Hill Top Motel - Kingman, AZ

The Hill Top Motel has a long history of having canine host(s). Although there probably were earlier dogs, our personal experience dates back to when we purchased the property from Bob & Eileen Budd in 1981. At that time "Jethro" and "Princess" were here to greet and amuse the customers and staff. Jethro arrived about 1977(?) and was joined shortly thereafter by Princess--also a stray. Jethro's most endearing quality was that he would start to bark and howl when he was excited. The harder one tried to silence him, the louder he became. Princess was Eileen's constant companion and was never more than a few feet away at all times. They apparently enjoyed life at the Hill Top because they would come back to visit from time to time--once in particular after Jethro had been sprayed by a skunk.

In the late 70's and early 80's, Hollywood produced a number of films featuring dobermans, so that breed gained a very recognizable reputation as a breed to be respected. We had been doing some research into getting one for the motel. On November 22, 1981 opportunity knocked. A prospective guest stopped at the motel to inquire about renting a room for her and her five dobermans. Being new to the motel business, we had to think this one out for a few minutes. Since this would provide some first-hand insights into the breed, we agreed to rent her the end room at the far end of the motel--thinking that would minimize interaction with other motel guests. Never mind that the dogs would behave perfectly. We asked her if any of her dogs were available for sale, and she stated that since her vehicle had suffered a major mechanical failure and she had to purchase a truck to tow her dogs and gear, she stated that she would consider selling her 11 month-old puppy. She agreed to let us keep the dog overnight. The next morning was the start of a 9 1/2 year relationship.

One might think that getting a dog is easy. There are lots of dogs listed in the newspapers for sale or even free to a good home. However, we did not find this to be the case. We picked out a puppy just a few days before Bob needed to be put down. We named her Cloe, but unfortunately she had been exposed to Parvo and could not be saved. A pair of stray dogs wandered up to our door one day and rather than send them to the shelter, we put them in our fenced backyard and cared for them while we waited for some one to claim them either seeing them in the yard or responding to a newspaper ad. It turned out that the owner lived just two blocks away---and apparently did not care enough to do even a simple search of the neighborhood. Their mother told them where the dogs were being kept.

A friend from Parumph, Nevada responded to a listing in her local paper about a doberman that had gotten away from its new adoptive owner but was not wanted to be returned to that family. At first glance the dog seemed nice enough, but when it was on a leash and did not want to go where you wanted it to go, it would rear-up and try to pull the handler down. We spent a few days trying to rehabilitate him, but it just wasn't worth the risk of having a guest frightened or hurt by this dog. He had apparently been beaten by previous owner(s) and would not come when called. Unfortunately, it was him that needed to be put down (rather than the abusive owner).