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The Leap That Changed Everything​

In 2011, I made a life‑changing decision. I walked away from my six‑figure corporate job and followed a vision that had been tugging at me for years: opening my own dog daycare. But before launching a facility, I wanted real, hands‑on experience. Loving dogs was the easy part. Understanding canine behavior on a deeper level—beyond what I learned from my own pets—was the challenge I needed to embrace.

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So I started at the very bottom. My first job was with a company called Doody Calls, scooping poop at residential homes and commercial parks across the North Shore. My friends thought I’d lost my mind. I went from designer labels to an unflattering uniform and a lime‑green truck announcing to the world that I was in the poop business. But that year humbled me, grounded me, and taught me more than I ever expected.

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I learned to read a dog’s health through their waste. I learned patterns, signs, and subtle changes. I became a “poo guru”—a true poop whisperer—and my clients trusted me. They began asking me to care for their dogs beyond the yard, and soon I had a steady flow of dogs spending time in my home. I loved it, but I knew I still had more to learn.

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Becoming the Leader of the Pack​

In 2012, I walked into Romp & Roll and told the owner I wanted to learn the business from the ground up. He hired me, and that decision shaped everything that came next.

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I’ll never forget my first day. A high‑energy dog barreled into me, knocked me flat on my back, and I called my boss in tears thinking I wasn’t cut out for this. He told me to stay, to learn, to become the alpha. He taught me that dogs are like people—you must study their behavior to communicate effectively. It doesn’t happen overnight, and every dog is different.

He was right. Before long, this 120‑pound, 55‑year‑old woman was confidently leading the pack, and I loved every minute of it.

Over the next year and a half, I learned how to:

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• Build trust with dogs and their owners

• De‑escalate challenges and manage unique behaviors

• Understand breed‑specific temperaments

• Introduce new dogs into established packs

• Balance male and female dynamics

• Manage multiple rooms with different personalities​

 

I wasn’t just a poo guru anymore—I was a pack leader. And eventually, I became a manager.

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The Birth of The Beach Dog Daycare​

By 2013, I was ready. Leaving Romp & Roll was bittersweet, but it was time to build something of my own. I started small—caring for a few dogs during the day and a few overnight. In 2014, I found the perfect location, and The Beach Dog Daycare officially opened its doors.

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​​​​​​Expanding the Vision: Bigs and Little's​

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Fast‑forward to 2022. After years of working with dogs of all sizes, we noticed a pattern: many small dogs struggled to acclimate into the larger pack. Our front office was often filled with little dogs who needed extra attention, quieter spaces, or a different social structure. Not all small dogs have a typical pack‑dog mentality, and forcing them into the big‑dog group wasn’t fair or safe.

So we expanded. We created a dedicated small‑dog haven—allowing the littles to thrive in their own environment while the big dogs continued business as usual.

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And that’s how I became the leader of not one, but two packs: the Bigs and the Littles, as our staff lovingly calls them.