Grand Opening
From tragedy to blessing: Best family opening doggy pet resort
Jeremy, his wife, Marcela, and their children are expanding their service-dog breeding business on Chulio Road into a doggy daycare, boarding and grooming facility on their 40-acre farm.
“We’ve got eight separate paddocks where the dogs can run and have fun,” Jeremy said. “And we’re planting rye grass so it can withstand the stress of the dogs. Plus, with eight paddocks, we can rotate them every few weeks.”
Jeremy and Marcela previously ran cattle in central Florida, raising Brahman cows.
“Ask any rancher, they will tell you, ‘we’re not in the cattle business, we’re in the grass business,’” Marcela said. “And although we also have some cows and sheep and chickens, we’re excited to build this oasis for dogs.”
The couple initially got into breeding service dogs after their oldest child, Laya, was in an accident and sustained a traumatic brain injury. While she was recovering, they gave her a service animal and were surprised by how well Laya responded to the dog.
“We turned this tragedy into a blessing,” Jeremy said. “And we realized how we could help families who experienced what we did by breeding these wonderful dogs.”
The couple breeds Australian Labradoodles that are trained to provide service and therapy, and their dogs are in demand.
“A typical waiting period is three to four months,” Marcela said. “But it can be longer, depending on what someone wants.”
As a cattle breeder, Jeremy brought his knowledge of genetics to their dog business.
“In terms of standards, our dogs are in the top 5% in the country,” he said. “Genetics plays a huge role in cattle and with our service dogs.”
The couple said they have never had a service dog returned, and they keep close tabs on all their dogs that have been homed.
They also keep close tabs on their family: The couple had already decided to homeschool their children, and as the family grew to five, they realized a home-based business was a good idea.
“We don’t really have a separation between home life and work life,” Marcela said. “It’s all been a blessing for everyone.”
As their service-dog breeding business grew, they were asked by friends to board their dogs since they had the capacity to care for additional pets.
“And that’s how the boarding business started, with basically word-of-mouth among friends,” Jeremy said. “But now we’re reaching out to the whole community.”
The family has made extensive additions to the property, including a new boarding and grooming facility as well as a dog playground and other amenities.
“We have permits for up to 75 dogs, but we’ll probably keep it to 20 or 30,” Jeremy said. “Our goal is to build a facility where the dogs have a great time.”
