126 www.ReadMPM.com | www.MountPleasantMagazine.com | www.MountPleasantPodcast.com “Are you a groomer?” asked a vendor at SuperZoo. “I’m not,” I responded, “I’m a writer and podcaster specializing in the pet industry. The pet hair just comes with the territory,” I joked. “Covered in Pet Hair” may be the name of my brand, but it’s also my way of life. I’ve been ‘covered in pet hair’ since 2007 when I adopted a hound puppy named Titan. Titan needed a dog walker while his humans were at work, but I had a terrible time finding one. I joke that I’m still waiting for a call back from the companies I contacted. At the time, demand for dog walkers was so high that existing companies were at capacity. Having dabbled in pet sitting in college, I thought, “I can walk dogs.” Not long after, I established The Wag Pack, a dog walking and pet sitting company serving northern Virginia. Between 2008 and 2020, I grew my solo operation to multiple six figures and shy of 20 employees. I was immensely proud of our work making pet parenting easier. We were locally and nationally recognized, earning the highly-coveted National Association of Professional Pet Sitters Business of the Year Award, among other accolades. In 2015, with the help of a trusted local business Covered in Pet Hair BY ISABEL ALVAREZ ARATA pets NOT YOUR AVERAGE PET PODCAST
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