Today we’d like to introduce you to Art Ortiz.
Art, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Sometimes in life, you can fail at certain things and it makes you feel like a failure. But the reality is, we are not failures, we just happened to fail at a certain thing in our life. This was me in 2011 as I left my corporate job to pursue a job as a firefighter. You see, I was married the previous year and I was tired of my corporate job so I wanted to have a job where I could spend more time with the family. I was hired by a local fire department as a cadet and attended their fire academy. This is where things got interesting in my life. In May 2011, I failed a written exam by 1 point and was terminated. I had a job since I was 16 years old, so this was an uncomfortable position to be in. During that time, I tried to find jobs but there were not a lot of jobs at that time so I took a lot of side jobs like valet in Downtown Dallas where I was living. 6 months after I was terminated, my wife left the day before my 35th birthday and this was probably the most difficult time in my life. This is where I started to feel like a failure, the lowest point of my life.
A lot of my time was feeling sorry for myself and crying. This is when 3 little dogs, Emma, Hiro and Frankie saved my life from a deep hole of depression and guilt of a failed marriage. When I wanted to stay in my apartment all day, Frankie would nudge my hand every single morning to wake up to take them out on a walk. So, I did and this is where my life would change. One day I was walking my 3 dogs and I was standing on the corner of Main St and Ervay when I heard a females voice say, “Are you a dog walker?” I turned around and quickly responded, “No.” I was actually a little offended that she would make that assumption because I was walking 3 dogs at once. That short conversation stayed in my mind throughout the day and into the night. I made a post on Facebook that evening and I had a friend from Canada that said he had a friend that did very well for himself by being a dog walker. I thought, no way. So I looked at companies in Dallas and there were some, but nothing that really made an impact on me. This is where the idea started and where DogFit Dallas was created. I’m not sure who that lady was that said that to me, but I wish I could thank her for asking me that question because she planted a seed within me, that allowed me to see a need within Downtown Dallas. This is how DogFit Dallas started.
I started to walk my 3 dogs with some of my friend’s dogs while they were at work. Then the pack grew to about 10-15 dogs walking together as a pack on the streets of downtown Dallas. This was unheard of at that time in Dallas. You would see these types of things in New York City, but not in Dallas. Downtown was growing and so was my business. You can say we grew up together.
But what about me, how was I doing in life? In the beginning it was hard because I was hurting financially and emotionally. Divorce was really hard to heal from. But with every step I took while walking my pack was a step closer to healing. The pack showed me so much about life and myself. You see, deep down inside I felt like a failure. I had failed at my marriage. I failed from a dream job of being a firefighter and my finances. But my dogs showed me to live in the moment and not take life for granted. When they looked at me, they didn’t see a failure, they saw a man who they loved unconditionally. I might have failed at many things, but that didn’t define me as a failure. Steve Jobs once said, “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something – your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. Because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart even when it leads you off the well-worn path; and that will make all the difference.” At the time of my hardship I didn’t understand why I was going through all of that pain. But looking back now, it makes perfect sense now. I wasn’t a failure but I was too hurt to see it at that time. I thank the dogs for saving my life.
Today, we’ve grown our business to service different areas of Dallas with a great team of dog walkers. But my biggest accomplishment was falling in love again. And that was because of a dog too. You can see the story here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7mc-gXYKXY
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?
Life is all about obstacles. There were many times that I nearly quit because I couldn’t afford food. There was a point where I couldn’t pay rent, and somehow by the grace of God I was able to pay. The fear of being homeless made me work harder. I remember telling myself, maybe I should go back to my old corporate job. But deep down inside there was no way I could do that.
My biggest challenge was healing from divorce. The dogs really taught me about forgiveness. The moment I was able to forgive was the moment was able to really start to heal.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about DogFit Dallas – what should we know?
DogFit Dallas started as a dog walking company that did pack walks. We still offer this and are one of the few that does. We take packs of dogs around the different neighborhoods of Dallas, specifically The M-Streets, Preston Hollow, Highland Park, University Park, Farmer’s Market & Uptown. We motto is “Dog should live in a world where the human creates Balance and Harmony.”
We also offer dog rehabilitation for dogs that have severe aggression or fear. People look for a dog trainers, but that’s not exactly what we do. We show people how to have a better relationship with their dog from the dog’s point of view. Any type of a relationship requires us to make changes from the inside out and the dog is no exception. Just like I had to make changes within my own life to meet the needs of my wife, but you don’t see me hiring a “wife trainer.” It’s all about changing or transforming us to have a better relationship with their dog. This is what I show people first, then we go into dog training.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
The ability to hear people’s trouble or issues is very important. Anytime I meet a new dog owner, I listen to their concerns and I am very open. I listen, I gain acceptance from them, then I lead them. I can’t show or lead them if I don’t listen to them and gain their acceptance. They have to trust me first, then we have a mutual respect for each other.
Contact Info:
- Address: 2111 Melbourne Ave, Dallas TX 75224
- Website: dogfitdallas.com
- Phone: 972–454–9142
- Email: info@dogfitdallas.com
- Instagram: dogfitdallas
- Facebook: DogFitDallas
- Twitter: DogFitDallas
Image Credit:
The 1st & 2nd pic(My wife with the pack) by Skyler Fike.
Ggroup shot with the Dallas Skyline By Art Ortiz
The pic with me in front of students by Jairo Gonzalez
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