For two decades the West Hartford-based company has catered to pet owners who want trusted care and attention for their dogs and cats.

Submitted

Dog Days of West Hartford, a leader in central Connecticut pet care and originator of mobile pet playgroups, is delighted to announce its 20th anniversary.

What began as a niche service offering of mobile exercise for dogs has grown to include midday dog walking, anytime pet visits, and pet sitting that’s served over 1,000 pet owners and pets in the greater Harford area. The milestone anniversary marks the high level of commitment to pets and pet owners of West Hartford from Dog Days’ multiple long-standing and dedicated employees.

“After rescuing a dachshund in 2000 I signed him up for a playgroup with a new company called Dog Days of West Hartford, not realizing at the time that the owner was seeking to sell and that one day I’d become owner,” said Bob Duncan, owner of Dog Days of West Hartford. “Since then, I’ve been truly honored to serve the pet owners of West Hartford and neighboring towns for all these years, and as I former customer of the business myself, I know the level of care they’re looking for.”

Now led by Duncan, an experienced pet owner and marketing professional, Dog Days has worked with hundreds of dogs over the years and is proud to have received many letters of thanks from happy customers. Dog Days’ launched exercise groups providing clients with a convenient way to offer their pet a one-hour play session with the same set of dogs each day, all while they were away at work, with Dog Days’ handling pickups and drop-offs. Dog Days later built out a full grooming studio as an add-on service prior to selling both services to another company in 2017 that sought to enter the pet care industry. This move allowed Dog Days to focus on its core dog walking and pet-sitting services.

In a world where daily services are often dominated by faceless strangers on smartphone apps, Dog Days has been able to provide top-tier service thanks to its incredible employees. Dog walker, Deb Jones, has been with the company for 18 of the 20 years it’s been in business and steps into a leadership role when Duncan is not available to manage the day-to-day operation.

Dog Days’ most requested service is the weekly dog walking service. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, schedules have been drastically altered, with people working from home and unpredictable varied schedules.

“I’ve known Bob since the beginning when we got our first Papillion, Tootsie. Despite her being a bit uneasy around other dogs, Bob was so great with her and helped to socialize her,” said Sandra Welch, customer, Dog Days of West Hartford. “Being able to schedule walks that worked for our schedule allowed us the freedom to focus on our work and other obligations knowing that she was well cared for. Sadly, Tootsie passed six years ago but we’ve welcomed a new dog named Mickey recently, and he is getting the same great treatment Tootsie did, from Bob and the team at Dog Days.”

Robert Duncan. Courtesy photo

Dog Days of West Hartford was originally started in 2002 by Chris Hodgins and purchased by Bob Duncan in 2004. It’s a division of Canine Crossing, LLC. For more information, visit www.dogdaysct.com.

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