Paws for Thought Farm: A Groton family endeavor

Sue Rady was born and raised in England, and Bill Rady hails from Canada. When the two met working for the AES Corporation in England, they soon became a married couple. In time, they added their daughter, Sasha, and their son, Tom, to the family — a family that has always included dogs!

“I’ve been a dog lover all my life and have just always had dogs,” Sue said. Thus, it is not surprising that her life with dogs did not stop when she and Bill started their life together, nor that her passion for those four-legged members of society eventually turned into Paws for Thought Farm (Paws) at 322 Smith Rd. in Groton — a 16,000 square foot canine agility center that Bill and Sue have been operating for the past 10 years.

What brought the Rady family to Groton?

Bill was the plant manager for AES, which brought the Rady family to Dresden, New York in 2002. Bill left AES in 2012 to become a consultant in the power industry, and the family moved to Ithaca, but he and Sue longed to own land. They found what they were looking for on Smith Road in 2013. They bought the land and subsequently built Paws in 2015. They built a home on the property in 2017.

Tom was born in Wales and was three years old when his parents moved to Dresden, so he had graduated from Ithaca High School in 2017 before the Radys settled in Groton. Sasha became a real estate agent in Atlanta, Georgia, where she lives today.

After earning an engineering degree from Tompkins Cortland Community College, Tom earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Binghamton University and now works as a project manager for Matco Electric in Ithaca. He is currently getting ready to start his own side business repairing recreational vehicles in Groton, but he is also deeply involved with helping his parents with Paws and training his own dogs, German short-haired pointers.

“I got my puppy, Lila, in 2016, so she’s eight now, and I also have Mac, who is three, and is a rescue dog,” Tom said. “I started with agility, obedience training and competition hunting with Lila. I ended up focusing on agility and earning points toward a MACH [master agility champion].”

The Paws facility is constructed

“Once the kids went off to college, I knew I wanted to do something with dogs,” Sue explained. “I thought about a boarding kennel, but I had begun training my own dalmatians, Jackpot and Rascal, and competing in agility trials. I thought it would be great to have a facility in this area for teaching and training dogs and holding trials, so that’s what we did.”

“We got the turf from the Czech Republic,” Bill said. “I didn’t want typical field turf, so I did a lot of research on what would be best, and I am happy to say that most of the labor for the concrete and electrical work was done by local Groton businesses.”

What happens in the Paws facility?

Paws has a full-time trainer, but the Radys also rent the facility by the hour for people to train their own dogs, and they hold trials several weekends throughout the year. These are typically two-day events but sometimes last for three or four days, with participants who come from near and far.

At a recent trial at Paws on July 20, Joe Osmeloski of Dryden was on site as a CPE (canine performance event) judge. Osmeloski has been a judge and volunteer setting up the course for the Radys since the beginning, but he also trains and trials his own border collies, Flow, Frankie and Rose.

Brynn Newton and her mom, Beth, are from Vestal, New York, and Brynn was taking her four-year-old border collie, Mia, through the course. Brynn started out with obedience training and then agility training, and then she started going to shows with her trainer, Donna DeVoist of Binghamton. Brynn said, “It’s fun, and I have a good time doing it.”

“I think this strengthens their bond,” Beth said of Brynn and Mia. “Today was her first trial, and they took first place and qualified in the first run for her jump height!”

Also among the numerous participants at Paws that day was Sierra Milton from Marathon. Milton, who lived in the United Kingdom for 30 years, is a semiprofessional handler. She said she has shown and field trialed dogs her whole life and is a licensed U.K. judge. Milton had her Welsh sheepdog, Cody, at the trial, but she also owns Wendy, Cassie and Dante — all of whom she brought over from Wales. She said they are four of only 3,200 of their breed in the world.

“Getting out with the dogs like this is important for the dogs and for the people,” Milton said. “Dogs enrich people’s lives, and it has been proven that dogs can lower human blood pressure just by being there with them.”

For more information about Paws for Thought Farm, visit PawsforThoughtFarm.com or find them on Facebook at pawsforthoughtfarm.

Groton on the Inside appears every week in Tompkins Weekly. Submit story ideas to editorial@vizellamedia.com or text or call Linda at 607-227-4922. 

In brief:

Attention Groton alumni!

While you’re in town for the reunion, take a stroll up to the memory brick garden at the high school track and consider ordering an engraved brick to pay tribute to someone or to honor a deceased loved one. Visit the Groton Alumni website for more information.

Pancake breakfast

All are welcome to attend the Groton Fire Department’s all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast from 7 to 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 2 — the day of the Groton Alumni Reunion Picnic. Come for a great meal and a tour of the beautiful new facility on Main Street! Pancakes, toast, bacon, sausage, hash browns and made-to-order eggs are $13 for adults, $10 for senior citizens and children ages 5 to 10. Children under five eat free.

VBS at Groton Assembly of God

Get ready for Wonder Junction: Marvel at Jesus, Living for His Glory Vacation Bible School at Groton Assembly of God, 701 S. Main St. There will be a nightly program from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Aug. 10 through 14. Open to age four through those recently graduated from seventh grade. For more information or to obtain a registration form, contact Pastor Sharon Newman at 607-898-5263.