A business with a rebel yelp

For the Misterly family, success means doing what you love ? and always having plenty of cookies in your pocket.

The clan of three recently left their corporate ways and have opened up a bed-and-breakfast kennel in Santa Ana Heights. After years sitting behind a desk, Kathi Misterly is happy to spend all day playing with animals. Her parents, Margo and Tom Misterly, said their health has never been better.

“I think together, our whole family has lost about 90 pounds doing this,” Tom Misterly said.

The three operate Rebel Run Canine Suites on Riverside Drive, one of the only streets in the state zoned for residential dog kennels.

A quick drive down the street may lead you to think you’re in a standard suburban neighborhood, but roll the windows down and you’ll hear barking from all directions. Nearly every home at the end of the cul-de-sac operates as a kennel or dog-breeding operation, complete with chain-link fences to house mini dog runs. Dozens of wild rabbits roam the streets, stalked by hawks hungry for an afternoon meal.

Kathi said the street’s proximity to John Wayne Airport makes it the ideal spot for a dog kennel, although some neighbors who moved into recently built apartments on the next block have complained about the barking. The county has passed a series of resolutions to reign in the pups, including 10 p.m. curfew for dogs to be indoors.

Kathi said she’s found a secret to keeping the dogs content ? constant exercise. Small dogs at her kennel get five sessions of group play every day, and bigger dogs each get four turns playing in the dog run. The family charges $25 a night for one dog or $40 to house two dogs in one kennel.

“A lot of times the dog will run right in here when their owner drops them off,” Kathi said. “That makes the owner feel better that they’re leaving their dogs in good hands.”

Kathi started the kennel two years ago after a lengthy career in the advertising business. The previous owners had operated the kennel for decades and made the Misterlys go through a lengthy interview process before agreeing to sell them the kennel and attached two-bedroom house.

Margo and Tom Misterly said they were glad to leave their lives in the real estate business behind and start down a new path.

“I get more kisses in one day than I had working in real estate,” Margo Misterly joked as a half-dozen small dogs competed for her attention with licks and wagging tails. dpt.27-bizspot-kt-CPhotoInfoNO1PBD2F20060327iwrec7knKENT TREPTOW / DAILY PILOT(LA)From left, Kathi Misterly, Margo Misterly, Britney Tyner and Tom Misterly of Rebel Run Canine Suites gather with some of their customers on Tuesday. Kathi and her parents, Margo and Tom, own the kennel.