Today we’d like to introduce you to Susan Gary.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Susan. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
In my life, I have gone by many titles…mom, daughter, wife, sister, friend and Reverend. I am an ordained Minister. After serving congregations in Carrollton and McKinney, I now take care of critters instead of people. Well, I want to correct that. I still take care of people by helping them NOT worry about their fur babies while they are on vacation or at work.
After almost 25 years of ministry, I did not feel “called” any more. So, I went to work for a cancer awareness nonprofit, officing out of our home. Our girls were in college at Oklahoma State (Go POKES!) and I had a lot of extra time on my hands. What could I do to fill some time? I stumbled across an ad for a pet sitter. Our family has always taken care of our friend’s and neighbor’s pets. I applied, and the owner worked my pet sitting schedule around my full-time cancer awareness position.
The nonprofit board changed the focus of the organization from education/awareness to fundraising, leaving me unhappy. Erick (my husband and co-owner) and I had always wanted to own our own business so we started the process of creating our pet sitting business. We filed all the legal documents, hired someone to create our website and logo and March 1, 2015 Top Dog Pet Sitters was born! It was a time full of possibility for us. We had our first client within a week. Then we had another, and another and another. I soon left working in the nonprofit world and worked in and managed Top Dog Pet Sitters full time.
From the beginning, we made important decisions that would shape our “baby”. We are a professional pet sitting service. We attend conferences and seminars to make sure we are armed with expert knowledge. We are insured and bonded. I am pet CPR/first aid trained. Our contract and vet release were written by an attorney. We always do a background check on staff (even though most of them are people we know). We use a software system so that no pet is ever forgotten. We wear t-shirts with our logo so that we are easily identified.
2 years later we have a PAWsome staff of 5 people, in addition to Erick and myself. Three of them are retired school teachers and two of them have full time jobs, in addition to working with us. Our youngest daughter, Abby, works almost every weekend. Abby and Rebekah (oldest daughter) are on our board and we value their guidance and input. Top Dog is very much a family business. And even though growth means I spend more time with administrative tasks, Erick and I are committed to being “hands on” and working as many visits as physically possible.
Erick and I are proud of the small business we have created. We moved to McKinney in 1996. We are involved in the McKinney community and committed to making it a stronger place to live.
We have incredible clients and purrfect pets. Our goal is to “love your pets, respect your home, and exceed your expectations”.
Has it been a smooth road?
Smooth road? HAHAHA. Most of the time, but not always….
We have had a few pets that are aggressive and have bitten us. We have to decline service, which makes us sad.
We had to fire an employee that betrayed our trust. I had been her minister and had known her for years. That was very upsetting to us.
One of our constant challenges is POOP!!!! Poop inside, poop outside. Pet Sitter Julia walked in on a pup that was sick. She described it as “poop splatter” instead of crime scene “blood splatter”. The poop was ALL OVER the floor, the walls, the pup’s bed. She spent an hour cleaning up a disgusting mess (poor pup). Client never said “thank you” and certainly did not give her a tip. We have clients that don’t pick up poop in the backyard, so we are constantly dodging “land mines”.
And then there is the slobber and the hair! I can leave a visit COVERED in the proverbial “head to toe” in hair and slobber. YUCK!!!
Hiring a new pet sitter is always a challenge. Clients are letting us into their homes and we don’t take that responsibility lightly. We work hard to only hire pet sitters that we know or are referred to us by someone we know.
And there are endless stories about neighbors and friends that had great intentions for pet sitting, but backed out at the last minute, and teenagers hired to pet sit, but never showed up. We are delighted to help these clients, who quickly appreciate having a professional pet sitter.
There are always surprises…new locks and our key doesn’t work, a new pet that we were not aware of, dead batteries in home that we access through a garage code, new alarm codes not provided to us…our team is smart and figures out how to handle these obstacles!
So, let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Top Dog Pet Sitters story. Tell us more about the business.
Every pet visit is shaped by our goal of “loving your pet, respecting your home, exceeding your expectations”.
We are known for our outstanding customer service. When we finish a pet visit, we always look for ways to exceed a client’s expectations. Did the pup track mud in? We clean it up. Does the trash smell? We take it out. Is the client arriving home at night? We leave lights on. We work hard to accommodate every need a client has…from a non-traditional work schedule to clients that want more detailed “pupdates” from us. The downside of a service based business is that there will be mistakes. When we make a mistake, we take responsibility for it, apologize, and put a procedure in place to make sure it won’t happen again.
I have already addressed that we are a professional pet sitting service. But, I did not mention that we have a staff policy and procedures manual that I created. I am proud of that. We also have emergency procedures in place. We have to be prepared for natural disasters and events that may lock our city down. How do we care for a pet if we cannot get to it? We are prepared for these situations.
We offer a number of services: workday visits, vacation visits, pet taxi, overnight visits in the client’s home, and vacation house check (no pets).
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
80 million households own a pet. I see pet owners continuing to “humanizing” their pets–seeking out higher food quality, high end accessories, and spending more on health care for their fur babies. Competition for pet care will continue to be fierce. Recently, WAG entered some markets (UBER for dog walking). I believe Pet Parents will appreciate the personalized service a professional pet sitter offers.
Contact Info:
- Address: 550 N Central Expwy #752
McKinney, TX 75071 - Website: topdogpetsitters.com
- Phone: 214-244-1629
- Email: topdogpetsitters@gmail.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/topdogpetsitters/
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