Meet Peg Engleka of Countryside Pet Estates

Today we’d like to introduce you to Peg Engleka.

Peg’s journey is not your typical roadmap of life (childhood, to high school, to college, to marriage, to family), but rather one that has crisscrossed the world, facing adversity, pursuing and reaching excellence, teaching and impacting others, while at the end of the day, just trying to make a difference. Peg’s life journey started in Mahopac, NY. The daughter of Ian and Barbara Storrar, Peg grew up as the only girl and the youngest of three siblings (older brothers Scott and John). She excelled in sports throughout her youth and teens and ultimately accepted a full athletic scholarship to the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill to play field hockey. Among the countless honor and awards, Peg was recognized as a collegiate All-American goalie and a NCAA National Champion. After UNC, Peg was named to the United States national team, represented our country for 10 years in over 100 matches across the globe, won numerous international medals, was declared the top goalie in the entire world, coached at the University of Michigan (which won NCAA national championships), but failed to achieve her biggest dream – playing in the Olympics. Each Olympic qualifying tournament was met with heartache as the US team failed to qualify.

Upon retiring from field hockey, Peg moved to Atlanta, married, started a personal training business, learned a new sport (lacrosse, because there is no field hockey in Atlanta), coached women’s lacrosse (volunteered at Wesleyan), volunteered at the Humane Society and prepared for the next stage in life – a family. Heartache reappeared in the form of news that children were not going to be a part of the future. Although disappointed, Peg persevered, combined all her passions and determined her new calling – to use her first-hand experiences, triumphs, tribulations, love of animals and desire to positively impact people by opening a pet boarding facility.

The next 16 months saw land purchased, loans secured, contractors hired, concrete poured, lots of meetings with banks and the City of Milton, fences built and painted, employees hired, business plans implemented and finally, on December 19, 2014, Countryside Pet Estates opened its doors with one client – a dog named Chessie. A ribbon cutting with the Mayor and City of Milton executives soon followed and so did the client base. Word of mouth spread, and by Spring Break 2015 (4 months later), Countryside Pet Estates was at capacity with a wait list of clients.

The business has continued to grow, but more importantly, so have the employees. Peg reiterates that the #1 priority is the care of the animals, but a close 2nd is the growth of her employees. She stresses the importance of Life Lessons, Teamwork, Loving Care for the Animals and Having Fun. Countryside Pet Estates has grown to over 40+ employees and has seen marriages, babies, college decisions, graduations, career changes and new puppies. Peg’s tireless worth ethic fuels the fast-paced environment and also the fun-filled atmosphere of playing with animals all day.

Has it been a smooth road?
Building a business from a thought to a 19,000 square foot bricks and mortar facility on 6 acres of land with 40+ employees are no easy task. Plenty of obstacles and challenges have and continue to occur. Each day is a new day, and that is part of the excitement. Countryside Pet Estates is a family-owned and operated business (Peg and her husband, Matt).

There was no template to follow. No franchise agreements. No business plan. No building diagrams. No clients. No marketing nor communications plans. Nothing. It was built from a desire to be the best in the business – for employees, clients, and the animals. Countryside Pet Estates treats the pet guests as if they are their own – or even better. Being honest, straight-forward, genuine and respectful goes a long way, and the loyal clients understand and appreciate how hard we work to take care of their fur-babies. Lots of challenges exist, but the joy received from watching employees grow and the unconditional love from the pets is the best possible reward.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
Countryside Pet Estates is the premier pet-care facility in the Southeast for boarding, day care, grooming and training. Situated on nearly 6 acres of rural horse farm land in the city of Milton, Georgia, and surrounded by animal-loving staff, we provide a beautiful, safe environment for your pets in our state-of-the-art facility.

We provide a comfortable environment for all of our guests. All our guests stay in separate spacious rooms-complete with glass doors. The 6 acres of our property are used for nature walks and play time in our 7 outdoor grass play yards. We even have a huge indoor play area for days in which the weather does not cooperate. We pride ourselves on the care we provide our pet guests and treat each one as if they are our own. Our #1 priority is the care of your pets.

Is our city a good place to do what you do?
The suburbs of North Atlanta (Milton, Alpharetta, Roswell) provide a great location and a perfect fit for Countryside Pet Estates. Our look, feel, and approach are reinforced by high standards and expectations the city of Milton already has in place. We could not be happier and have been welcomed with open arms by the City of Milton, surrounding communities, and its residents.

Pricing:

• Boarding starts as low as $35 per night

Contact Info:

• Address: 2540 Hopewell Road
  Milton, GA 30004
• Website: www.countrysidepetestates.com
• Phone: (770) 864-1020
• Email: information@countrysidepetestates.com