Today we’d like to introduce you to Paola Gomez & Ingrid Rios.
Hi Paola & Ingrid, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
As little girls, we were always drawn to dogs everywhere we went and grew up with them begging our mom to always let us adopt one. Our bedroom walls were covered in puppy posters; even our school supplies like folders, erasers, and stickers were dog themed. I (Paola, oldest sister) had a favorite stuffed animal dog named “Spot” I would take everywhere and would always have to sleep with! We will have to look through our old family albums for proof! Growing up, we wouldn’t miss the opportunity to pet sit for the families our single mothers would nanny for when they went on vacation. Now as adults, having stable incomes and being able to own our own dogs, we could afford to spoil them as much as we could! We have an immense love for our Teddy (our OG 4-year-old Shih Tzu-poodle mix), Nube (1-year-old Great Pyrenees), Mochi (our newest addition to the family, a 5-month-old Maltipoo), that they’ve inspired us to spread our love to more pups in our city! In 2021 a friend of ours encouraged us to sign up on Rover to make extra money for these hard financial times; we didn’t see why not, as we had the time and space for it, so we did. We signed up at the best time, during holiday season; our first time using it we got requests from 5 owners needing a sitter! We said why not!? Sounds like doggy paradise! After then, it all clicked; why didn’t we think of starting a business and have a full-time career in something we had always loved as little girls earlier!? All the puzzle pieces came together. We wanted to make a brand out of our business as well, make it unique, retro (’70s/’90s feel), quirky, fun, and keep the homey vibes and closeness. Instantly we thought, we want it to feel like a “club”! So, Viola! The Dallas Dog Club was born! We immediately jumped on it and got our LLC, pet sitters’ insurance, and became pet CPR & First Aid certified all the in the same week; we were serious and want to be taken seriously! By month 3, we hit 1,000, and by month 4 we got booked up for a week! It may not be a huge following or big deal to some, but for us it was; it was validation that we are on the right track and motivation to keep doing what we love! We always say it’s like an addiction; if we were wealthy, we so would buy a huge farm and fill it up with all the dogs we could! It is a dream and goal of ours to one day obtain a beautiful space for our business and the pups we care for! It is hard for us to call it a “job” when we do what we love and especially grateful we get to share it together as sisters and the rest of our family and be the first entrepreneurs/business owners in the family!
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
We have definitely gained so much learning experience just in these past 8 months! The main big struggle has been time management or establishing a work-life balance. We went from working our Mon-Fri 8-5 jobs solely and having the weekend all to ourselves to then not only working our corporate jobs but also working on the business at the same time. I (Paola) left my 8-5, but now I am working Monday-Sunday almost 24 hours of the day. It has been hard to set some personal free time aside and it can get overwhelming we easily have overworked ourselves, but we are working at figuring out and establishing a work-life balance.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about The Dallas Dog Club?
We are a Latina-Women-Family-Owned Small Business that provides pet sitting to many all over DFW. We specialize in dog care/pet-sitting and offer in-home daycare and boarding. Not only that but we offer house-sitting, drop-in visits walks, and baths (restrictions may apply), and much more! In-home boarding and daycare services mainly attract our clients since our business is home-based, we are able to provide more attentive/personal care to their fur babies unlike a traditional dog kennel facility that takes on 30+ dogs, our max capacity is 10. In-home boarding and daycare help the transition of first-timers not to be so overwhelming and stressful experience. Our mission is to be your fur baby’s second home, their home away from home, and become their adoptive tia’s while mom/dad are away! Every pup we care for we treat as our own and give the care we would want our own dogs to receive when we ever board them! We value quality over quantity, and depending on how busy we are; we sometimes get to take the pups on field trips/dog-friendly outings. We also continuously work with dog trainers and get mentored by them; any tips and tricks we learn we apply and adopt to our routines to establish a structured, calm, and balanced environment. Although we take pet care very seriously, we want our brand to feel very loving, bubbly, happy, and fun! When people visit our Instagram page or website, we want the colorfulness, quirkiness, ’70s/’90s retro vibe to come across. After all, we are dealing with dogs; it should be fun! Not only do we offer services, but in the near future, we plan to release merch and products, so stay tuned!
Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
We have learned to take risks and not let fear hold us back from accomplishing our goals and dreams. After all, life is short, and time is priceless! Although we are working more than what we were used to at an 8-5, we wouldn’t change a thing! We love to work for ourselves and be in control of how far we go and how far we grow!
Pricing:
- $50 Boarding | One Dog
- $30 Daycare | One Dog
- House-sitting starts at $80 a night
Contact Info:
- Website: www.thedallasdogclub.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedallasdogclub/
