“They're no longer just pets; they're their babies, they're their children, so they invest in them like they would their own children,” says Roughhouse's Kelly Johnson
Kelly Johnson's current career dates back to high school, where she was offered a co-op opportunity at a dog training school.
She has never looked back.
Johnson's working life has been all about helping care for her family's favorite pets. But along the way, she also became an entrepreneur as the owner of Rough House, a dog daycare center that moved to a new facility three years ago after her original location was requisitioned.
“Ever since I was a kid, I always knew I wanted to do something in the animal field,” Johnson explains.
Her friend's mother ran a training school in Markham, where Ms. Johnson trained and eventually worked and taught her own classes. Since her early days, she has seen dog day cares spring up and a new industry developing to help care for beloved family pets.
While living in Barrie in 2013, Johnson connected with one of the day cares, Rough House, and began training dogs there.
A few years later, the original owner decided to move to Australia and Johnson bought the nursery.
She now runs a thriving business, caring for 45 to 55 dogs during the week and running training programs and offering grooming services on the weekends. There are 9 staff including 2 trainers.
The increasing popularity of dog daycare centers reflects the passion of dog owners. Pets are often valued family members, like children, she says.
“They're no longer just pets; they're your babies, your children, so you invest in them like you would your own children,” she observes.
Pet adoptions have surged during the pandemic, which has forced families to spend more time at home and less time with others.
While dog daycare took a hit as a non-essential service during this period, Mr Johnson said there has since been an increase in demand, particularly for training and grooming services, which has been severely disrupted. I noticed that. Grooming services are currently scheduled for his 12 weeks in advance.
Pet daycare franchises are now operating across North America, and the pet market is expected to continue growing in the coming years. There is also a market for luxury services, with daycare facilities offering spa services, gourmet meals, and personalized service.
In Barrie, Johnson has noticed that the number of day cares available has more than doubled since she moved there 20 years ago. This is in addition to available home services and other related services.
Barrie veterinarian Julie DeRue said there was a clear increase in pet ownership between 2020 and 2022.
As a result, “the need for both veterinarians and day care services is increasing,” she says.
She says the benefit of day care for pets, especially dogs, is that they can be socialized and still burn off some energy. And this is the service she uses for her dogs Loki and Willow.
Deru is busy with her own work and relies on Johnson to take care of her dog.
Johnson said she maintains relationships with veterinarians throughout the city and tries to be active in the community by working with local organizations and participating in fundraisers. .
She says the move to the new facility provides a fresh space with two large open areas.
“Everything is indoors, so it's completely temperature-controlled,” she said, adding that dog-safe sanitizing takes place regularly at the facility.
