, was administrator of the Internal Medicine Group in Doctors' Park. Through the years, he and I worked together from time to time on various physician-related projects.

In recent years, I saw him now and then at Chateau Girardeau where he was a resident. He always seemed happy to see me and if there was an empty seat at his table in the Chateau dining room, he'd always ask me to join him.

His passing leaves a huge void in the Cape Girardeau community.

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