Today we’d like to introduce you to Dawn Morehouse.
Hi Dawn, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I have always loved animals and was lucky to grow up with, or around, cats, dogs, fish, birds, cows, and horses. I remember wanting to be a veterinarian for most of my childhood but ended up in information technology instead. I never lost my passion for animals, though, and I got involved in dog behavior education and training after deciding to keep a stray puppy with ALL THE ENERGY back in 2005. Our training journey didn’t start as a smooth one but in the end, I learned a lot about dog training, canine-human relationships, and the role companion animals play in our lives (and us in theirs.)
To balance my corporate life, I began volunteering in 2010 at a local animal shelter to help support dogs waiting for their forever homes. During that time, I became friends with four other women who were passionate about helping “behavior dogs” and we formed a local non-profit called Dogs Out Loud. Our group helped establish a behavior and training program at Austin Animal Center and supported dogs needing “more” from their time in-shelter, like basic training, decompression time, behavior modification, marketing, etc. to help them find their families. In 2017, I found out my company would be doing layoffs and decided I was ready to find a way to make working with animals my full-time, paid career instead of just my full-time hobby.
What I discovered while contemplating my options was that I truly love spending time with animals and finding out who they are, what they like, what makes them unique. I love connecting with them, observing them, letting the shy or fearful ones learn to trust me, and choosing to see the humor in their behaviors. Yet, I also bring a unique perspective to the table given my extensive volunteer experience, commitment to continuing education, and the fact that I have my own challenging pets who require an experienced, knowledgeable, and kind human to care for them when I travel. Given that the pool of such individuals is small in the Austin area, I decided I could make a difference by offering expert pet sitting and dog walking services for animals requiring a professional with a higher skill set for any multitude of reasons. Turns out, I was right!
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
HA! Is starting your own business ever a smooth road?
Having built up a large social network of animal lovers and rescue volunteers over the years, my business took off quickly and word-0f-mouth kept my momentum going. While fantastic, I didn’t have the back end of my business in place to help me keep pace with the rapid growth so there have been some growing pains in that area.
And of course, the pandemic last year nearly devastated us. We went from being fully booked for months to having everything wiped out in a matter of about two weeks. It has been an extremely challenging road for us (like so many other small businesses) but business is really picking up and I’m optimistic we will bounce back as more and more folks get vaccinated!
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about The Carefree Canine?
The Carefree Canine provides high-quality, force-free, in-your-home pet sitting, dog walking, and pet taxi services in Austin and surrounding areas. We focus on providing pleasant, low-stress, professional care of companion animals who cannot (or prefer not to) be boarded. We specialize in caring for animals who have behavioral and/or medical considerations and for whom traditional kennels or group-setting facilities are not a good fit. I often have clients say they haven’t traveled in years or only travel when they can take their pet with them because they didn’t think they’d ever find someone they could trust to stay with their pet(s.) It’s truly the highest form of praise when we hear that and know that we’re helping families live without the stress of finding quality pet care for their animals.
The Carefree Canine is dedicated to helping rescue animals and offers a standing discount on services for clients who have foster animals. We also are very passionate about promoting and educating our clients on the benefits of rewards-based, non-compulsory dog training and cultivating healthy, strong relationships between pets and their humans. We often provide resources and/or connect clients with local, like-minded pet professionals who are as enthusiastic about strengthening the bonds between humans and pets as we are!
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
Growing up, I was always an outdoorsy child who gravitated to animals. My grandparents had a farm when I was small and I was often hanging out with the cows or the pony my grandpa had. Over the years, my jobs in our family were always the dog walker, the poop picker-upper, the litter box scooper, and the groomer. Then, like now, those things never really felt like chores and in a way, I’m grateful to my parents for insisting on all that practice!
As a teenager, I’d often hang out with my friends’ pets and would even grow attached to them as I did my own. And while sports activities and my other teenager/young adult schedule took up more of my time, I never lost my connection with animals. You may have heard the joke about the introvert at the party who hangs out with the dog? That has always been me. I just can’t seem to help it; I am naturally drawn to animals of all kinds.
Contact Info:
- Email: info@thecarefreecanine.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecarefreecanine/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thecarefreecanine/
Image Credits
Sarah J Throop
