PAMPERING PETS IS STUART AND BRECKEN CAMPAGNA’S PASSION
A flat-screen TV, classical music, freshly fluffed pillows topped with a mint: The amenities would have even the most discerning hotel guests drooling.
Of course, drooling is second nature to the four-legged visitors at Southpaw Pet Resort on Hilton Head Island’s north end — especially when there are treats involved.
Those pillow mints? They’re milk bones.
It takes a true pet lover to put this much love and care into animals’ comfort. That’s where Southpaw owners Brecken and Stuart Campagna come in.
The couple and their two kids have so many pets that they refer to their Hilton Head Island home as a “small zoo.” There’s a Boxer mix named Roxy, an Australian Shepherd mix named Rockit and four cats: Chrissy, CK, Jackie and Rainy. There’s also a guinea pig named Cookie and a leopard gecko named Shiloh.
At work at their upscale dog boarding and daycare facility off Beach City Road, the Campagnas lavish attention on their V.I.P. four-footed guests. They accommodate nearly any special request from rotating Fido’s toys to administering medication to delivering ice cream bars to their private suite.
“Our clients become our extended family. We fall in love with their dogs,” Brecken said. “To have the chance to know these people and know their dogs, it’s just been an amazing experience. It’s our life and it’s our passion.”
Stuart is originally from New York City; Brecken grew up in rural South Carolina near Aiken. They met on Hilton Head Island in 2000, when Brecken was vacationing with her college roommate and Stuart was working at a restaurant. Stuart served her sweet tea and “from there, it was love at first sight.”
