Riverhead: Animal antics

Calling all animal lovers! If pampering pooches and massaging moggies is up your alley, this profitable freehold business could be your dream come true. By VICKI HOLDER.

Critters rule in the Rickaby household. That's because Alice and Dennis Rickaby run Critter Creek - boutique accommodation catering to every whim of their animal guests, no matter how quirky.

They're not averse to painting the nails of their pooch clients, if that's the kind of treatment they're used to getting from their owners. The Rickabys are reluctant to mention some of the other unusual fetishes in case owners disapprove of the adverse publicity.

The Rickabys have owned this highly successful and profitable freehold business on the waterfront at Riverhead for the last five years. Originally set up in 1980, it caters for 135 cats and 75 dogs.

But it's not just cats and dogs that stay there. Pet goats, rabbits and birds are accommodated as well. If your favourite pet happens to be a ferret, that's no problem either. Staff will give it the exercise it needs, simply slipping on the harness and taking it for walks three times a day.

Alice says the accommodation is unique, because it doesn't have lines of standard cat cages and dog kennels. Pets are treated to a vast playground of open spaces where there are such delights as hamper beds, swing decks and wooden rafts where they can scramble and play.

"It's like they're in their own environment here," she says. "We encourage owners to bring their pets' personal belongings with them - their toys, smelly slippers, dressing gowns or any old pieces of wood they like to chew, beds, baskets. We try to do as much as possible to keep them in their own surroundings."

The staff really know how to pamper. If the owners are prepared to pay for the very best, pooches will stay in one of 12 spacious dog suites fitted with a single bed, a radio, electric fan - even a TV and heater.

Or if they are part of a family of two or three, the family will be kept together in a separate suite. "We don't mix dogs unless clients ask for them to be socialised. We've never had a fight in the place yet," says Alice.

There is no danger of pets being bored while their owners are away. Critter Creek specialises in rotation to avoid keeping animals in any one area for too long. Staff bring the animals into special exercise areas and take them for 20-minute walks in the pine forest and around the 5.43ha of land that surrounds the house, kennels and cattery.

It's a full-on routine for the team of dedicated staff, who arrive at 8am to begin inspecting the accommodation and checking all the animals. When the pets are taken out for exercise, their temporary homes are cleaned and sterilised ready for feeding time. If animals are staying any longer than two days, they're given baths and blow-dried to ensure they're sweet-smelling for their owner's return.

Grooming is an important part of the animals' day, especially for the long-haired cats. If Muffy wants her hair brushed for 20 minutes a day, that's what she'll get!

It's all just part of the job for Alice and Dennis who are animal lovers themselves and have their own menagerie comprising 18 angora goats, two donkeys, two big dogs and one ginger cat.

And while the kennels and cattery are particularly special, the Rickabys' 275sq m home is comfortable as well. When they first arrived it was just a cottage, but it has been turned into a luxurious two-level home with four bedrooms, two bathrooms and double garaging. Their bedroom steps out to a deck that's just 15m from the water.

The couple have loved living at Critter Creek in this beautiful peaceful setting, but it's a seven-day-a-week job. They have had their fun and are ready to move on. They're keen for animal lovers like themselves to step into this lifestyle, which they say is extremely rewarding, but hard work and very physical.

The property goes to auction at 3pm, on March 30, on site. Contact Lynn Honnor, Albany Professionals, on 415 9206 or 021 931 058.