Shannon Miller captured my heart four years ago when I saw a social media post looking for the human being belonging to a Husky who had gone for a shopping trip to the local Wal-Mart. I remember sitting there thinking how did a dog find its way to Wal-Mart of all places and go to the dressing rooms after browsing the women’s section? Well, Tonka is a larger-than-life character who has been taking himself on misadventures through Fallon anytime he is able to outwit his human Shannon Miller.
Shannon is the owner of Maggie’s Playhouse, a local doggie daycare where Shannon specializes in teaching our canine friends manners and respect. Traditional doggie daycare’s generally have a very thorough screening process and do not actually work with pets on socialization, manners, or fear aggression. That is what sets Maggie’s apart from the rest.
Originally, Shannon came from Pennsylvania to work for a big cat sanctuary in the area, but she fell in love with Fallon and decided to stay here. She has almost 13 years in the Lahontan Valley now, running her home-training business and Maggie’s Playhouse.
Maggie’s Playhouse began for the sole purpose to save dogs from being dumped in shelters. Shannon saw a need for dogs that were being left home all day while their family went to work and getting into mischief when boredom struck, but then being taken to shelters because the humans could not figure out how to prevent the “bad” behaviors.
Maggie’s Playhouse is a place where your dog can learn how to be a dog again and help curb and manage unwanted behaviors that are often seen in our four-legged fur children. Maggie’s Playhouse and her private in-home training sessions are not all that Shannon does in this community; she also rescues senior dogs. All of us who know her, have always been in absolute amazement at her passion to provide the best experience for what life is left in dogs that commonly have a multitude of issues besides normal aging and are generally taken to a shelter because their humans are not able to manage the financial and mental strain of caring for their needs.
Shannon said, “I try to give them better than they previously had.” It is a heavy financial burden taking these animals to the vet for diagnostics and treatment – just finding the root of problems can easily reach thou- sands of dollars, yet Shannon always makes sure these animals are cared for, first and foremost.
To help ease some of the financial strain, Shannon holds a dog wash fund- raiser at Maggie’s twice a year to benefit the Bean’s Senior Care organization, and she has been blessed by several individuals over the years who have contributed to help pay for the care.
There is a website where anyone can make donations for the cost of vet care and other necessities for the forgotten seniors of the community, which can be found at www.beanseniorcare.org. In addition, under Amazon Smile, donations can be made directly to the local veterinarian, and any donations can be sent to Maggie’s Playhouse.
Maggie’s Playhouse is open Monday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and is located at 2000 Auction Road, Suite B here in Fallon. Shannon can be reached at (775) 217-0567 or on Facebook at Maggie’s Playhouse. Maggie’s Playhouse does have open availabilities now and if you’re lucky you’ll get to meet Tonka – if he isn’t galivanting about town.
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