In 1970, Marni’s parents built and operated Tail End Kennels, a 100 dog capacity boarding facility in Reisterstown, Maryland. From age 3, Marni entertained the customers’ dogs and helped the kennel staff. A well known dog trainer, groomer and breeder of German Shepherds, her mother was ahead of her time, throwing dog birthday parties for the K9 guests. At age 5, Marni started competing in Junior Handling classes and cat shows. Sadly, the family kennel sold and it became Marni’s life long dream to build her own modern “Pet Resort”. Marni obtained her Bachelors Degree in Health Education from East Carolina University and moved to Florida where she worked for managed care companies and as a paralegal for workers’ compensation law firms.
In 1997, after a very unpleasant boarding experience with her own dog, Marni knew she could make the boarding experience better for the dogs. At that time, no Pet Resorts existed in South Florida, so after six banks turned her down, persistence paid off and in 2001 she obtained an SBA loan for 1.3 million dollars. She quit her job at a law firm and waited tables, while the 15,000 sq. ft. Resort was built on a 5 acre parcel in West Ft. Lauderdale. Tail End Pet Resort offered: boarding, grooming, day care and a few pet products. It was the first luxury Pet Resort in South Florida.
Tail End was featured many times in the Sun Sentinel, was on the front page of the Miami Herald, was voted “Best Place to Pamper your Pet” by City Link Magazine, and was the choice for many Miami Dolphin, Florida Panther and Florida Marlin Players.
In 2008, Marni sold the business to a national pet boarding chain in order to move to Mount Dora, a smaller town in Central Florida. Her obsession with raising the standards for pet care led to another Pet Resort project on 9 acres. Unfortunately, the economy crashed and one week before the loan was scheduled to close, the bank backed out and all of her savings was lost.
Original project, Tail End Pet Resort – Davie Florida – 2001