[title subtitle=”words: Liesel Schmidt
image courtesy: Ultimutt Dog Care”][/title]
Designer pet leashes; dog strollers; gourmet pet food made with fresh, organic, all natural ingredients. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that people are extremely dedicated to their pets, giving them all the love and care they would a member of the family. Really, they area member of the family; and for some people, those furry, four-legged creatures are even the next best thing to having a child.
Admittedly, with our busy schedules and so many responsibilities on our plates, we humans don’t always have the amount of time to spend with our pets that we’d like. We have to leave them home for hours at a time while we go to work, keeping them pent up inside or confined to a small outdoor space, with no one and nothing to keep them company and come home to pets that are starved for attention and affection and activity, making us feel guilty that we only have so many hours in the day to give them what they need. It’s a reality that most pet-owners face, and finding a satisfying solution often seems impossible.
It was the desire to offer that solution that led friends Brook Borengasser and Mary Young to open Ultimutt Dog Care in August of 2009, using their own love of dogs and their personal experiences as busy dog owners as inspiration in creating a business that would meet a need in the area. Knowing just how challenging it was to find daily care for their dogs while they managed long work schedules, they put their minds together and came up with a plan for something that would provide everything they’d want for their own beloved dogs and more; and in doing so, they created far more than a company—they created a family.
“In our previous jobs, we always felt guilty that our dogs were in a crate for eight hours a day while we were at work. They were young and needed social interaction and exercise, but Mary’s dog was ninety pounds at the time, and there weren’t many places that could board a dog of his size,” explains Brook, whose own miniature Schnauzer, Mack, and black lab Avery come to work with her everyday, now that she’s the boss. “We realized that we weren’t the only ones who were crazy about our pets and wanted a place for them to run and play all day, but at the time, there weren’t any large doggie daycares or open-play boarding facilities in the area.”
While others might simply have lived with that frustration, Brook and Mary had their Aha! moment, recognizing the very thing that so often gave them guilt as an opportunity—and a calling. “Amazingly enough, God put the idea in each of our hearts; and then one day, we were at a pool party and started talking about the fact that we’d both been wanting to open a doggie daycare. I don’t think we stopped talking about it for the rest of the night,” says Mary, whose three dogs—black lab, Suzy; Australian Shepherd mix, Peyton; and “pure pound puppy,” Daisy—are also on the job everyday, helping keep the other pups busy and socializing.
Despite the fact that neither of them had any previous experience in owning their own business nor in working in the pet industry, they both felt confident that they had what it took to make their dream a success—and that their friendship could withstand the tests they would inevitably face. And while they might not have initially had the budget to hire a staff while they got things off the ground, they did have the support and encouragement of their families, as well as some sage advice that they took to heart. “Our parents knew that we were best friends, and Mary’s dad owned his own business, so he knew what kind of stresses that can involve,” says Brook. “He sat us both down before we opened and had a conversation with us about how much we’d be together all day, every day; and he made us promise him that even if we got into a disagreement at work, once 6:00 pm came, we’d leave it at work and go have a glass of wine together and always stay friends.”
To merely call them “friends” might not quite do the depth of their relationship justice, so closely do they rely on one another—especially now that their business has increased so exponentially. On the cusp of celebrating their tenth anniversary this August, they’ve never strayed from the initial vision of creating “a safe place where a dog can be a dog and socialize with friends,” as Brook says, though Ultimutt has certainly become a larger operation than they might have initially dreamed possible. They’ve expanded their facility by adding additional indoor play areas, a 4,000 square foot outdoor AstroTurf area dedicated to small dogs, and a 5,000 square foot AstroTurf-ed outdoor space dedicated to large dogs. And in addition to offering daycare services, they also offer overnight boarding for dogs and cats and run a full grooming shop headed up by a pet stylist with twenty years of experience working in some of the largest high-end salons in the Tulsa area.
“We provide a safe, clean, educational, and nurturing environment for all our Ultimutts, while giving the owners peace of mind that they’re leaving their Ultimutts with excellent, caring, and knowledgeable personnel,” says Mary. And that personnel isn’t just any personnel; for Brook and Mary, their employees are like family. “Over the past decade, we’ve been blessed with the most amazing, hardworking, caring and loyal staff anyone could ever dream of,” she goes on. “Everyone who works here loves each of the dogs as if they were our own, and we love our customers, too! They’ve been so loyal to us over the years, and we’ve hugged and cried when they have moved or brought their beloved dog by to say goodbye on its final ride to the vet. Ultimutt really is a family comprised of lots of dogs, an amazing staff, and loving customers.”
It could well be said that all the love—along with a great deal of faith, dedication, and family support—they surround themselves with is the key to their success; but it’s also been their greatest strength in overcoming the battles they’ve encountered in their personal lives, as well. Battles that, had they been any less steadfast in their faith, might have been their undoing.
Less than a year after opening Ultimutt, Brook—then only twenty-six years old—suffered two major strokes and was told that she had a hole in her heart. Two months later, she had heart surgery to repair the hole but was left without firm answers on the exact cause of the strokes. Since then, she has suffered a total of six strokes as well as a grand mal seizure that left her unresponsive and several small seizures. Now thirty-five, Brook will be on blood thinners and seizure medications for the rest of her life. “I know how blessed I am for being able to walk away from all of that with minimal damage. When I get tired or stressed, it takes a little bit for my memory to kick in; but other than that, God has protected me!”
Brook isn’t the only one who marvels at God’s protection, as Mary has also faced more than her share of medical issues. Her oldest was born with a congenital heart defect and had open-heart surgery at six weeks old, while her youngest was born with only one kidney. “We’ve learned as business partners and best friends how to be there for each other,” says Brook. “Many times, that means continuing to run Ultimutt and not be at the hospital with the other. We’ve also learned that cuddling a precious puppy can always make you laugh, that hugging a sweet older dog and sitting on the floor with them is the best cry pillow you could ever need, that we can fully trust one another to have each other’s back, and that—no matter what—God has and will always continue to provide us with what we need in His time.”
Ultimutt Dog Care
5703 South 73rd Place
Fort Smith, Arkansas
479.242.1186
ultimuttdogcare.com
