Today we’d like to introduce you to Katherine De La Cruz.
Hi Katherine, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My husband, Gustavo, and I started Pupachinos when we adopted our youngest pup. She is full of energy and annoyed our older dogs. We honestly thought it couldn’t be too hard to watch a few pups! Boy were we wrong, pet care is really involved full time work! We started our company with 5 dogs hanging out in our house as we worked other jobs. Quickly word spread about our passion to provide a home style experience and our family approach to pet care and we started to expand. We have learned so much about pet care, and have become very efficient pack leaders, but we have learned more about ourselves and how to provide the best service. Our honest approach to what is best for each pup guides us daily and we now manage a pack of 25 dogs. Our biggest honor is the opportunity we’ve had to enrich pets lives and help family have well behaved pets in their lives. We’ve uniquely had a majority of our pack members come from military families. We are privileged to help those families who serve our nation by being reliable, honest, and consistent care for their dogs as if they were our own pet. Pupachinos has grown into a separate building on our property, but we continue to push ourselves to be a safe haven for pups as they pass thru Fort Leavenworth and onto new adventures!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Early on we had some struggles with permits, which we didn’t know we needed to run a boarding business in our home. The country was very resistant to allowing our special use permit, despite there not being any official regulations we weren’t meeting. The president of allowing our permit worried the county and we were not recommended a couple of times. But our neighbors, clients, family and friends showed up to support us at public meetings. We truly saw the power of public opinion sway the commissioners and we did receive all the required permits!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
We are a woman and immigrant owned business. My husband, Gustavo, naturalized and truly ran toward the American dream! He had poured his heart and soul into always being the fun in our company. He brings such joy, entertainment and constant love to each signing our care. Together we are most proud of the way we run our business. We focus on pack control thru trusting leadership with each pup. We consistently show each pup we are a safe place and that allows pup parents to relax on vacation or at work. Every recommendation, referral, or review is an affirmation that we’re doing this correctly!
Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
We’ve read so many books on building a positive dog brand. Our studies in pack leadership thru the dog handler academy have been invaluable.
Pricing:
- $38 per night boarding
- $30 per daycare day
Contact Info:
- Website: https://pupachinosdogs.wixsite.com/pupachinos
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pupachinos/
