A new place for a new start

T-S Kennels and Taxidermy owner Mangus moves operation into Lovell

Wes Mangus, owner of Triven-Sungold Kennels and Taxidermy, turned his dream of working at his home into reality when he purchased his business 10 years ago from his longtime friends Jay and Val Walker, and now that home has moved and his business with it.

Mangus moved his new dog kennel facility last December to the same property where his parents live and where his new house is finished at 1123 Lane 10½ east of the Successful Gardens Greenhouse.

According to Mangus, he has been around dogs his whole life and has a deep passion for hunting, which led him to his dream business.

“I had dogs from the Walkers all my life, and they have known me since I was a little guy,” Mangus said. “I lived in Casper for seven years working as a mechanical engineer, and I returned home to Lovell. My job at G.P. (Georgia-Pacific) did not work out, and I started helping Val out with training the hunting dogs at her kennel, and she offered to sell the business to me. I jumped on the opportunity and never looked back.”

Mangus said ever since he has taken over T-S Kennels, he has expanded dog litters at his new facility. He said he raises black and golden Labradors and Golden Retrievers at his breeding and training operations.

“When Jay and Val owned the business, they were running four to five dog litters a year,” Mangus said. “When I took over the operations, I have run about eight to 14 litters a year and train almost 200 dogs per year.”

Mangus also runs a veterans foundation called K9 Elite at his dog kennel operation. According to Mangus’ K9 Elite website, his foundation’s mission is to help men and women who struggle with mental health issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder or trauma. K9 Elite’s motto is “Puppies heal the heroes.”

“Our organization raises and trains service dogs for these folks,” Mangus said. “K9 Elite services are underfunding efforts, so no one pays anything. These service dogs are donated to veterans with disabilities.”

Mangus said he does service dog training for law enforcement, military and agencies all over the world. He said his partner raises other breeds of dogs that are fit to serve in law enforcement or the military.

“My partner owns Belgian Malinois and shepherds,” Mangus said. “We have trained these dogs to be police, military, narcotic and protection dogs. Our operations have shifted dogs all over the place, and the farthest the dogs have been shifted is London and Australia.”

Mangus said his love for hunting has led him to learn the trade of taxidermy. He said the cost of having someone else doing the taxidermy cost him a lot, and he knew he could make it as another business opportunity.

“I wanted to learn the trade because my taxidermy bill got high, and I decided I wanted to do it on my own,” Mangus said. “I spent time with Steve Bassett, who is a retired taxidermist in Lovell. He showed me how to do taxidermy, and then the word got out about what I was doing, and I have been running my taxidermy business for six years.”

You can find any of Mangus’ operations on social media and give a “like” to any of them on Facebook.