Keeping Things Vintage Helps Keep Moorestown Kennel Open For 75+ Years

MOORESTOWN, NJ — Allen's Kennel opened in 1944, making it one of the oldest businesses in Moorestown in operation today, according to the Moorestown Business Association.

Dottie Allen of Allen's Kennel told Patch she runs the business both the way her mother did and in ways she never did. Dottie said this blend of old and new is what has allowed the business to survive the ups and downs of the past 78 years.

Her mom — Mrs. Allen — was a seamstress for a while, and her dad — Mr. Allen — was an electrical contractor, Dottie said.

When a friend convinced Mr. Allen that the "big money" was in raising chickens and hens, the family acquired the land where the kennel sits today to try their luck at it, Dottie said.

Dottie felt the family's effort at raising chickens and hens was "interesting,"

All of that said, if not for Mrs. Allen's love of dogs and doing a friend a favor, there might never have been an Allen's Kennel, Dottie said.

"Somebody said to her once, 'Oh, you're on a farm. Can you take care of my dog while I am on vacation?'" Dottie said.

Mrs. Allen said 'Yes' according to Dottie. Soon other people asked Mrs. Allen to do the same favor.

"She kept adding and adding and adding and adding" to make the business today, Dottie said of her mother.

The first section was the kennels, another was an office and the last was where the food and other supplies for the animals being housed were kept. Mr. Allen's job helped secure the mechanisms that allowed the kennels to be climate-controlled, according to Dottie.

When her parents retired, Dottie took over many of the business's responsibilities, performing some of the functions just as her parents did.

For example, Dottie uses a blackboard —and a computer — to keep track of the animals she's temporarily housing.

"My mother developed that blackboard," she said, adding she found using a computer to keep track of the animals more challenging.

Another example: If she split the large dog pens her parents oversaw the building of, she could house twice as many dogs and make more money. However, Dottie said she would rather leave the pens at the size her parents wanted them to be.

"I enjoy the [business] the way it is," she told Patch. "It wasn't about the money for me."

Dottie said she has also added some modern touches to Allen's Kennel over the years, like offering dog obedience classes and giving students at the nearby Burlington County Institute of Technology who are studying to be veterinary assistants real-world experience.

"We thought we would get one or two [students] and we have had eight or 10," she said. "They are doing a great job ... one even said 'this is my dream job.'"

She told Patch she believes following those vintage procedures and adding the new ones may
be one of the reasons the kennel continues to thrive after more than three-quarters of a century.

"We're booked in the summertime every single weekend and we're booked full on holidays like Christmas and New Year's," Dottie said.

Allen's Kennel also managed to stay relatively busy even amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Dottie.

"People around here [were going to] shore houses and ... they can't always take the dogs or don't want to take the dogs," Dottie explained. "We were never dogless."

During the interview, Dottie told Patch as a child she thought she wanted to be a teacher. She added that living a "never dogless" life turned out fine.

"I love it here," she added. "I would do it again in a heartbeat."

Got a news tip? Story idea? Send me an email with the details at janel.miller@patch.com.