Doggie DayCare: All About Us
At Doggie DayCare We Have The Happiest Dogs In Town.
Our History:
Back in the summer of 2000, when Valerie first became inspired to create Doggie DayCare, it was from fairly accidental and inauspicious beginnings. At the time she had very little experience with animals, or in running the day-to-day workings of a business.
The impetus for her enterprise, came a bit unexpectedly, not long after she discovered her love of dogs, and how much fun she had while interacting with them in numbers. It was through the continual animal-sitting favours she did for many of her friends, and after she started to dog-sit them for free, at her St. John's home, that she realized, this activity was something she just had to pursue. Luckily, she had the foresight to realize it was also a great idea for setting up a business of her own making.
It took until the fall of 2001, before she had everything in place and was finally ready to open Doggie DayCare. For the first seven months, she was the sole proprietor of a business with a combined management and staff of just one: herself! Thankfully though, it wasn't long before word got out about the quality of her services, and people started coming in from all around to avail of them. After a while, this afforded Valerie the opportunity to hire her first staff member to assist with the ever increasing business needs.
As time passed, thanks to her self-taught business acumen, she grew Doggie Daycare to the point where, in 2007, she was able to re-locate to a larger, and more suitable facility. The place she chose was the Fall River Plaza, at 320 Torbay Road, in St. John's, and that's where Doggie DayCare has been situated ever since.
Valerie originally formed our organization with an idea to provide a safe and fun-loving retreat for those owners who want to socialize their dogs, and things have only improved through the intervening years. Nowadays, we also provide effective training for anyone interested, and we can handle up to 30 dogs per day. We have a staff ratio of one staff person for every ten dogs, we have a large indoor play area, as well as a large fenced outdoor play space out back. The Torbay Road location also offers play programs for dogs, such as ball catching, and tug of war.
Come, visit us in the Fall River Plaza, where you can meet our staff in person, and check out our facilities.
Who We Are:
Nice to meet you.
Valerie Walsh
Position:
Owner
About:
You might find Valerie rafting down a crazy jungle river or trekking cross-country. She loves nights in with her two sons and husband but is always up for an adventure as long as FUN is in the offering. She is as passionate about taking care of her clients and staff as she is about relentlessly looking for ways to make improvements at Doggie DayCare.
Pups are us!
Andrea Collins
Position:
Manager
About:
A tea fanatic through and through, a cup of her favourite blend gets Andrea going every morning. After shuffling her two children out the door for their various activities, Andrea does manage to squeeze in some quality time on her yoga mat to decompress and focus on the quality care she provides for all the Doggies.
Happy: my goal!
Leslie Harrington
Position:
Customer Service Manager
About:
From an early age, Leslie displayed an innate love of all animals. No wonder her best days involve connecting with people and their pets. Leslie's own pets have fueled her passion for the work of such shelters and the idea of pet adoption. Leslie has 10+ years of customer service and management experience and enjoys giving time to her community where she can share her love and compassion for animals with everyone.
Give ya a trim!
Yolanda Normore
Position:
DayCare Groomer
About:
Yolanda can be found hiking in the woods with her Border Collie/Jack Russel cross Clefford (so-named for his cleft palate), or relaxing with a cold one listening to Led Zeppelin - not coincidentally her cat's name. She shares her home with her room mate and their two dogs, seven cats, multiple foster kittens, four gerbils, foster hamster, and a partridge in a pear tree! Yolanda moved here from Nova Scotia.
Puppies Always!
Amanda Rogers
Position:
DayCare Groomer
About:
Amanda started her grooming career as an assistant and quickly realized she wanted to do more to care for her dogs. To that end, she became fully registered. A totally natural progression. For the last 6 years, she has thrown herself wholeheartedly into that role. Amanda has a deep love and respect for animals and is a fear-free certified professional, with a strong desire to help in every situation.
Enjoying it!
Sarah Dwyer
Position:
DayCare Play Attendant
About:
For Sarah, Mount Pearl has been her home-base since she was born. We were able to scoop Sarah up for her school work-term, and she became an instant member of the Doggie DayCare family! It's the individual personalities of our dogs, which capture Sarah's heart. She loves learning each dog's special character and getting to know every single one of them as though every one is hers!
Hanging out!
Josh Wiseman
Position:
DayCare Play Attendant
About:
Josh hails from western Canada, and he is very excited to now be calling St. John's home! In his spare time, Josh loves to share his passion for helping shelter and rescue animals, making him a perfect fit for the Doggie DayCare team. He also has a soft place in his heart for anything with a short nose and a squishy face.
More Doggies!
Monica Bradbury
Position:
Dog Trainer
About:
Monica has never known life without animals, having spent her childhood surrounded by family dogs, cats, a bunny, some goldfish and even a ring neck dove. She developed a special affection for boxers, and adores what big babies they can be! When Monica sees clients leave with a smile on their face, she's happy knowing that she helped create the best experience for each and every one of them.
Trained, r ya?
Veronica Monroe
Position:
Dog Trainer
About:
In a perfect world Veronica would spend all of her time playing, exploring and watching Disney movies with her wonderful little boy Landon and her partner Joey, but being a Dog Trainer really is her calling! She and her family have four rescued cats, Kovu, Eddie, Simba and Rajah. Veronica also enjoys swimming and hiking in the sunshine as well as playing games, and is sure to beat anyone at Friends or Harry Potter Trivia!
Love Dogs!
Maria Kirby
Position:
Store Keeper - Customer Service
About:
Having grown up with a family dog, hamsters, fish and Guinea pigs, Maria has been surrounded by animals for as long as she can remember. The other aspect of her work-life that Maria loves is wowing people with an amazing customer experience. Now, her love of animals, coupled with meeting new people and caring for clients, is the perfect combination!
What r ya at?
Chris Power
Position:
Store Keeper - Customer Service
About:
Born in Corner Brook, Chris is a Newfoundland boy through and through. NL is also the perfect setting for Chris's hobbies and pastimes, which include wake-boarding, kite sailing, and snowboarding. His favourite pastime, however, is spoiling his black cat, Banjo. Chris is truly thrilled to be living in St. John's and meeting so many people and their pets.