Springdale Pet Ranch’s Cheryl Miller recalls one of the resort’s most eager endorsements.
“There used to be a husky who lived across the street from our pet ranch,” she says. “He used to jump his fence and run over and stand outside of our daycare, wanting to be let in.”
That particular pup was far from Springdale’s only fan.
“We’ve heard from many of our clients that when they turn down Corbett Canyon Road, their dogs start wagging their tails. They know where they’re going,” Cheryl says.
Dogs, it turns out, love Springdale Pet Ranch, a nine-acre boarding, daycare, and training facility in Arroyo Grande, CA.
According to Springdale’s owner, Cheryl, the feeling is very mutual.
From Dog-Eat-Dog to Dog-Meet-Dog
Before purchasing the pet care facility in August 2019, Cheryl served as the VP of Operations for a multinational company. But animals, she says, were always in her family’s homes and hearts.
“We’ve always been pet people,” she says. “We raised our kids on a farm and had dogs and horses and cattle and birds and chickens and all kinds of animals.”
Originally from the Midwest, Cheryl and her husband Mark raised four sons – all of whom grew up to become dog owners. Her eldest even became a veterinarian.
“We just couldn’t imagine dogs not being in our lives,” Cheryl says.
So, when the time came to focus on the latter half of their careers, she and her husband made a rather dynamic change.
“We thought moving to the central coast of California and running a dog boarding facility would be fun and rewarding – and a way to work with the dogs who had been such a large part of our life for so many years,” Cheryl says.
It was, she admits, a tremendous leap of faith. “I’d never been to the central coast of California, except when driving through when I was a kid.”
And, as it would turn out, managing dogs was not a huge departure from managing people and numbers.
“It was actually kind of amazing. We were able to bring concepts from large corporations into a small business and run that successfully,” Cheryl says. “The facility we bought was lacking a managerial structure and documented standard operating procedures when we purchased it. It has both now.”
Because she was switching industries, Cheryl initially engaged Outstanding Pet Care, an acclaimed pet care business consultant and strategist.
“They were fabulous partners, and they taught me a lot,” she says. “They helped us with coaching different employee positions like reservation specialists. They helped with pricing structures. Competitive analysis. None of that existed in the former facility before we bought it.”
As a premier pet care facility on sunny CA’s central coast, Cheryl and the rest of the crew wanted to focus on activity, engagement, and enrichment – and they have.
“We’ve modernized the facility,” Cheryl says. “We’ve put in a walking track, and we mandate activity packages. We feel like active dogs are happier dogs, so we encourage that. We have structured play groups. We focus on engaging our boarding dogs throughout the day, so they’re not just left alone. For our daycare dogs, we staff up. There are a lot of ‘group sits’ and ‘group downs.’ They’re listening, and they’re engaged in their playgroups.”
Springdale also initiated a robust training program, which – in addition to Cheryl – features five trainers, as well as a guest instructor. Programs cover basic obedience and help to curb problem behaviors. But the key component, Cheryl says, is fun.
“We believe that dogs should be having fun,” she says. “We brought in agility equipment that we don’t charge for. If we have a super high-energy dog that just needs to burn off some energy and be mentally engaged, our team will take them out to the agility track and run them through it, and it helps them.”
Treadmill sessions and biking sessions have also been a huge hit.
“We take in high-energy dogs, and after they run a few miles, they’re much more able to focus and play appropriately. That sets us apart – how engaged we are with the dogs.”
Running the Obstacle Course
Of course, operating a dog boarding and daycare center isn’t always all puppies and rainbows. All businesses have hurdles to overcome. And less than a year after Cheryl and her family purchased Springdale Pet Ranch, the world shut down.
“I remember one day, sitting in my kitchen watching reservations cancel – one after another,” Cheryl recalls. “Surviving the pandemic was probably one of the biggest challenges we’ve faced. And if it wasn’t for the amazing bank we had, we probably wouldn’t have.”
Even after the pandemic began to wane – its aftershocks were widely felt.
Travel restrictions were suddenly lifted, and all of the individuals who had bought a dog for companionship during lockdown were now on their way back to work – and who was going to watch Fido?
“During COVID, the shelters were cleared out,” Cheryl remembers. “Everyone thought this was the greatest thing. But what happened was a lot of people were working from home, they got dogs, the dogs didn’t even know they were dogs, they were anxious, etc. Then, the backyard breeders popped up. Suddenly, there was an excess of dogs. The demand for service back then was astounding. We had people tying dogs to our fence and leaving. It took us a little bit to get our arms around that and cap our numbers and put in these processes to be able to service these animals.”
Much of the Springdale team’s time was spent post-COVID simply introducing dogs – to other dogs.
“These dogs loved people but were deathly afraid of other dogs,” she says. “They’d never seen other dogs before. So, we introduced them in appropriate groups so they could be socialized.”
Fortunately, as the world has reopened, people and their pets have reacclimated. Still, Cheryl, says, “That was a real challenging time.”
Through it all, Springdale’s hardcore clients proved positively amazing.
“We had clients who weren’t traveling—because they couldn’t—who were still boarding their dogs with us because they felt for us. Our clients are phenomenal.”
A Few Points on Positive Reinforcement
Just as in dog training, rewards frequently follow diligent work.
Cheryl says one of the most rewarding aspects of operating Springdale Pet Ranch has been watching the young people she hired learn and thrive.
“Along with the dogs, growing these young people has been amazing,” she says. “They were motivated from the start but didn’t speak corporate lingo. Today, they could walk into any corporation and understand cost center structures and labor to revenue reports. Our employees are incredible. They all love animals and have the kind of empathy needed to make every pet in our care feel loved.”
Cheryl also offers a tip to help anyone looking to be in this business.
“I would encourage anyone getting into this field to grasp that pet care is different than it was 10 years ago,” she says. “These dogs, they don’t necessarily live outside anymore. People who bring their dogs in for grooming sometimes care more about their pet’s hair than their own, you know? Everyone needs to understand that these are furry family members and need to be treated as such.”
At the end of each day, Cheryl encourages her team to remember that dogs are always trying to communicate with us. “It’s up to my family and my team to be good listeners and make every interaction with the dogs we’re lucky to care for a positive experience—for the dog and the dog owner.”