Meet Kenzie!
In February, we became a family of 5. We’re now 4 humans, and this adorable pup you see above. Her name is Kenzie, she’s a Westie, and she is 4 years old. She will jump up on you and lick you, even if you are a complete stranger, and I love that about her. She loves cuddling and sleeps with us every night. Really, the only question is who in our family is most obsessed with her. I think it’s Pam, and the feeling is mutual – Kenzie is obsessed with her, too. Girl power.
It’s a win-win-win. Her original owner is in her 80s and can no longer care for her. For the past year and a half, her sister has been taking care of Kenzie, but she has her own Westie and was ready for a change as well. She was just waiting for a loving family who wanted a dog to come along. Enter us.
There were a hundred reasons for us to buy a house and move, but #3 on that list was to get a dog, trailing only “we need a washer and dryer” and “we need a second bathroom”. Kenzie is the perfect pup for us, thanks in no small part to the fact that she isn’t a puppy. She is totally trained and is even adorable when she needs to go out – she will gently “paw” your leg. I mean, c’mon! Noah had the line of the week when he said: “How have I lived without you for 9 years??”
She has a super chill demeanor and very rarely barks or growls. According to her previous owner, “she didn’t know how to bark until my Westie taught her”. Good friends of ours have a dog who is similarly super chill and doesn’t bark much, so we’ve been saying Kenzie is a bigger, whiter version of that dog, Burt.
We’re currently going to her “old” vet, as she’s been recovering from paw surgery and some gastro issues. She seems to be on the other side of both of those now, thankfully. I only say “old” because she’s a solid 30 minutes away, and we can probably find a vet just as great a little closer to home.
We’ve got her groomer lined up as well – a place super close to us owned by a sweet husband and wife team.
She’s got a dog bed, toys, treats, etc – really everything we needed from her previous owner, which was super helpful.
I grew up with a dog, a mixed black lab named Chipper, but I was a kid, not responsible for him.
So, to my fellow dog owners, what do I need to know?
This month, Murph Consulting turned 18. I cranked up Alice Cooper's "I'm 18" and Skid Row's "18 and Life" to get the vibes going. My company is now old enough to vote, get a tattoo, and get married, all without parental consent. Watch out, world!
In all seriousness, the passing of another year of entrepreneurship and running a successful business always feels like a good time to reflect. Since we started in 2007, we've assisted nearly 600 small businesses and residential clients. Businesses in every industry, ranging in size from the solopreneur to 100 employees. There’s no company we’ll say “you’re too small for us to help”, and that gives me great joy. Small businesses need tech and CyberSecurity support, and we’ve got their backs.
Speaking of, it's October again, and you all know what that means, right? The Mets have failed us, and the Islanders, Jets, and Rangers are about to. It's also Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Every small business should be implementing some basic security measures by now. It's easier and more affordable than you think it is, and definitely cheaper than dealing with the fallout of something drastically bad happening to your business.
How's your password game? Do you use strong passwords on all the sites you visit, or are they all slight modifications of one word, like your kids or pets' names or birth dates?
If it's the latter, let's chat. You should be using a password manager. They are easy to use, create complex passwords for you that you no longer need to remember, and keep them all safe for you. I can't remember the last time I had to click on the "forgot your password" link for any site, and I love that for me.
A password manager is just one of the seven software we feel EVERY small business should have in place to help keep them protected in 2025. We’ve packaged these up together neatly and made them affordable for the small businesses we will always support. If you’d like to learn more, please click the “Contact Murph” button below to send me an email.