Justine’s Hounds Town Story

Justine recently relocated to Brooklyn from Chicago but has moved around frequently in her consulting career. 

Now that she’s settled in the dog-friendly borough of Brooklyn, New York, Justine’s ready to put down roots and make some exciting investment decisions.

Justine considered different opportunities on her own, but it was a childhood friend who introduced her to Hounds Town. Justine and Hounds Town actually share the same hometown of Ronkonkoma, on Long Island.

Her friend’s parents were regulars at Hounds Town’s doggie daycare. Justine’s friend knew how much she loved animals and thought the franchise might be perfect for her.

Justine was immediately interested.

From Consultant to Pet Care Franchise Owner

During her time in Chicago, Justine had started volunteering at animal shelters. She developed a deep compassion for strays, neglected dogs, and breeds of all kinds. 

After spending so much time helping shelters, the idea of investing in a pet care franchise seemed quite natural to her. And Justine liked what she discovered about Hounds Town.

Justine has a keen eye for business success, thanks to her years in consulting. Hounds Town’s practical business model and strong financials quickly won her approval.

Making things even simpler for her is the fact that the Hounds Town pet care franchise model has been perfected over the past 20 years. The processes and methods are clearly detailed and easy to understand.

Hounds Town USA is an affordable doggy daycare and overnight boarding choice for dog owners, which brings her income reliability. Providing different standard services that support owner convenience gives her multiple revenue streams. 

And Justine still has room to grow, with optional service lines like pet retail, cat boarding, and more!

Hounds Town’s territory protection agreement gives her security against direct competition. Especially since there isn’t any other pet care franchise opportunity exactly like this one!

More Than a Typical Pet Care Franchise

Justine saw more in Hounds Town than just a good monetary investment. She appreciated its breed-friendly attitude and community-centered approach.

As a dog owner, Justine’s never been interested in overly fancy, high-priced services. She would never place her dog in a facility that costs more than a hotel for humans or spend money on over-the-top spa services.

“Fundamentally, I completely agree with the approach to doggy daycare in general and how operations are run. Let’s not recreate the wheel. Dogs are meant to be social, meant to play. They don’t need all the crazy fancy stuff that a lot of dog hotels are doing,” she says.

We Don’t Bully Bullies! Our Breed-Inclusive Approach

Hounds Town’s operations are firmly dog-centered and down to earth. Dogs are allowed to be social and interact based on temperament, not arbitrary sizing or breed restrictions.

Justine agrees with the focus on caring for dogs’ fundamental needs while accounting for their individual differences. She’s incredibly passionate about this, given the breed-specific mistreatment she’s witnessed.

Justine received a lot of insight into breed discrimination while caring for bully breeds in shelters. Having witnessed how dogs can be unfairly stigmatized, she appreciates the Hounds Town approach. “What I learned helping in shelters is that there are really amazing breeds that bite people and a lot of pit bulls that don’t,” she explains. “There are many other factors that go into behavior. I love [Founder] Mike [Gould]‘s philosophy around breed discrimination. The idea of pairing dogs in playrooms that are most likely to interact with one another versus just looking at the size makes more sense. It’s more temperament-based.”

PAW-Some Pet Care Franchise Support!

With added training support from Mike Gould, Hounds Town President Jackie Bondanza, and the rest of the Hounds Town corporate pet care franchise support pack, Justine is confident she can provide care to all the dogs who need it. Gaining insight and support from someone with over four decades of dog psychology experience will help her avoid any issues as she gets used to the system.

Hounds Town has a well-developed system for ensuring safety for dogs and people. The temperament evaluations are effective and easy for Justine to handle.

Do Good, Feel Good- Giving Back to Shelter Pets

As an animal lover, Justine is excited about exploring the ability to support local shelters with Hounds Town’s non-profit organization, Hounds Town Charities. Being able to give back to the community and directly care for needy animals is incredibly rewarding.

She started reaching out to local shelters long before opening. She’s open to supporting them by bringing shelter dogs in for interactive playtime.

The possibility of having shelter dogs adopted through her pet care franchise is highly rewarding. Despite the pet adoption boom in 2020, there are still many needy dogs in shelters right now, due to COVID-19 surrenders. Our pet care Franchise Owners like Justine get the opportunity to work directly with shelters and rescue organizations and make a true difference in the lives of dogs looking for their forever homes.

The fact that a Hounds Town pet care franchise can support shelter animals at no cost to her was a strong pull for Justine and signing on as a new Franchise Owner eventually felt like a natural choice.

Living Off-Leash

Justine also loved the freedom and schedule flexibility that owning a Hounds Town pet care franchise would give her- a far cry from the long hours and hectic travel schedule she experienced in her previous career. As a pet care franchise that recognizes the need for a healthy work-life balance, Hounds Town’s staffed hours are conducive to family life, additional hobbies or interests, or other business pursuits. Our Franchise Owners benefit from the emotional and financial reward that comes from owning a Hounds Town pet care franchise while still having the time to enjoy life outside of work- it’s a win-win!

Not being required to stay overnight with the dogs or work late hours was ideal for Justine, who was looking for an investment opportunity, not just another job.

Justine’s enjoyed the entire process of developing her own doggie daycare franchise. Even when dealing with permits and the city.

Hounds Town’s franchise support team has provided invaluable assistance, from city paperwork to marketing setup. 

There was a lot to consider with Hounds Town’s unique pet care franchise build-out system. She ultimately saw strong potential right in her local area. 

Brooklyn is a true dog-friendly neighborhood, full of families and their pets. It’s a perfect location for a new doggie daycare franchise.

Right now, there is a strong need for quality doggie daycare services.

Quarantining dogs need to socialize with each other and their owners need quiet time to work. Any owners returning to the workplace can’t leave dogs used to their constant presence alone. As a dog mom in just this position, Justine recognizes this need and is happy her pet care franchise will help other pet parents find an affordable solution. She says,“My office is opening back up in June. When companies start wanting new people to go back into work, these dogs are not going to be happy about being left alone.”

Justine is confident that Hounds Town’s approach to dog care will resonate in Brooklyn. A true dog city, Brooklyn is full of people who view their pets as a furry family member- a sentiment shared by 94% of dog and cat owners in America!

Brooklyn, NY is officially a Hounds Town, and we couldn’t be happier! 

Looking for a way to combine your love of dogs with your drive to succeed in business? We are awarding pet care franchise opportunities throughout the U.S. Please visit our franchise website for more information.

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