|
Who Are We?
Houston’s premier pet care facility, Urban Tails, was started in late 1999 by Frances Armstrong, Susan Briggs and Crista Meyer. The three owners became friends over the course of many years spent volunteering as Docents at Houston Zoo. Their mutual passion for animals led them to start a business together doing what they love, being surrounded by dogs, cats and the people who love them. Oh yes, there was some mention of never wearing panty hose again as well, but we digress . . . Susan leads the daily operations of Urban Tails and her current dogs, Sheppy & Archie love m  eeting new playmates in daycare. She is pictured here with her smooth collie, Hallie and golden retriever, Hank that were her inspiration to enter the pet care industry. Also pictured is Sheppy, the pup that inspired her training in holistic pet care. Susan is a Lightfoot Way Consultant and enjoys helping pets with nutrition, reiki, flower essences, homeopathy, aromatherapy, EFT and crystal or color therapy. Susan has embraced her career in the industry as an active volunteer for the Pet Care Services Association.
- Daycare Section Chair from 2003 - 2007.
- Led a committee who wrote the industry operating standards for managing a daycare safely for dogs and staff.
- Authored the Pet Care Services Association's "Community Play - Safely Adding Revenue and Fun" booklet for Pet Care Services Association members.
- Oversaw writing/updating the association's pet owner pamphlets "Canine Cough", "Puppy Warts" and "Let's Talk About Daycare".
- 2006 Susan passed the written and oral tests required to become an Pet Care Services Association Certified Kennel Operator.
- President of the association's Board of Director's effective January 2010 after serving on the board since January 1, 2007.
- Susan is a frequent speaker on the pet industry and dog play at association meetings.
In the fall of 2007 Off-Leash Dog Play, A Complete Guide to Safety & Fun her first book co-authored with Robin Bennett was published. This book is quickly becoming the go-to resource for pet professionals and dog owners to understand safe dog play. Susan authored her second book, Counting Noses published by the association based on her first career as a CPA. She graduated from Golden Paws Grooming School in 2002 as a professional groomer. Susan has also taken Pet First Aid, completed training as a volunteer for UAN’s Emergency Animal Rescue team and multiple holistic pet care seminars. Susan shares her home with Sheppy, a golden mix found on Shepherd Drive and Archie, one of Ellie's twelve puppies from Golden Retreiver Rescue of Houston. Crista left the daily operations of Urban Tails in 2010 to pursue her passion of pet health and nutrition. She is still available to the Urban Tails staff and clients for nutrition and behavior consults. She has a long history of training dogs and other assorted animals, a passion that started after checking out 2 training books from the book mobile in 1969. She also graduated from the Arizona Canine Academy in 2000 as a dog trainer and instructor and completed training as a volunteer for UAN’s Emergency Animal Rescue team. Crista recently spent 3 years living in Africa where she began learning holistic approaches to animal health in order to support her 7 animals in a third world country. She has studied advanced holistic care with Wendy Volhard, Sheila Hamilton-Andrews and many others kind enough to share their wisdom. Crista shares her home with Bubba the black lab, Little Mr. Tag-a-Long ("Tag"), a Maltese and 3 orange Tabby cats, Krosny, Adeen & Tres. Crista is proud to be a professional member of both the International Association of Canine Professionals and the Association of Pet Dog Trainers.
 Frances retired from daily work at Urban Tails in 2008. In 2000 Frances graduated from the Arizona Canine Academy as a dog trainer and instructor. She completed Pet First Aid through the Pet Care Services Association and training as a volunteer for UAN’s Emergency Animal Rescue team. Frances has been a foster mom for Bluebonnet Beagle Rescue of Texas and the Homeless Pet Placement League. |