Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeni Mather.
Jeni is the owner and President of J.M. Pet Resort and J.M. Pet Vet, state-of-the art pet care facilities located on Boston’s South Shore. The highly successful J.M. Pet Resort is a dream come true for her. She turned her lifelong passion for animal welfare and helping people into a thriving pet-care business. She now employs over 50 staff members to support a variety of essential pet-care services, including an on-site Health4PETS® Veterinary Clinic, PLAYtrain® daycare, boarding, and grooming for dogs and cats, pet taxi and motivational obedience training to pet owners. The full-service Resort also includes a retail store with top-of-the-line natural, holistic and frozen pet foods, nutritional supplements, treats and pet care items.
Her humble beginnings all began while attending college at Stonehill College. She trained dogs for extra money while working multiple customer service jobs.
Graduating with a BS, she knew that she wanted to pursue a career in animal welfare and community outreach and so it began. She kick started her career in 1996 by working two and sometimes three jobs; she was a veterinary technician by day and a motivational dog trainer by night. She specialized in socialization and aggression rehabilitation. In the years following she would go on to work at a multitude of animal hospitals and grow her interest in animal welfare and the human animal bond. Her intuitive dog training abilities and uncanny success stories quickly garnered her reputation as “the doglady”. Her moonlighting experience was so positive it inspired her to make dog training her full-time career. In 1998, she opened J.M. K-9 Training which offered doggie daycare 6AM-9PM 7 days a week; the first of its kind on the South Shore.
Over the next 13 years the business thrived year after year growing in size and in services expanding to offer so many more amenities than just daycare. In 2011, she moved her business to a brand new location and renamed the company J.M. Pet Resort harnessing all of the impressive services in an 11,000 sq.ft. building. In 2016, there was one piece of animal care that she wanted to offer her clients and people in the community, affordable veterinary care. Spending those years working as a vet technician, she witnessed the struggle many people shared when it came time to paying for medical expenses. In 2016, she fulfilled this wish by opening J.M. Pet Vet, a high quality veterinary mobile clinic stationed at the Resort. It is her intention to not only help the community with affordable veterinary care, but to also help area shelters and animal control facilities who have strained budgets.
Along with being the President of J.M. Pet Resort and J.M. Pet Vet, She is a Veterinary Technician, a Certified Pet Tech Instructor, and a Level 2 Certified Dog Trainer through the Animal Behavior College. She is also an assistant to the West Bridgewater Animal Control Officers, Animal Behavior College Mentor, and a Certified Canine Good Citizen Evaluator.
She resides in Easton with her loving husband George, her three beautiful children, and a few beloved pets, including her 5 dogs: Blueberry, Cora, Chase, Sakari, and Nikki!
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?
Similar to other small businesses, when a company grows from 4-5 employees to over 50 employees, there are certain challenges that arise. Initially, delegating tasks that could be completed by someone else was difficult for Jeni. Entrepreneurs with “can do” attitudes tend to want to do everything themselves. As the business grew and the number of dogs entering the facility on a daily basis grew, new policies and procedures had to be implemented. Developing those systems designed around the care and safety of client dogs, as well as employees, was an on-going process. Since the business was so unique, there were no other competitors to look at and say, “Let’s look at their model”. J.M. Pet Resort is the industry leader in their area so it was through trial and error that resulted in processes which are in place today. For example, a position was created called “Client Liaisons” who are the go-between the Resort and the client. It’s similar to the hotel industry where guests have access to a concierge. If the pet staying at the Resort has any special needs or the client has any specific concerns about their pet, the Client Liaison ensures the pet’s stay is comfortable and pleasant. The community responded and awarded the facility for such advances by voting them the Regional Gold Award from Reader’s Choice as #1 Pet Services and earning the 2014 Small Business of the Year Award from the Metro South Chamber.
J.M. Pet Resort & J.M. Pet Vet – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Throughout all the ages and stages of a pet’s life, our goal at the end of the day is to make a commitment to their ongoing wellness. Be happy. Be healthy. Behaving. That’s our motto. For dogs, we want happy, smiling faces while attending to all of their developmental needs from important veterinary care with first vaccinations and essential puppy socialization through our PLAYtrain® daycare program, to obedience training for well-mannered dogs. We offer breed specific haircuts and grooming, along with a Pet Taxi service getting pets to and from the Resort. We offer boarding with a variety of accommodations to choose from including luxury suites where more than one family member can stay together. In our retail store, we carry only the finest, holistic pet food and believe in preventative health measures through diet. The educated staff and in-house veterinarians are at the forefront of all the latest pet nutrition and products. Products, foods and supplements are chosen carefully. We work closely with our brand partners to evaluate products that are the most beneficial and safest for pets. Our retail store also offers leashes, collars, toys, treats, bowls, beds, apparel and books.
We are most proud that in addition to offering daycare, boarding, training, grooming, pet taxi service and a complete retail store, our total dedication to pets’ well-being is more complete than ever with our newly added mobile veterinary clinic, J.M. Pet Vet. J.M. Pet Vet provides high quality veterinary care at budget friendly prices. Operated by a staff of highly experienced veterinarians, technicians and administrative support, the facility is open 5 days a week. The clinic offers Health4PETS® wellness packages, preventative medicine, general surgical care and dental care without causing a financial strain to families. The mobile setting allows us to keep overhead costs low so we can continue helping families help pets stay healthy and safe with affordable solutions for all dog or cat’s needs.
There are many factors that sets apart from our competition.
– We are the only facility within the South Shore area that offers all the above-mentioned services in one location.
– We have the longest hours of operation: 6AM-9PM Mon-Sat/9AM-7:30PM on Sundays.
– We have a unique daycare program called PLAYtrain®. This protocol developed by Jeni Mather, professional dog trainer and owner of the Resort, stimulates dog’s brain and promotes their natural, healthy, innate behaviors and tendencies.
– When a client boards their dog with us, PLAYtrain® daycare is included at no extra cost!
– On-site veterinarians to care for pets should the need arise
Where do you see your industry going over the next 5-10 years? Any big shifts, changes, trends, etc?
We believe that the industry will continue to grow as it has been. Pet parents are willing to spend money on their pets along with top quality care. Nutrition has become extremely important and customers are becoming “holistic food” savvy. They want to be “in-touch” with pets when not in their care. So just as social media has exploded in other areas, this industry is no different. Clients want webcams accessibility, feedback on their pet’s day, videos, go pro videos, and want photos shared on all social media outlets as well.
Contact Info:
- Address: Jeni Mather
J.M. Pet Resort & J.M. Pet Vet
1014 Pearl Street
Brockton, MA 02301 - Website: www.jmpetresort.com
- Phone: 508.588.5661
- Email: info@jmpetresort.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/jmpetresort/
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/jmpetresort/
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/jmpetresort
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/user/jmpetresort
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