Lisa Brooks, owner/founder of Happy Tails began her extensive knowledge of animal care 37 years ago (April 1972) with Ilsa Kopetz; breeder, importer, exhibitor of top Schutzhund III level German Shepherds. Lisa quickly won Ilsa’s trust and was left alone to care for Ilsa’s dogs when Ilsa travelled extensively. Lisa then became the care-giver / trainer in Lionel Innison’s Siberian Husky kennel where she became an avid sled dog enthusiast, and ran teams for fun, competition and tourism in the 1970s.
In the 1980’s Lisa moved to Alberta to apprentice under Elaine Mitchell, top Professional Handler with 30 years International experience. Lisa went on to bred and showed dogs around the world. Her kennel name of Isbok produced over 75 individual Canadian, American & European champion titles, including 2 International World Champions and numerous speciality winners.
Lisa was a professional pet groomer for 25 years and was the founder of the first ever government licensed vocation grooming school Alberta Academy of Dog Grooming in 1991. After her divorce from Dr. Dougall, Lisa went back to her maiden name and returned to her home town of Huntsville to open her childhood dream business Happy Tails’ Pet Resort & Camp. Never marrying again, Lisa has dedicated her life to her full time career and love of animals.
Lisa was also a professional dog trainer and class instructor since 1985, but has stepped back from extensive involvement due to demands on her time.
Lisa Brooks sought an answer for pets in our Muskoka Woodlands and as the innovative thinker she is she developer / manufacturer of Muskoka Woodlands Bush Splash since 1996. This product is made entirely of edible food recipe ingredients and tested at 95.7% in its efficacy tests at Guelph University.
Attached are Lisa’s words [As quoted from Globe and Mail Focus on Small Business November 2006 Issue]
"I had a fantasy when I was a child of being surrounded by dozens of dogs. It was my going-to-sleep dream. The dogs would be swimming and running and playing free, and we would all live together in a big brick house. Now I've achieved that dream. This is a place for people who don't like the idea of their dogs being caged, filed away and only being taken out for occasional exercise. It's a resort for pets. We have activities like paw-print painting and pottery, but most of the time the dogs just hang out with each other and have fun. Each dog has its own cubby to sleep and eat in. They're all wood, with Berber carpet in the summer and straw in the winter. There's also a TV and a fireplace. For the larger dogs, there are cabins on the grounds, and couches. The dogs sleep wherever they feel most comfortable. My favourite part of the day is meeting our customers—it's great to see people so happy with the service. Dogs that have been here before are excited when they arrive; they can't wait to be with the other dogs and play all day. At the end of their stay, the dogs are happy to see their owners, of course, but people always tell me that as soon as their pet has said hello and settled in to the car, they fall fast asleep. It's like a switch goes off, and they sleep most of the way home, like a child coming home from camp."
