Meet Susan Gary: Owner, Top Dog Pet Sitters

We had the good fortune of connecting with Susan Gary and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Susan, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
After 25 years of ordained ministry, I felt that God had a different plan for me, so I retired and went to work for a nonprofit organization. I was considered “field staff” and worked from home. I quickly worked through my daily tasks and had extra time on my hands so I decided a part-time job might be fun. It would need to be a meaningful job and one that could work around my full-time position. I responded to an ad for a pet sitter and got the job. I loved it! But, the business had issues; pet sitters would leave client homes unlocked, not show up to assignments, or fail to feed animals. In addition, the business owner failed to follow labor laws, had awful customer service, etc. I would share these experiences with my husband. We decided we could do a better job. We created our business plan, researched the official paperwork kind of things we needed to do, and Top Dog Pet Sitters was created in February of 2015. We had our first client the first week we were in business and until Covid, experienced a 75% growth rate, every year.

What should our readers know about your business?
I have a Master’s Degree. People are often surprised by that. Erick, my husband, has a Business Degree and a Security Clearance. People are surprised by that, as well. We have chosen to be Pet Care Professionals because it’s our passion. There are people that think we do this because we couldn’t make it in the Corporate and nonprofit world. It’s often because there’s a misunderstanding about what a Pet Care Professional does. Besides the obvious responsibilities that are involved in pet care, we are yard maintenance/ handymen/detectives/pet EMT responders/counselors/resource specialists. A higher power has called us to ensure that EVERY pet in our community feels loved and safe when their pet parents are away. We attend numerous networking and fundraising events in the area. When people hear what we do, the response usually is “What a fantastic job! You get to play with dogs every day!” And sometimes, there’s the disappointing response of, “is that even a REAL job?”. We are small business owners. We provide employment to 11 people in our community, and are SO proud to be contributing to the economy of McKinney. We know how to create a business plan. We know the difference between a Sole Proprietorship and an LLC. We understand marketing, human resources, social media, customer service, and ever-changing technology. Our love of caring for critters is not glamorous. We are outside every day. This means the we are in the oppressive Texas heat, drenched in sweat. We walk pups in the pouring rain and on days when it’s so cold that the wind stings our faces. We wrangle cats that require meds. Snakes, “fancy rats”, gerbils, guinea pigs, exotic birds, bearded dragons…each pet we care for is precious to us. We scoop litter and clean up vomit. We have been asked to wipe dog butts. Have you ever seen blood splatter at a crime scene? Now imagine that it’s poop and not blood. We’ve had to clean that up. So, what’s the “upside”? Giving clients “peace of mind.” Dog kisses and belly rubs. Playing with a cat who we would “never see”. We develop deep relationships with our incredible clients and fiercely love their pets. We grieve when clients move, have a different work schedule that means we no longer see their pup every day, or a pet crosses over the rainbow bridge. We are trained and educated professionals. We are not the kid down the street or your neighbor. We applaud their great intentions, but what happens when a better offer comes along or they find themselves with a pup having a seizure? We have many clients that contact us at the last minute because the teenager they hired chose to go to a movie, or worse, decided not to show up! or the neighbor decided to go on vacation. We do not “bail” on our clients. This is not just a job to us, it’s who we ARE. We are professionals, not hobbyists. We are trained and educated in pet care. We understand fence aggression, separation anxiety, and we know the 6 levels of a dog bite. We are pet CPR/first aid certified. We know how to give an insulin injection, express a pup’s bladder, and administer fluids. We are fully insured. We PAY TAXES. At the end of the day, we smell like a dog and are usually covered in fur and slobber. But, we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
First, we would begin in downtown McKinney with a FOOD WALKS OF TEXAS tour, where we would sample lots of yummy food from the downtown restaurants and learn about the fabulous history of McKinney. After this, a car tour of historical homes in McKinney. Another stop on our itinerary would be Grapevine with shopping downtown, sampling wine, and then riding the train to Ft Worth. We would spend one day hiking at Eisenhower State Park. We would finish out the week by exploring Dallas. The Ross Perot Museum. The 6th Floor Museum, and The George W Bush library.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
A shoutout to my husband, and business partner. His support and encouragement have been essential as I’ve navigated from ministry to business owner.

Website: https://www.topdogpetsitters.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/topdogpetsitters

Image Credits
LAB Photography Susan Gary