FOR INFORMATION ON PET SITTING AND DOG WALKING, PLEASE VISIT MY FACEBOOK PAGE for HAPPY DOGS PET SITTING
Welcome! This site will tell you all about Dog Guy Darin, and also serve as my BLOG.
FOR DOG VIDEOS – visit my YOUTUBE channel, and be sure to check out my Instagram as well.
FOR INFORMATION ON PET SITTING AND DOG WALKING, PLEASE VISIT MY FACEBOOK PAGE
Do you like dogs, cats or maybe even all animals in general?
Do you like watching videos of cute dogs?
Would you like to learn about different dog breeds?
Are you interested in reviews on dog and cat products?
Maybe you want to start a dog walking business?
Or you’re looking for tips on traveling with your pets in a van or RV?
Well, say Hello to DOG GUY DARIN!!
ABOUT ME:
I’m Darin, the owner of Happy Dogs Pet Services in Kansas City Mo and I have been walking dogs and sitting all kinds of pets since 2009. Fortunately my business grew and I now have several people working with me. In 2020 I started to travel with my dog Rocky the ROAD DOG in a Honda HR-V. Soon after, I started a YouTube channel, DOG GUY DARIN, featuring videos of road trips, dog walks, dog activities, product reviews, training tips, travel tips and breed information.
In addition, as I travel around North America, I’ll introduce you to dogs I meet along the way, and share a bit of their story, and how they enjoy traveling. So… tails and trails and tails ON trails, and well, tales of tails on trails. I plan to transition to full-time life on the road in a few years, so watch this site and the DOG GUY DARIN channel as I research, plan and work on a VAN BUILD suitable for travel with pets! If you’d like to know how I became “the Dog Guy,” please read my story below, or in my BLOG.
WHY I DO WHAT I DO:
Pets bring so much love and joy to our lives, and an equal amount of stress and guilt when we work long hours, travel for business or go on a vacation. No one likes kenneling their pets or leaving them alone in the house all day. Everyone knows that their pets would much rather be on their own comfy turf than be boarded. Not many people have friends or family they can trust or burden with pet sitting or dog walking. And, that is where my company Happy Dogs Pet Services comes in.
Left alone or in unfamiliar surroundings makes for destructive, sullen or unhappy pets, and therefore unhappy humans. Exercise, interaction and stimulation are the keys to happy dogs that are better behaved, healthier and more relaxed. From walks while you’re at work to pet and house sitting when you’re out of town, Happy Dogs Pet Services is flexible to meet the needs of all sizes and breeds of dogs and their humans. While dogs are our specialty, Happy Dogs also cares for cats, birds, reptiles and fish. If you have exotic pets like llamas, pigs, bears, alligators or monkeys, Happy Dogs may not be the service for you. But I’m an animal lover, so you might be able to talk me into anything.
I have an injured bunny in my backyard to thank for my business idea. To learn how to nurse the bunny back to health, I contacted Lakeside Nature Center, a wildlife rehabilitation center, which led me to volunteering with the organization where I met a pet sitter who had an overabundance of customers and asked for my help. Seeing the demand for these services led me to open Happy Dogs Pet Services. I have my grandma, Marjean, to thank for nurturing my passion for animals. My grandma loved grooming dogs, and she taught me about service. When I was ten years old I started driving around with her in her station wagon, picking up dogs on weekends and in the summers. She’d take them to her house for grooming, and I was in charge of potty breaks and playtime. In the afternoon, we’d return them to their homes. Talk about personal service.
Two Yorkie dogs, Ellie and Rylie were also my inspiration. I would walk them through my neighborhood every day past dogs behind fences and I would think, ‘I bet those dogs would like to get out for a walk,’ and I started putting up flyers and spreading the word about my services. I wanted to care for other people’s furry family members in the way I would want MY pets cared for.
I was working mostly nights and weekends as a Mobile DJ in 2009, and also doing some freelance writing and editing, as well as buying items at auctions to sell on Ebay, when I started pet sitting and dog walking part-time to supplement my income. By 2011, Happy Dogs Pet Services was a full-fledged business and continues to grow each year. In 2016, I quit the DJ business altogether to focus full time on Happy Dogs.
There is definitely a need for trusted dog walking and pet sitting services, but many people don’t know businesses like mine exist. Once word got out about what we do and how well we do it, Happy Dogs Pet Services really took off. The business has grown thanks to word of mouth, Angie’s List, local veterinarians’ and groomers’ referrals, and online searches.
Today, my company has 4 pet sitters and dog walkers who are equally as passionate about caring for pets as I am. Happy Dogs customers, both animal and human, immediately sense that they are in good hands. Glowing testimonials, an A-rating on Angie’s List, insured and bonded through State Farm Insurance, National Association of Professional Pet Sitters membership, and Sittercity.com background checks are important credentials. But, there’s nothing better than hearing, ‘Oh my gosh! My dogs never take so easily to strangers, but they sure like you.’ I think pets are great judges of character, and they know we genuinely love what we do and we’re there to shower them with attention.
When you love your pets like family, having a reliable, caring dog walker and pet sitter is as important as having a trusted mechanic or plumber in your life. Myself and the growing team at Happy Dogs are people you can trust with your “fur kids.”
With the pandemic that hit in 2020, we lost a lot of pet sitting and dog walking business, as people stopped traveling and began working from home. So in an effort to gain additional income streams and find other ways to use my time, I started a YouTube channel, a blog and a new website, with hopes of eventually monetizing these things as well as growing my brand as DOG GUY DARIN. I also started taking some road trips with my dog Rocky, as we had the free time, and we camped in the back of my Honda HRV around the United States.
Thanks for checking out DOG GUY DARIN and please visit my YouTube channel – DogGuyDarin for lots of great dog videos.
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