Looking at the Adams family home from the road, a visitor can see that CircleTop isn’t a traditional family farm where Ma stays at home raising the kids and fixing lunch for Pa and the farmhands.
Pam Adams, 54, operates a dog kennel and training school at the 11-acre farm in Rineyville, where she works and lives with her husband, Mark, 47, and their son, Jud, 15.
“You just have to have a love for the dog,” Pam said. “Each dog gives me something – a look, a rub or maybe it’s just money in the bank for keeping them. If I can make any dog a better dog, that’s my goal. Each dog that comes through here is like a grandchild to me.”
She can board up to 50 dogs at a time and offers a 10-week obedience training program for dogs and their owners. Pam compares the structure of the training program to building a house. A solid foundation must be in place before any construction – or training – can occur.
Pam even transports her canine trainees via a large van, taking the dogs into situations that provide real-life distractions they will encounter with their owners.The Adams own seven dogs of their own that interact with the boarded dogs daily.
Pam’s dedication and love for the animals requires a huge amount of time and effort from both herself and her family.
“It’s her passion,” Jud said. “It’s what she loves to do. She’s strived to do this for a long time, and it’s part of our lives now. … There’s times where I just don’t want to do it, but I push through and do it anyway. But most the time I enjoy it. I take after her in that way.”
