i'm john heinz, owner of gray shepherd.

(formerly Shepherd and Grey Daycare and Guesthouse in Cold Spring)

A lifelong animal lover and longtime caregiver, I have more than 13 years' professional experience spanning three iterations of my pet care business as I moved it from Jersey City to Cold Spring to Kingston. I've worked with practically all dog breeds and sizes, numbering in the hundreds, along with cats and more notably domesticated birds, from parakeet to cockatiel to macaw. My approach to care for all has evolved into one of close observation, thoughtfulness, intuition, patience, and flexibility. I've learned very well that, like us, each animal is special and unique—what works for one may simply not for the next.

Through the ASPCA and other welfare organizations, I've been lucky over the years to foster and parent animals of various ages, abilities, and temperaments. These include my affectionate, high-strung German shepherd mix Murphy and now-32-year-old Byron, a bright and bossy African grey parrot—the pets who lent my business its name when I began it in 2012.

My animals have afforded me some of the most dimensional and profound relationships of my life. They’ve always meant the world to me, and so I understand just what yours means to you. As sole handler and caregiver of my small business, I vow to treat your pet as I would my own—with kindness, appreciation, love, and respect.

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