OAKLAND COUNTY
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TUESDAY FEBRUARY 14 2012
PAGE A-3
By CAROL HOPKINS
Of The Oakland Press
For years Mike Layne took his Golden Retriever Miles to work only on Saturdays.“Then my son Joshua went to college and there was no one left in the house so I figured, why shouldn’t Miles come every day?” said Layne, who owns the Farmington Hills-based marketing and public relations firm Marx Layne & Co. In this month when dogs are being celebrated at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show today and at the Detroit Kennel Club Show March 3 and 4, customers should know there are interesting dogs out in the workplace every day.Once Miles became a regular, Layne decided to open the kennel door for all staff.On any given day there are two to four dogs at his office — from the 8-pound Bichon Frise to a 13-year-old Great Dane named Grand.“We like the dogs to be obedient, friendly and quiet,” said Layne.The office, at 31420 Northwestern Hwy., Suite 100, located north of 13 Mile, is near woods so the dogs and owners are able to take a break outdoors.“Most clients enjoy see-ing the dogs, although our dogs are kept in our offices and rarely attend client meetings,” said Layne.“I believe that the work-place should be focused, but also fun and casual. Having dogs in the office greatly enhances the work-place.”He joked, “Our employ-ees like our generous 401(k), but love our K9 program.”People who stop by Lori Karbal’s beauty and cloth-ing boutique at 560 N. Old Woodward north of Maple in Birmingham often look around for Muddy, a Cairn terrier who has been in the store since Karbal picked him up 11 years ago.“Especially kids,” said Karbal. “I think customers love having Muddy in the store. He knows who he can get a treat from. We definitely have dog visitors and we also sometimes have anoth-er dog in the store. Having him here means every time I look at him I smile.”Various Scottish deer-hounds have graced Carl Sterr’s men’s cloth-ing store at 742 N. Old Woodward, south of Oak in Birmingham, for the last 20 years, said LeNore Briggs, store manager.Sterr has kept the dogs as pets and continued to bring them in.“Some clients just come in to see them,” she said.Other customers don’t even notice the big dogs who often lie still on their beds and “look like rugs.”Lucy, a standard poodle, works five days a week welcoming customers at Ronnie’s Jewelry and Loan at 7716 Cooley Lake Road near Union Lake Road in Waterford.Ronnie Fink began bringing a poodle to work years ago.“We are big dog lovers,” said Nicole Fink Leshman, Ronnie’s daughter, who also works at the shop.“I don’t think we’d have dogs if we couldn’t bring them to work.”Customers love the big, friendly black poodle whose bed sits near the front door.“People bring her Christmas presents and dog bones,” said Leshman.“Half the people don’t know our names but they know her name.”Leshman said when she drives Lucy to work, the dog begins wagging her tail two miles from the shop.“She can’t wait to get to work every day,” her owner said.“She greets people. That’s her life.”Leshman said dogs set the business apart from others.“It gives us more char-acter, and adds more fun to the atmosphere,” she said.“She puts people at ease and makes it not so stuffy. We will always have a dog here.”
Contact Carol Hopkins at 248-745-4645 or carol.hopkins@oakpress.com. Follow her on Twitter @water-fordreport or on Facebook @OPcarolhopkins.
Dogs in workplaces put customers at ease
The Oakland Press/TIM THOMPSON
Mike Layne with his two dogs, Trevor and Grand, in his office at Marx Layne in Farmington Hills.
The sweetest thing ...
Oakland Press readers submit stories of the sweetest things their sweethearts have ever done for them
Tom Edwards of Commerce Township with his girl-friend, Gillian Rugg.Steve Shemansky and Jennifer Coleman of Macomb Township.Ryan Price with Angela Taylor, a Waterford Township resident.Heather and Chad Dunn.
Jennifer and Steve
Jennifer Coleman recalled how her boyfriend, Steve Shemansky, went out of his way to help her. A recent divorcee, Coleman was working four jobs to keep her house when she met Steve. “He drove to Toledo to help me when I was alone dealing with car problems,” wrote Jennifer, a Macomb Township resident. “He has canceled his plans to change endless flat tires ... When my car broke down, he and his family allowed me to drive their vehicles for four months.”She continued: “He supported me emotionally and financially and expected nothing in return, ever. He made me laugh when I felt like I couldn’t. A thousands and one times, I have learned how big his heart is.” Jennifer said the best gift Steve has ever given is sim-ply his unselfishness. “Today and everyday, I am thankful for Steve, for his unselfish character,” she wrote. “And also for his par-ents, who raised him to be such a wonderful man.”
Angela and Ryan
For Waterford Township resident Angela Taylor, it was how her friend Ryan Price helped her leave a bad relationship that she considers the sweetest thing. The two are now a couple. “He is my stone,” Taylor said. “I thank God for Ryan, he is my angel, and I could never repay him for what he has given back to me — my life, my dignity, self-esteem, trust and the ability to love with all my heart.”She added: “Ryan, you are my hero.”
Tom and Gillian
Tom Edwards of Commerce Township said the sweetest thing his girlfriend Gillian Rugg has ever done for him isn’t necessarily a tangible thing. “When you have been through a lot of ups and downs in your life, experienced strife and struggle, longed your whole life to just be loved for who you are, who you really are inside, and someone loves you for that very reason ... Well, to me, that is the sweetest thing they could ever do,” Tom said. “That is what I consider the sweetest thing ever done for me. A soft kiss on a bad day, a hug when I’m feeling grumpy. It can’t be purchased or rented from a store; it’s just the gift of her heart.”
Heather and Chad
Heather Dunn met her husband, Chad, in 1998 while living in an apartment complex in Waterford Township. “While staying with his friend Shane, he would come over to borrow an egg or milk or whatever it was, just to chit chat,” Heather wrote. “Even though we had a six-year age difference and two young children, it never stopped him from showing his love for me.” The couple married in 2006. “I want to thank and recognize Chad Dunn for being a great step-father, provider and friend to my children and myself, making our lives complete,” she wrote.
By KAREN WORKMAN
Of The Oakland Press
From the big things to the little things, Oakland Press readers are honor-ing their better halves this Valentine’s Day by sharing stories of the sweetest things their sweethearts have ever done for them.Here are their stories:
Skylar and Stacy
Skylar Rayne said her sweetheart, Stacy, is “sweet to me 365 days, not just when the calendar tells him to love me.” “I would say the sweet-est thing he has have ever done for me is write a letter to my Grandmother in heaven introducing himself to her and thank-ing her for raising me to (be) the woman I am today because he never had the opportunity to meet her,” Skylar wrote. “He is an amazing man.”
Kristi and Chris
Lake Orion resident Kristi N. said her sweet-heart, Chris Z., does “a lot of sweet things all of the time.” “One of the sweetest things is, I get a different ‘I love you’ card every time he has to go out of town for work,” Kristi wrote. The last time he had to travel, though, he had been sick in bed for days before he had leave. “I thought for sure there wouldn’t be a card,” Kristi wrote. “Sure enough, I had a card left for me again. I asked how he managed to get a card when couldn’t even leave the house and found out that he has a stash of ‘I love you’ cards hidden somewhere in the house.”
Debbie and Larry
Waterford Township resident Debbie Mapes said her guy, Larry Baker, has “come up with some unusual gifts in the past — most aren’t what you would consider tradition-al, sentimental or roman-tic, but he has a great imagination and knows what I like.” The sweetest thing he’s ever done for her was giv-ing one of those unusual gifts. “For Christmas a few years ago, he presented me with a gift that has left any other in the dust (literally and figuratively) when he gave me his beloved 1984 Trans Am!”
Gail and George
It was on her husband’s birthday last year when George Taylor of Waterford Township took his wife, Gail Taylor, to a meet and greet with the Detroit Lions.“There I got to meet Jason Hanson of the Detroit Lions,” Gail wrote. “My husband took (a) picture. I altered it and had it put on a tee-shirt. Now that’s a sweetheart husband!”
High school sweethearts
Ed Sornig first asked his wife for her hand in marriage when they were 16-year-old high school students. “She said we were too young. I didn’t mean today,” Sornig wrote. “As a senior, I asked her to marry me and she said yes! She loved me, warts and all.” Sornig didn’t give his wife’s name, but said they’ve been married for 55 years now.“She has made me the happiest man in the world,” Sornig wrote. “I love you more than words can say. Your chubby hubby, Ed.”
Kochavah! will focus on love, relationships
Viewers are invited learn more about love and rela-tionships during February on The Kochavah! Show in Waterford. This episode, which airs on Waterford’s cable Channel 10, features what to look for and look out for in a potential long-term life partner. “The show is for individuals of any marital status,” said the show’s hostess, Kochavah Latham. Latham is joined by Dr. William Guy, PhD, M.D. in a dia-logue on the effects of brain chemis-try dur-ing all stages of a love relation-ship. Among the topics explored include love potions and the impor-tance of identifying red flags in a relationship, with advice on what actions to take. The episode first airs at 9 p.m. today and at various times throughout February. Watch it on channel 10 or visit WTV10.org, and click on the pro-gram schedule. Email kochavahshow@yahoo.com.
— From staff reports
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