Today we’d like to introduce you to Carol Kelly.
Carol, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
The truth is I had a dream to open a dog business.
At this time there were no dog businesses that specialized in boarding or doggy day care.
So, I looked into it and discovered there were no other dog business in McDonough or Henry County.
So, I purchased one acre of land from the veterinarian next door.
I decided I better understand how to run a dog business, so I traveled to Wisconsin where there was a huge dog business operating and worked there for three weeks and learned how to operate a large dog business.
That was in 2008, and I opened The Paw Pad in 2009.
Alright, 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?
The business was slow at first because most people were taking their dogs to their veterinarian for boarding. However, after two years word spread about the Paw Pad and people started bringing their dogs here to
be boarded, groomed, or just to play with other dogs (called doggy daycare). So, we have been open to our doggy customers since 2009 and now dogs are here every day for daycare, grooming, training and boarding.
Another obstacle was 20 years ago McDonough was a more rural , small town. So most people did not get their dogs vaccinated and / or spayed and neutered.
So not only were we trying to get a business up and running, we also had to educate a lot of people at the same time.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
We specialize in taking great care of all the dogs and cats that come in and out of our facility.
We treat them all like our own.
And work non stop to create a fun and safe environment where families are confident in trusting us to take care of their fur babies.
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
Oh, that’s easy, the wonderful people I hired turned out to make this business successful!!
Pricing:
- 40 – 45 $ for boarding
- 25 $ for doggie daycare
- 30 – 120 $ for dog grooming
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.thegeorgiapawpad.com
- Instagram: The Paw Pad McDonough
- Facebook: The Paw Pad
- Other: https://www.thegeorgiapawpad.com
Image Credits
The Paw Pad Staff
