Crabbs Green Farm

Hello ,  my name is Samantha Howe and i’m a dogoholic!

Having been brought up with dogs and worked in kennels in my younger years , it has always been a dream to own and run a boarding kennel the way i wanted it to be, and i knew that when we moved to Crabbs Green Farm 16 years ago that this would be the perfect place to create my vision.

After having 2 children, it was a case of waiting til they were grown up so i could really throw myself into caring for dogs, a few years ago i did start home boarding and had some great dogs stay of which im glad to say still come here on holiday.

It took us 2 years and a bit in toll from submitting the plans to the local planning dept to opening day which was the 1st Dec 2009, it seemed a lifetime, we had to have newt surveys, bat surveys, historic digs etc as we are situated within a conservation and nature area, but in the end we got there , and i must say a huge thankyou to my mum and dad as for without their help it would all still be on paper!

Things i love in life are My family, my job, as with dogs all the time, my dogs, pigs, horses and chickens, the feeling christmas gives you, cheese all kinds not fussy , snowy /frosty winters, log fires as it makes me feel cosy, where i live, spring/autum , our lane is beautiful in the autum, being outdoors, walking through woods/forests, camping next to lakes/rivers , driving off the beaten tracks through different countries in my landrover , funny films, the darling buds of may, river cottage and Benidorm, I don’t dislike many things but spiders, fennel and rude/ mannered people is what i don’t like!

Our daughter Stephanie is also a ‘dogoholic’  and is very interested in what makes dogs ‘tick’ so to speak, and has been from a small girl, she see’s the wolf in every dog and why they act or do what they do, she finds wolves and the ‘dog’ incredible creatures, and is also a huge fan of Ceasar Milan and hopes to meet him one day so she can pick his brains(even though she has read every book and watched every dvd he has produced!) Steph is a very laid back, gentle person and has such a strong precious bond with her Alaskan Malamute ‘ICE’, they go out scootering ( he pulls her on a scooter, like a BMX bike but you stand on it if anyone was wondering what that mean’t) and they both love it, but its more than just having fun, he needs to scooter to release energy as malamutes can become bored and start misbehaving!  Steph loves all dogs, ferrets, theme parks, going to the cinema, photography ( especially of dogs) arts and crafts, shopping, the seaside, her friends and driving her car .

Steph works with me part time with the dogs, as i wanted her to go into the real world first, as all to easy to just leave school and work for mum! , she currently works part time in a party shop in Bishops Stortford.

Ricky, my husband, produces the best firewood in our area!  i would call him a ‘logoholic’!  he almost nutures his wood, it has to be seasoned the correct length of time, won’t cut it up if its raining, and only buys in the best type of wood for burning, its delivered on a huge artic lorry in long lengths, 26 ton at a time, late winter/early spring this lorry will visit us about 5/6 times maybe more and he stacks it all up ready for the next season. Ricky helps me with the dogs when i need him and also does digger work, fencing etc.

Jack our son is still at school, but only has a year and a bit left (he goes into year 11 in sept 2011) he too loves dogs, but his passion is cars, he is currently rebuilding a landrover 90 as this will be his first car when he passes his test in 2013!  for his 15th birthday we brought him a MK3 Ford Cortina 2.0 GXL of which he is also starting to restore,  He loves watching Top Gear, Wheeler Dealers ,Ice Road Truckers and Ax Men.  He learnt to drive and had his own mini at the age of 5. Jack is a very helpful lad and gets stuck into the log processing and fixing/servicing his dad’s machinery, and also helps out with cleaning our kennels and walkingand playing with our doggy guests.