Today we’d like to introduce you to Karen Price.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I have been in love with animals since childhood but I never had a dog of my own growing up. Instead, I would “adopt” dogs from neighbors, friends or relatives and pretend they were my own. I would walk them, play with them, train them but at the end of the day, I always had to give them back.
In 1987 I graduated from UMass with a BS in Animal Science. I knew I didn’t want to go on to Vet School so I worked in the wholesale pet supply industry until I had my first child in 2001. Because the job required extensive travel, I decided to retire to raise my family. By 2006 I had two children who were almost ready for full-time school and I started dreaming about my next career.
I dreamed up my dog daycare idea in January of 2006 on the beach in Aruba. My business plan was written on the back page and inside back cover of the paperback I was reading. In June of 2006, South Paws opened for business in 1400 sq. ft. of a small strip mall in Hanover.
Within a year we were at capacity with 15-20 dogs a day. I had one, part-time employee to help me and I needed a bigger space. We finally found a 4000 sq. ft. new space in Pembroke in 2008 but, by 2011, we were feeling the growing pains again. At this time, South Paws had grown to 5 employees handling up to 50 dogs a day.
Finding a suitable location for a dog daycare is no simple task and after 3 years of searching, we decided to build our own facility on a lot that became available across the street from where we were leasing our place. In 2015 we cut the ribbon on our current facility which is 10,000 sq. ft. and hosts as many as 100 dogs a day for daycare.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Heck no! Trying to work at and on a growing business is difficult and trying to do that with 4 and 5 year old daughters to raise just brings it to another level of difficulty. Thankfully, my husband supported us financially and had my back through all of our ups and downs. Every dime I made went back into the business. I didn’t even put myself on the payroll until 2015. This business has been a labor of love so I often didn’t even realize how much time and effort I was devoting to it. Entrepreneurs need to be careful of becoming obsessed with work. Even if you don’t realize the time you are putting into it, your friends and family definitely take notice. It has taken me a long time to realize the importance of making time for myself and loved ones.
Building a commercial facility from a raw piece of land was definitely a challenge. Dealing with contractors, zoning issues, permitting, construction problems and delays in the project definitely took it’s toll on me but in the end it is gratifying to finally own my own facility.
Please tell us about South Paws Doggie Daycare.
South Paws is unlike any other facility in our area. Although we appear to be the biggest, we only strive to be the best. Most daycare and boarding facilities allow for occasional use of their services. South Paws requires all our clients to commit at least 2 visits a week to us. In doing so, we are able to become very familiar with our clients. We know them almost as well as we know our own dogs.
This restriction helps us to keep all the dogs familiar with each other and we can provide a healthier, happier experience for all the dogs in our care. Dogs do best with consistency and routines. Having a dog show up once in awhile would be a disruption and would likely be stressful for them and the other dogs in our care. For me, taking care of 200 clients consistently is much more rewarding than caring of 2000 clients occasionally. Most of our clients start out with us as puppies and stay with us for a lifetime. I still have dogs that started with me in 2006 that come 2 or more days a week for daycare. Along with daycare our clients are also offered exclusive grooming and boarding privileges. These services are only available to our daycare clients. Myself, my staff and our clients are very much like an extended family.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
I remember coming home from a field trip into Boston when I was in the 7th grade. We were at Sullivan Station waiting to catch a train when I noticed a guy sitting on a bench with a huge Saint Bernard Puppy. Of course I left the group to admire the pup and the man asked me to watch him while he went to the bathroom. I waited and waited and the trains came and went. The man never returned and we eventually realized that he was likely homeless and abandoned the pup. My teacher was not thrilled but I was ecstatic! I was allowed to bring the puppy on the train and then the bus back to school. My mom was so angry at me and the teacher but she let me keep him for a whole 3 days until we found him a good home. He chewed up 3 pairs of pants and 2 pairs of shoes during that time and he was not even close to being house trained but it was the best 3 days of 7th grade. We named him Sully and I consider him my first real dog.
Pricing:
- The cost of Daycare ranges from $18-$29 a day depending on the package plan.
Contact Info:
- Address: 275 Oak Street, Pembroke
- Website: www.southpawsdogs.com
- Phone: 781-826-PAWS
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/south_paws_dogs/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/southpawsdoggiedaycare/
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