Community
Pets and their People
It has been a trying year, to say the least. Unprecedented circumstances have forced us to stay inside and stay apart to stay safe. Many of us have relied on the love of our pets when there hasn’t been much else that feels stable right now.
Through these challenging times, our pets understand us. They can sense when we’re feeling down and they can even mend a broken heart.
Mister Rogers taught us that in times of turmoil, we should look for the helpers.
The helpers at PetSuites
PetSuites offers dog and kitty boarding, training and daycare. General Manager Jo Lynn McGhee, proud pet-mom of a Basset Hound and a Pug-mix, couldn’t help but gush over her loving staff. She maintained that in these trying times, “pets are essential.”
PetSuites is here for the community to take care of “the babies,” as McGhee calls them, when we can’t. The business was named essential by the county and kept open during the quarantine for front line workers and other essential business owners to drop off their pets whenever they needed.
It’s comforting to know that while nurses and doctors are working so hard for us, PetSuites is working hard to see that their babies feel right at home. “The team cares about the love of pets and proper care,” McGhee said. “They have the TV on Animal Planet during the day and will even take shifts going to sit with a baby just to be with them.”
She looked back at confusion earlier in the year and remembered taking in pets for the long term when a resident’s house burnt down, or when people had fallen ill from the pandemic and had to bring their babies in until they got better.
McGhee recalled one family that brought in an older dog when they could no longer care for him; one of her team members ended up adopting the dog and taking him home.
But the most heartwarming story of all occurred when McGhee’s mother fell ill during the time of COVID. Her mother was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a cancer of the plasma cells. McGhee was saddled with the unfortunate task of rehoming her mother’s three dogs.
Eventually, the doctors were able to stop the disease from spreading, McGhee said, and “in the end, we were able to get her babies back to her, which was really special to me. She is doing so much better now.”
The positive power of pets
Peachtree Corners resident Susan Highsmith had a similar situation with her mother. For Highsmith, and most people would agree, COVID-19 has been a topsy-turvy experience.
She first realized the power of pets when her mother was living in an assisted living home. Highsmith wanted to do something special for her mother that included the family’s dogs that her mother is so fond of — her two Schnauzers and her daughter’s Whippet.
So she organized the “Pets and Peeps Parade” for residents of a local assisted living home. She brought together residents’ families, as well as the community at large, to give the elder residents a bit of cheer.
Some residents were brought outside and socially distanced while others watched from inside through the windows. The families paraded by with their pets in costumes. There was music, balloons, decorations and signs of love. The Sandy Springs Fire Department also joined in to show their support.
Highsmith chuckled, remembering how one woman didn’t have a pet, so she dressed up a stuffed animal dog and gave the crowd a good laugh!
After the assisted living home went into full lockdown, her mother’s health worsened. She lost more than 30 pounds and was sleeping for 22 hours a day; ultimately, she was diagnosed with orthostatic hypotension, a condition in which a person’s blood pressure drops when they stand up or sit down.
Highsmith made the decision to bring her mother home so she could be with her family, including the two Schnauzers. She got a bed through a hospice service and set up a bedroom in what was once her dining room. She really thought her mother was nearing the end.
But then something miraculous happened — her mother started to get better almost immediately. “She loves my two dogs; they sit by her bed constantly and they give her hope,” Highsmith said. “When we brought her home, we thought she was dying, and now she is coming back to life.”
Her mother is sleeping less, gaining weight and is expected to make a full recovery. The dogs not only helped her mother, but they helped Highsmith and her family through those sad days when they didn’t think her mother was going to pull through.
Pets — and people — have the power to help
McGhee pointed out that pets offer healing in many ways. Besides offering love, they keep us on a routine even when everything is falling apart around us. They get us up and out of the house even when we don’t want to go.
“They don’t have a bad day,” she said. “They play and do something funny that can always get a laugh out of us no matter how bad our day has been.”
During the current pandemic, Highsmith and McGhee have seen that the power of pets can get us through. But more importantly, both of them made decisions to be helpers and reach out to fellow community members in need. They’ve shown us that we can look for the helpers, like Mister Rogers taught us, or we can choose to be the helpers.
If you drive a ‘Little Deuce Coup,’ a ‘Little Red Corvette’ or nothing at all, the Ride Lounge in Peachtree Corners may be the club for you.
If you’re someone who’s so fascinated with automobiles that casual conversations often turn into treatises about torque, transmission overdrive, throttle linkage and tread squirm, the Ride Lounge, set to open this year in Peachtree Corners, might be your utopia.
Founders Dave Codrea and Josh Friedensohn have envisioned the spot as a unique car storage facility and social club designed for car enthusiasts and their families.
Once complete, the 18,000-square-foot building will have indoor storage for about 65 cars as well as lounge areas, a conference room/presentation area for members to do group events, a car detailing area and a bar.
“There will be plenty of room for social events and stuff,” said Codrea.
Pre-opening fundraiser
Even though the establishment’s interior wasn’t completed at the time, the guys kicked off the first weekend in February with the first charity fundraiser of many to come. Pedal Fest took place on Saturday, February 1, with proceeds going to the Gwinnett County Public Schools Foundation.
Teams of three competed in pedal-powered drift trike races around a track set up in the parking lot.
“This is the kind of family-friendly stuff we like to do,” said Codrea. “We’ll probably have about one event a week — mostly related to different car events.”
The concept behind the Ride Lounge is more than just your old man’s garage. According to design firm Archie Bolden, the club will have “strategically integrated focal lighting throughout to enhance specific areas and create captivating visual focal points that invite visitors to explore highlighted zones or admire showcased feature cars.”
The look is described as masculine luxe with industrial accents.
Just a couple of gearheads
Codrea and Friedensohn don’t have anything to do with autos in their day jobs. They are partners in Greenleaf, a real estate company that buys, rehabilitates and manages long-term low-income residential properties and small business commercial properties to provide advancement opportunities for its residents, tenants, investors and communities.
“I started getting into cars when I was about 13 or 14 years old and as a little boy growing up with Hot Wheels,” Codrea said. “I got my first car, and I always enjoyed working on it. I took the whole engine apart and put in a turbo system. I’ve always loved cars.”
And he’s come across other “gearheads” who like to talk about cars, hang out around cars and work on cars as well.
So why a car club?
“You can do whatever you want to do with cars and it doesn’t matter what kind of car you have as long as it’s something you’re passionate about and like talking about it with other car people,” he said. “It’s a really good way to bring people together.”
Why here?
“That’s easy. I live in Peachtree Corners and I like it,” he said.
Building community
Codrea added that there’s so much diversity and growth that it’s kind of a no-brainer that there are many people who’d gravitate to the concept.
“Atlanta is a big city, but that also means there’s all sorts of interest in a lot of little segments,” he said. “You know what’s out there in cars and there’s definitely interest. As the area grows, we’re trying to bring people that like cars and their kids and families together.”
The storage spaces will allow owners to keep their prize possessions out of the elements or out the home garage in an environmentally-controlled area. But owning a car is not a requirement for membership in the club. There’s a level for just communing with like-minded individuals.
With so many “reality” shows based on restoration and enhancement, there’s no doubt that the interest is there. There’s a big screen ready for 24 hours of Le Mans, F1 races and anything else with a motor.
It looks like those with a passion for automotive performance have found their tribe.
To learn more about Ride Lounge or for early member access, visit ride-lounge.com.
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