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Furry Friends Keep Her Going

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By DEREK MAUL Tribune correspondent

Published: February 16, 2008

Updated: 02/14/2008 05:44 pm

Oaklane Kennels Pet Resort and Spa owner Sally Cramer has a special relationship with the dogs who visit her Valrico business.

"People have disappointed me over my lifetime," she said, "but dogs have never let me down."
Cramer has succeeded in a variety of jobs, but nothing has come close to giving her the kind of joy she experiences at Oaklane.

"Joy? I can't even tell you," she said. "I love every single dog. Talk about something being returned 10-fold - a dog will love you back. Give yourself the opportunity to love. Open up your heart to a dog, and it will change how you see life.

"I won't remember your name," she said, "but I never forget the dogs.

"My job is official dog hugger, de-stresser. I was destined to do this."

Born in Michigan and raised in Tampa, Cramer grew up the youngest of 12.

"I had 11 half-sisters and brothers kicking my butt all the time," she said. "I grew up kind of tough. But boy, if you have a dog love you, it erases so many pains in your life."
Cramer moved to Brandon in 1979, then stumbled upon Oaklane via volunteer work with guide dogs. The owner then was Phyllis White.

"In 1995, she was ready to sell, and I offered to buy it," Cramer said. "She said, 'You don't want this; it's way too much work.' And she was right. I didn't have to marry again. I married this."

At the time, Cramer was newly single and earning good money as a regional sales representative for Deroma Italian Clay. She improved and expanded the 3-acre facility and went full time when her daughter moved to Ohio in 2001.

"I loved sales and couldn't understand why they gave me all this money," Cramer said. "Now, I've never worked as hard in my life, but this is a thousand times more rewarding."

Business expanded quickly, Cramer said.

"The place took off like a rocket. There's not enough kennels in this area to accommodate," she said. "I invited my son Ted to join me when he graduated from the University of South Florida. I said, 'How much do they pay teachers?' It wasn't hard to pay more."

Oaklane boasts 30 dog runs and nine expandable cat condos.

"I pretty much stay at capacity any time I choose," Cramer said. "Day care is even bigger than boarding because people work all day and feel guilty - these little animals have become family. Day care literally changes their life."
Cramer invested $100,000 in a day resort that includes an in-ground pool with jets on the side.

A lifelong dog lover, Cramer didn't get her first mutt until she left home.

"My first dog was out of a shopping cart for 50 cents," she said. "He captured my heart, and I'm so thankful for that love. It reduces your stress and just changes your life."

She's not a dog trainer, but Cramer said she does help train people.

"They call me Mrs. Cesar," she said, referring to Cesar Millan, who stars on National Geographic's "The Dog Whisperer."

Cramer would like to establish a "hugging farm for kids," and then a "rest home" for dogs destined for euthanasia.

"I'd have them live in the old kennels, and high school kids would look after them," she said. "The old dogs would sleep and lay around all day."
Cramer loves her work and encourages others to get involved.

"If you have a passion for animals, make it happen," she said. "You'll go to sleep at night with the clearest conscience."

PARTIAL TO POOCHES

NAME: Sally Cramer
JOB: Owner, Oaklane Kennels Pet Resort And Spa

BORN: Michigan, 1949

RAISED: Tampa

HIGH SCHOOL: Blytheville, Ark.

CHILDREN: Jodi, 40; Ted, 38

MOVED TO BRANDON: 1979

MEMORABLE QUOTE: "The harder you work, the luckier you get."

Derek Maul can be reached by visiting www.derekmaul.net and clicking on "contact."

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