Today we’d like to introduce you to Kelly Watts.
Kelly, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I’m a huge animal lover and have been around dogs my whole life. Although I enjoyed the jobs I had after graduating college, I always felt that there was something missing. In 2008, after volunteering at an animal shelter in my free time, I decided to make a change and pursue what I love. For the next five years I started working with dogs full-time: professionally at local accredited pet service companies as well as continuing to volunteer at local animal shelters and with animal rescue organizations. I’ve walked and cared for hundreds of different dogs and have completely fallen in love with every single one of them. Over the years, I’ve come to have a special place in my heart for older dogs and dogs with disabilities. I cherish the one-on-one time I get to have with them, both during private walks and hikes, as well as during overnight petsitting. In 2013, I decided to branch off and officially open my own business, focusing on my passion for the quality individualized care of each family pet I meet.
Has it been a smooth road?
Overall, opening and owning my own business has been a smooth road – much smoother than I could have ever anticipated. Everything just seemed to fall into place, and I’ve been lucky enough to be successful since the first day I opened. I quickly figured out that the famous saying is true: if you love your job, you’ll never have to work a day in your life. Even the more mundane tasks (like creating a website or writing monthly invoices) don’t seem that troublesome if you love what you’re doing them for. That being said, owning a pet care company isn’t perfect all the time. If anything, I think my biggest struggle has been that there just aren’t enough hours in the day to take on all the clients that request services. There’s a really large number of people looking for one-on-one care for their animals, especially when it comes to pets with special needs (anything from behavioral issues to medical issues to physical disabilities). Unless I decide someday that I want to expand my company, I’ll be limited to how many clients I can care for every day. For now, I work seven days (and up to seven nights) a week, every single day of the year. It’s exhausting at times, especially since I am always moving from house to house for in-home overnight petsitting, but it’s always worth it. I’ll take this hectic lifestyle over a cubicle job any day. The only downfall of focusing on private walks and individual care (versus being a group walker or boarding multiple dogs in my own home) is that I don’t make as much money as other walkers and boarders. I’ll never be rolling in the dough, but, again, I’ll take this lifestyle over a cubicle job any day!
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Sit and Snuggle story. Tell us more about the business.
Sit and Snuggle is a company that provides high quality individual care for pets. I offer private dog walks as well as in-home overnight petsitting for critters of all kinds. While I offer services to anyone who needs them, I enjoy focusing on pets with special needs – anything from elderly pets that would benefit from some extra TLC, to pets with behavioral issues or physical disabilities that require one-on-one care. In addition to regular pet care, I assist couples who want to include their pet in their wedding ceremony. And I also transport pets to nursing homes to visit their beloved owners in my spare time. Overall, I am most proud of the love and trust I have gained from both the animals that I care for and from their owners. I am always greeted with wagging tails and smiling faces. I was recently told by a dogsitting client that, until she had met me, she hadn’t been on a real vacation in over 10 years because she never had anyone she trusted enough to watch her dogs while she was away. Hearing things like that makes all the hard work totally worth it. In addition to the time I spend with the animals, I also enjoy incorporating my love of photography into my business. The owners always seem grateful to receive beautiful pictures of their pets while they’re away!
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
As recently as a few decades ago, the term “pet” mostly referred to just a dog or cat that lived a majority of its life outside in the yard. More and more, however, pets are becoming real family members. Pet owners are recognizing the love they have for their animals isn’t something they take lightly. Owners are now willing to spend the extra money to make sure their furry and feathered friends are comfortable, healthy and well taken care of. The pet care industry has grown tremendously in the last two decades and I believe it will continue to grow as long as the economy remains stable.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.sitandsnuggle.com
- Phone: (978) 766-4094
- Email: kellywatts@sitandsnuggle.com
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/sitandsnuggle/
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