Photo by Ryan Lely
It was a long and circuitous career path that delivered French-born Cecile and Jean-Pierre Mouraux to their latest enterprise, a thriving bed and breakfast for pets in Sonoma Valley. The Happy Pets Inn is – as fully detailed in the inn’s illustrated brochure – “the ultimate alternative for spoiled or sensitive pets.” For decades, the energetic couple has worked intensely to achieve the American Dream. That dream has indeed been achieved, but it doesn’t appear as if M. and Mme. Mouraux are ready to rest on their laurels.
“We lived in various countries in the world and we decided that here is the most appropriate place to live with our feeling of liberty, free speech and entrepreneurial spirit,” said Cecile Mouraux, who became a U.S. citizen a decade ago.
In his native country, Jean-Pierre worked as a printer, a photographer and the owner of a ballroom dance school. He met Cecile 35 years ago and the couple married on St, Valentine’s Day. They moved to Polynesia, where Jean-Pierre worked for a fishing company and as the manager of a brewery, before opening another dance studio. Cecile worked in a Tahitian bank in Papeete in two managerial positions.
Thirty years ago, the Mouraux moved to San Francisco and started a tour operator company catering to French-speaking visitors to the Bay Area. The industrious pair were thrilled to see their clients learning to love the U.S as much as they had, but ultimately, French government restrictions on the amount of money citizens could spend here doomed the business.
Facing mountains of debt, the Mouraux turned to baby-sitting, a labor-intensive calling if ever there was one. That endeavor fortunately led to requests for housecleaning work. Before long, Jean-Pierre Mouraux had so much work he had to hire staff and establish a full-service cleaning company.
The next turn in the road was almost predictable. “Several customers told me that their dogs loved me and asked if I could watch them for while they were away,” said Mr. Mouraux, smiling at the thought. “That’s how I came up with the idea of opening a hotel for pets. We sold our cleaning company and started working full-time in our new business.”
In 1994, the Mouraux purchased property on Fremont Drive and opened the Happy Pets Inn. Jean-Pierre began his ritual of getting out of bed every day at 4:30 a.m. to collect his customer’s pets, most of whom still live in San Francisco.
Two years later, the Happy Pets Inn acquired the adjacent property, which was large enough to accommodate a separate hotel for felines. Decorating the new building inspired yet another passion.
Jean-Pierre purchased an original poster that featured cats to decorate the cat kennel’s many rooms. The impressive collection has grown to include more than 300 original lithographs featuring cats and dogs. The entire “hotel” is now decorated in an engaging mixture of perfectly framed posters and whimsical kitty-themed bric-a-brac.
Before you could say “Non, merci,” the Mouraux became enamored of World War I posters. While Cecile ran the thriving pet hotel, her husband become an expert in vintage posters. Within his growing WWI collection, Jean-Pierre was intrigued by the many incarnations of the Uncle Sam character, prompting him to specialize in that niche.
Ultimately, the Mouraux wrote a book, “Who Was Uncle Sam” and established the Uncle Sam Museum in another structure on their property. Open to the public, the museum includes more than 1300 Uncle Sam pieces, including framed posters from many countries, well-preserved publications and fragile newspaper political cartoons.
The Happy Pets Inn and the Uncle Sam Museum
2555 Fremont Dr. (Hwy. 121)
Sonoma; 707.939.1919
Reservations are required
for both pets and museum visitors.
