Koffi, Virginie & Alpha Dog House

Dogs

Jan 26

Written By Maureen den Os

ph. Amedeo Abello

Koffi and Virginie have founded a walking and boarding company for dogs, cats and other pets. Within the barns of the estate, the meadows and the woods, they provide care and love to the animals entrusted to them as well as to those - many! - who share their lives.

Eternal stories

"As a child, I spent weekends and school holidays at my great-grandparents' family home. I was surrounded by cows, goats, chickens, geese, cats and dogs; I even had a ferret. I used to take them on bike rides around the hamlet church: I already had a mini interspecies pack! They were all I could think about: I could spend days taming wild cats in the attic, would cry on Sunday nights when I left, and would take soil, hair and feathers from all my animals in a jam jar that I would sniff at night as I fell asleep. My father would also give me animals for Easter. Today, after 20 years working in fashion and having 3 dogs and 8 cats, I have found the animal in me!”

(Virginie)

In a pack

"I had a little monkey named Boo Boo Cla Cla when I was a child in the Ivory Coast, where I lived until I was 7 years old. When I arrived in France, I met Caroline - a fabulous little Yorkshire - who forever marked my destiny and gave birth to a deep love of dogs. Since then, my life has been dedicated to making my dogs happy: Flash and Vibes, my working dogs (Tervueren and Malinois x Australian Shepherd cross respectively) and Punchy. I work with them in different ways, each with its own personality and qualities, and I spend a lot of time with them, particularly on long daily walks where they are physically and intellectually active and socialise with many of the other dogs in the kennel - there may be 50 of them! My dogs are very well-balanced and it's a real pleasure to see them happy. Like Virginie, I have returned to my deepest nature: I trust my instincts and with them I have learned to live fully in the moment.”

(Koffi)

No price

"We meet many animals at the pension. For example, I bought Flash (my first working dog) from a specialised kennel, but Vibes was given to us by a client and Punchy was entrusted to us by the association Sauvade for the rehabilitation of a difficult case; I went from being a foster family to an adopter! (Koffi)

"In the same way, all my animals are encounters or rescues: Arko, the street dog, as well as the two cats Adèle and Oblomoff were entrusted to us and finally stayed with me (as did Kenzo, a little Sauvadian taken in for urinary problems who never left); India the Husky was very happy in the pack and I adopted her; Guimauve and Hiroshima were rescued from a pet shop; Leo was a stray cat who lived around what was to become the pension; Periph was found and rescued on the ring road with Koffi, etc,... There is so much abuse, abandonment, and animals that are in need of rescue that I have trouble with the act of buying. "