POCATELLO — Pom Poso Place on Bannock Highway is the longest continuously operated pet boarding facility in Pocatello.

The owner, Kathryn Patrick-Dopita, and her husband, Dan Dopita, purchased the property back in 2004 and have been grooming and taking care of dogs ever since.

She has had many dogs stay with her over the years. There have been times when she has taken care of 60 in one weekend.

“We know them all,” Patrick-Dopita said. “They’re like our babies.”

She started out in the dog show world before gradually moving on to grooming.

“I had all the grooming equipment,” she said. “And a friend and I decided to do a self-serve dog wash.”

Patrick-Dopita loves dogs and working with them. For her, it is easy to become attached to the dogs she interacts with. This can make it hard when the dogs get older.

“I have dogs that I’ve started grooming as puppies,” she said. “And at 15 years old, they pass. That’s really hard on me.”

Patrick-Dopita also loves to help the dogs’ owners. One woman came in with a dog in desperate need of grooming but was unable to pay the cost. Janet, one of Patrick-Dopita’s employees, helped the woman get her dog groomed through a Make-A-Wish connection.

“She said all she wanted for Christmas was to have her dog groomed,” said Janet.

Another customer needed their dog to stay in Pom Poso Place’s boarding facility for as long as three months

“The owner had been in the hospital,” Patrick-Dopita explains. “And when she got out, she couldn’t take care of her dog.”

Pom Poso Place is a more traditional kennel. There are indoor and outdoor rooms. Each family is able to place their dogs in one room. The dogs are able to interact with each other through the fences. The business will board cats as well.

Before Patrick-Dopita purchased the property, the kennel was run by its original owners, Ruth and George Alldredge. They opened the business in 1968, and Patrick-Dopita obtained the land from their daughter. Ruth was the one who named the kennel Pom Poso Place.

“A lot of people asked me why I don’t change the name,” Patrick-Dopita explained. “I keep the name because she chose it.”

The property is located at 2141 Bannock Highway in Pocatello. More information about them can be found at pomposoplace.com or on Facebook.