One of the most common questions I get at a meet and greet is “what led you to start a pet sitting business”. So, it seems appropriate that our very first blog answers that question. Animals have always been my passion, but I never thought I could be a Vet so I just had and took care of as many pets as I could.
It was 2009, and I was working as a High School Counselor in Prince William County. I had earned a Masters in Counseling in 2002. 2009 was a tough time in the economy. I had the least amount of time in the county so when my school downsized by one counselor, I was de-staffed and re-assigned to Garfield on the other side of the County. While I enjoyed my time as a school counselor, the amount of time doing counseling had decreased and replaced with tasks like being the AP Coordinator, Youth Salute Coordinator, etc.
Through a family friend, I was told about a pet sitting company in Leesburg. It was like a light bulb went off. I didn’t know of any pet care businesses in my area and got so excited at the thought of taking care of people’s pets when they can’t be with them. I knew the feeling of worrying about your pet when you aren’t home and avoiding opportunities because of not having trusted care for my pets. My amazing husband supported me, and I quit my job with the schools and started Make My Day Please in the Spring of 2009. We got certified in Pet CPR right away. We started by advertising in The Horn at Heritage Hunt and the Bull Run Observer. I created my own webpage and ordered business cards and car magnets. We got our first regular dog walking clients in Heritage Hunt, and still have our second client ever, there. Bull Run Observer did a few stories on us over the years and was great for us. In the beginning it was just my husband and me, and now 11 years later, we have a team of 30 pet care professionals servicing Bristow, Gainesville, Haymarket, parts of Manassas and Nokesville. My philosophy from the beginning was to keep our service area small and focus on our immediate community.
We have been voted Best Pet Care in many publications and have an excellent reputation with over 150 5-star reviews across all platforms.
If I could do any job in the whole world, it would be this job. It is a passion. I feel so fortunate and grateful every day for our team and our clients, furry and human.