1) What inspires you?
Barrington Pet Resort: Seeing families experience a deeper connection with their pets inspires us to develop even better ways to enrich the lives of pets every single day.
2) Do you have an online business?
BPR: We have on online store that offers fresh small batch pet food, healthy treats and chews, and spaw products at www.petwants.com/arlingtonheights.
3) Do you have a physical business?
BPR: We also offer in person shopping at Arlington Pet Resort and Barrington Pet Resort for healthy options for rewarding your pets.
4) How are you managing the ongoing COVID-19 situation?
BPR: Covid hit all of our businesses very hard. Our dog walking relies on people commuting to work, so we focus on exercising pets while pet parents work from home. People weren’t in need of boarding for their pets while they traveled, so we expanded our dog daycare options to help pups get their exercise to avoid distracting their owners while their owners were working. Many people had more time on their hands, so we offered more training options to help pet owners learn how to improve their pets’ behaviors in the home. We worked with countless covid pups who spent the first year of their lives at home and needed to learn activities like riding in the car, going to the vet, meeting new people, etc. We launched Pet Wants Arlington Heights during the pandemic with free home delivery to make sure pups had all of their needs met without their owners having to leave the home.
5) Does your business support any local nonprofits or causes?
BPR: We work with several local rescues by fostering dogs and offer highly discounted training services to local rescues to help dogs become more adoptable. We donated over 1,000 pounds of dog food a local rescue during the pandemic and continue supporting local fundraisers. Our adoption events have found homes for lots of local dogs and help to bring awareness to local rescues. Our pet resort guests can help rescue dogs by booking a Snuggle Up for a Shelter Pup or Bedtime Biscuit service which helps us donate treat and Kuranda Beds to local rescues.
6) Does your business host events?
BPR: We have hosted events like Hug Your Dog Day, Valentine’s Day Pawty, St. Patrick’s Day, and Howloween, and our Grand Opening of Arlington Pet Resort which even had shaved ice for the pups! We participate in several local adoption events, too. We are currently working on a Pamper Your Pup Day for Valentine’s Day this year and plan on expanding our events at our new Arlington Heights location.
7) What is the most interesting thing about your service?
BPR: The most interesting thing about our products are they ALL have a health benefit for the pets. A customer can walk into our store and choose any item and know the item will improve their pet’s health in some way. Most dog food is many months old before it ever reaches the pet store. Ours is made fresh and arrives at our customer’s door within weeks! You can’t get that freshness anywhere else!
BPR: The most interesting thing about Tailchasers is that we focus on the dogs’ minds as well as their bodies. We want the dogs to be learning while they play and feel safe and secure while in our care. We have a heavy focus on training to help the dogs understand our expectations, so they are set up for success from the start. Our Dog Day School program is like no other dog daycare program in our area. The dogs are learning new valuable behaviors every single day to help improve the quality of life with their families at home.
8) What is the most interesting thing about your business itself?
BPR: We plan to expand our training program to help teach the pet owners in our area how to train their dogs our of love and praise instead of punishment. We are also working on expanding in person events for families to enjoy with their pets at both of our locations like Paint with your Pup nights, Movie Nights, etc. where local pet owners can get to know other pet owners in the community. Our future plans also include classes for children and young adults interested in pursuing a future in the pet industry. Long term, we plan to eventually hand the business over to our two sons, Miles and Dylan, someday.
9) Do you have any advice for other business owners?
BPR: If you plan to start a business, make sure you have a very strong why. Know why you are starting the business. Our why is, “Chasing a better world one tail at a time.” Whenever the days get hard, we always tune back into our why knowing we are making a huge difference in the lives of the pets in our care. If we give up and quit, those pets won’t reach their full potential and will miss out on the life they could have experienced. They are worth it!
Find out more on Barrington Pet Resort's website or follow on Instagram and Facebook.
