Good Neighbor Podcast: Tri-Cities
Bringing together local businesses and neighbor of the Tri-Cities region. Good Neighbor Podcast hosted by Skip Mauney helps residents discover and connect with your local business owners in and around The Tri-Cities.
Is your business serving the residents of Tri-Cities? Then, we need to talk! Visit gnpTri-Cities.com to schedule your free interview.
Good Neighbor Podcast: Tri-Cities
EP# 259: Caroline Lavigne transforms pet sitting into professional care for your furry family with WNC Pet Care
What makes Caroline Lavigne with WNC Pet Care a good neighbor?
Ever wondered what it takes to transform a passion for animals into a successful business? Caroline Lavigne takes us behind the scenes of WNC Pet Care, her professional pet sitting and dog walking company serving Asheville and surrounding areas. What started as a side gig has blossomed into a thriving business with nearly 600 clients and over 9,500 pet visits completed last year.
Caroline's journey is fascinating – from working as a veterinary nurse across Canada and the United States to building her woman-led local business from scratch. She dispels common misconceptions about pet sitting, revealing it's far more than just playing with cute animals. With a team of 12-15 CPR-certified professionals (many with veterinary backgrounds), WNC Pet Care specializes in medication administration and personalized care that treats your pets like family members.
The conversation takes a powerful turn when Caroline opens up about overcoming significant challenges. While building her business without investors or loans, she drove for Uber and Lyft, logging nearly 40,000 miles annually to make ends meet. She also bravely shares her experience living with long COVID for the past two years, discussing how she's managed to continue growing her business despite physical limitations. Her story is a testament to resilience and adaptation.
Whether you're a pet owner looking for reliable care, an animal lover, or an entrepreneur facing obstacles, Caroline's insights will inspire you. Passionate about fostering animals and helping reunite lost pets with their owners, she embodies what it means to be a good neighbor in the pet community. Ready to learn more about professional pet care or connect with Caroline's services? Visit wncpetcare.com or find them on social media to ensure your furry family members receive the quality care they deserve.
To learn more about WNC Pet Care go to:
WNC Pet Care
828-333-2992
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Skip Monty.
Speaker 2:Well, hello everyone and welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast of the Tri-Cities in Western North Carolina. So I've got a very special guest in the studio today. So I'm really excited to learn all about them and what they do. And if you're a pet lover, I think you'll be just as excited as I am, because today I have the pleasure of introducing your good neighbor, miss Caroline Levine, who is the owner operator of WNC Pet Care. Caroline, welcome to the show.
Speaker 3:Thank you, skip. I'm very happy to be a part of this show as well, and hello to all pet owners and also my pet clients.
Speaker 2:All right, all right. Well, I'm sure they're thrilled to see you today, as well, as all the folks that don't know about you are going to be just as excited to learn about you. So if you don't mind, why don't you kick us off by telling us about your business?
Speaker 3:Absolutely so. Wnc Pet Care is a locally owned and woman led professional pet sitting and dog walking business serving Asheville and surrounding areas. We offer personalized services through a team of like 12 to 15, depending on the time of the year Trained professionals who are all pet CPR and first aid certified, for our client's peace of mind. Many of us also have a veterinary background, so we're equipped to handle medication, including insulin and administrating pills or eye drops and anything like that. We even have three team members who offer overnight stays in clients' home, depending on our availability, and that really provides a big peace of mind for our clients while they're away. Something else that's important to know is that everyone in our team is insured, bonded and, through my business, and also part of a professional organization such as Asheville Area Pet Sitter Association. If you haven't heard of it, it's amazing. It helps pet parents connect with trustworthy and reliable pet care.
Speaker 2:Pet care, a pet sitting association is that what you said?
Speaker 3:Yes, asheville Area Pet Sitters Association. It's amazing, everyone is bonded and insured.
Speaker 2:That's crazy. Wow, that's in Asheville. That's a lot of professional pet sitters.
Speaker 3:There are, you would be surprised. I think that you know. I don't know many people who don't have pets in Asheville. It's definitely a pet lover community.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. Well, Caroline, why don't you tell us how did you get into the pet sitting business? Absolutely.
Speaker 3:I was born in Montreal, quebec get into the pet setting business. Absolutely. I was born in Montreal, quebec, so I'm French-Canadian and I've always gravitated towards animals really. So whether I was working in pet shops or a holistic pet food store, I've always been around animals, and when I was younger I thought like, oh, I'll start a business of a pet hotel where all animals will be in luxurious rooms while their owners are out of town. So I've always had ideas about what I wanted to do career wise, but it always involved animals.
Speaker 3:And so, while earning my biology degree, I became a veterinary technician and I instantly fell in love with this field.
Speaker 3:So over the next 14 years I worked as a, as a vet tech or now it's called veterinary nurse in veterinary clinics, zoos, hospitals across Canada and also the United States, and I worked in a fabulous humane society in Colorado, but I had to move because of the rising cost.
Speaker 3:It's quite expensive in Boulder. So I moved to North Carolina, fell in love with the mountains, and then I briefly worked at Brother Wolf Animal Rescue as a veterinary manager's assistant, but it wasn't really the right fit for me, and so, with the new move and the experience that I had just encountered it really gave me the push that I needed to start my own company, and so I was already doing a lot of pet sitting as a side gig, because I never get enough of animals, I just love animals so much, and so I decided you know what I'm going to start my own company. So, like I said at first, I definitely focused on providing specialized income in home care for pets with medical needs, things like offering subcutaneous fluid administration for cats with kidney disease. All kinds turtles, fish, dogs, cats, you name it.
Speaker 2:What are some myths or misconceptions in the pet sitting industry?
Speaker 3:Yeah. So you know, this one is pretty obvious. But one common misconception is that pet sitting is just, it's easy, it's about playing with animals, it's about petting them, just, you know, going on a stroll in the neighborhood. But really, in reality it's quite a big responsibility. It's a serious and professional service, and people understand that now. But you know, if you think about 20, 30 years ago, I don't believe that animals had the same space in our hearts and in our family as they do now, or for most anyway. So now, dogs, cats, they're really part of our family and they're very important, and so hiring people who have professional expertise is very important. Professional expertise is very important. Something else that people might not think about is that every pet is distinct, and so we take care of dogs who like to chase cars, and so we have to be always ready if there's a car that comes back, so that the dog doesn't try to bite the tire, for example. Something else would be that some, some animals have health or behavior issues that need to be assessed and addressed, and so our staff is trained for that. Nobody wants to know that, if you come home from vacation, that your pet sitter left the door unlocked or that your dog had an injury that was not addressed. So we are professional in that way. So definitely, pet sitting, dog walking, it's not just a side gig, it's a profession.
Speaker 3:Now, you know, pets are family, so and I would like to share a little story of my own. So of course, you know, being in this field for so long, I've heard a lot of horror stories. I had a horror story myself. So when I started my business, I didn't have enough staff yet to hire one of my own for my own pets while I went on vacation, and so I went on a rover, hired someone who had a master's degree and thought you know, okay, she sounds responsible. We did a meet and greet. She had five stars rating. Well, that day I came home and my dog was missing. I called her and she said that she wasn't feeling well that day. So she went back home and she left the door open, probably accidentally. But yeah, my dog ran away, probably looking for me, and someone picked her up. Thankfully she was okay. But I mean, this can happen really to anyone. You know our team is trained, we all have the knowledge and expertise to not let anything happen to our fur family.
Speaker 2:Oh, my gosh, what a nightmare. Yeah, you definitely don't want that happening. Who are your target customers? I guess you know obviously anybody that has pets. But and how do you attract them?
Speaker 3:So busy professionals, people who work long hours. We have a lot of clients who work in the in the health field, so admission hospital or nurses, even traveling nurses, families who are very busy who just don't have the time, retirees and also frequent travelers, because we take care of any animals while they're out of town and we also offer overnight house sitting. Whether it's visits or house sitting, we can definitely help while they're out of town. So, of course, our target customers are most likely people who treat their pets like family members, provide top-notch care, and our clients know that so they will contact us when they really want someone who will take care of their pets as their own. So most clients we find them through referrals from veterinarians, groomers. Also, we do some marketing a lot on social media.
Speaker 3:Gracie is our social media manager. She's the one who posts a lot of pictures on social media. Everybody adores her. Also, of course, word of mouth, since we have almost 600 clients and I looked this up just a few minutes before the interview, but we completed 9,500 visits last year. So we're definitely a big business and word of mouth is definitely something big. And we have a referral program. So we offer free walks or free pet sitting service when they refer us to someone else. And of course you know online, google the Asheville Area Pet Sitters Association dot com.
Speaker 2:So outside of work, Caroline, what do you like to do for fun?
Speaker 3:A lot of the things that I like to do. My passions are around nature animals. I mean, I do have a biology degree. I've worked around animals my entire life, um, so I would say that you know where you'll find me hiking, camping, doing a trip at the beach, observing birds in nature, petting dogs, other people's dogs I never have enough of pets. I'm just, you know, the first thing that I would do, that I do in public when I see a cute dog is asking if I can pet them. So I just get never enough of petting dogs. I also spend some time fostering animals. So I'm fostering a dog right now. Her name is Squid. She's amazing.
Speaker 3:I've fostered a lot of puppies, kittens. There's an association that I really, really love, not an association, but a nonprofit. They're called sister kitten, and I worked with the owner, uh, at brother wolf, and I know that he, you know he dedicated his entire life to saving cats, um, and there's nobody I respect more out there, uh, than Eric he, um, he really does a wonderful job and he has saved thousands and thousands of lives, even dogs, especially during the hurricane, of course. So you know, props to what he does. Yeah, to be honest with you, I also spend some time on social media trying to help reunite lost pets with their owners. I have a lot of contacts so it helps me. It helps me just have a wide range of resources so I can help really try to find and give advice to people if they find a pet what to do and whatnot.
Speaker 2:Awesome, awesome. That's wonderful of you, wow, very cool. So let's switch gears. Can you describe a hardship or a life challenge that you've overcome and how it made you stronger in the end, either professionally or personally?
Speaker 3:Yeah, absolutely. So, to be honest with you, there are two challenges I wanted to talk about. So the first one is pretty obvious. So, for anyone out there who has started a business from scratch, especially in a new city, started a business from scratch, especially in a new city, they know how hard it is. So I didn't have any you know people helping me with investment. I didn't have a bank loan, I didn't know anyone, and so I really started from scratch and with the limited resources I was able to build my business up. But it took me some time and in between, you know, until I was able to really bring my clientele to a sustainable level, I had to drive for Uber and Lyft a lot, and so at one point I was driving almost 40 000 miles a year. Yeah, done, um, but you know I definitely now I'm an extremely good driver, first of all, that's good yeah, but also, uh, it definitely, definitely made me incredibly.
Speaker 3:It taught me a lot as a person and I would be able to build a clientele all over again, but a lot quicker and more efficiently. Now, knowing you know what the trial and error taught me, I have another challenge that I wanted to talk about. I definitely debated whether or not to share this, but I believe strongly in raising awareness and I hope that by sharing this, I can help reduce some stigma and also help some people out there who may be experiencing something similar. I've been living with long COVID for the past two years. It's definitely a complex condition that affects a lot more people than we would think, and something important to know is that it is not contagious and also people can live a full productive life, be completely normal and even manage a business with a dozen employees, with the right management, pacing and treatment, of course. So you know, despite the challenges of long COVID, I'm able to continue to run and grow my business successfully. In fact, wnc Petcare has grown each year, whether it was 5% or 20%. Every year. We're continuing to grow and we're also voted by the public. We won several awards. I've become even more focused, intentional and empathetic as a boss, as a leader in my team, because of the experience that long COVID has taught me and what it entails For those who wonder.
Speaker 3:So the symptoms of long COVID, if you guys are interested, they vary a lot from one person to another. Some of the most common symptoms they include fatigue, shortness of breath, muscle weakness, so having difficulty even walking up the stairs. Joint pain, dizziness like vertigo. Joint pain dizziness like vertigo, heart palpitation, exercise intolerance, obviously the brain fog that everybody talks about. And there's a lot more symptoms out there, and it also varies from one person to the other. But what makes it especially challenging is that, unfortunately, it's so new that a lot of doctors don't really know about it. They don't understand it very well, and so it's misdiagnosed and a lot of people live with it without knowing what they have, and so there are resources out there. But, um, you know, if you have several of the symptoms um that I mentioned uh just now, I definitely uh recommend looking it up a little bit more on the internet and maybe uh asking your, your doctor uh to do some, some, some more tests. But um, something else that's really, really hard is that you can't really test for it. There's not a test that will tell you oh, you have long COVID. It's more of a uh elimination, uh diagnostic.
Speaker 3:So I wouldn't say that it is fully treatable. I wouldn't say that I have, that I am cured, that I don't have long COVID anymore. That is not it. It is still very new. But what I can say is that it is fully manageable. I'm able to be here today, I manage my business and I go on hikes, I'm able to go camping, to travel, but before I was diagnosed with long COVID, I was training for a marathon and so that is not something that I can do anymore. And you know my running life is probably behind me, but there are so many other things in life that I can enjoy and discover, so definitely there's hope out there.
Speaker 2:Absolutely, and it'll save your joints too.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Absolutely, absolutely Well, good to know. Thank you for sharing that my pleasure. Absolutely, absolutely Well, good to know. Thank you for sharing that my pleasure.
Speaker 3:So, caroline, if you could think of one thing that you'd like our listeners to remember about WNC Pet Care, what would that be?
Speaker 3:A company that supports our clients and our team, as well as our pets and our clients' pets. We take care of one another just like family, and we don't see the pets that we take care of as pet clients. We really see them as part of a family and we grow with them. We see them growing and becoming who they are, from puppies to elderly dogs or cats, and you know, whether someone has a sick pet, a new baby, an aging dog, we're always here to help. We're not here to just check a box and, you know, finish our job as quickly as possible. We want the pets that are under our care to feel good, to have a good time, to not miss their owners too much, and we want our clients to have a real peace of mind while they're out of town. So that's what we are able to offer, and we also make sure that the services that we offer are tailored to our pets' needs so that you know their stress levels are minimized when their owners are not home.
Speaker 2:Very good, good thing to remember Quality care. Quality care, absolutely. Quality care, that's Absolutely.
Speaker 3:Quality care.
Speaker 2:That's right. That's right. Well, caroline, how, if anyone in the region is interested and thinking about going on vacation this summer and needs some help, how can they learn more about WNC Pet Care?
Speaker 3:absolutely so. Uh, we can be uh reached directly on our website, wwwwncpetcarecom. Uh, you'll find details about our services, our rates and also how to get started. So, um, if you click on book now, you can select new clients and then it'll prompt you to uh enter your enter your info and someone will get in touch with you so that we can learn more about your pet care needs. You can also find us on social media, so we have an Instagram and a Facebook page so someone can get in touch with us right on there.
Speaker 2:Very good, very good. Well, caroline, it's been fascinating. I really appreciate you taking time out of your busy schedule to spend some time with me and with our listeners to tell us all about what you do, and we appreciate that and appreciate what you do in the pet community. I think that means a lot to people and wish you and your pets and your business all the best moving forward.
Speaker 3:Thank you so much. It was such a pleasure being part of this interview. I really appreciate it.
Speaker 2:Well, we appreciate you and maybe we can have you back sometime.
Speaker 3:It would be wonderful, very nice, to meet you.
Speaker 2:Very nice to meet you. Thanks so much, Caroline.
Speaker 3:Thank you.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnptry-citiescom. That's gnptry-citiescom, or call 423-719-5873. Thank you.