'A really big boom': Calgary businesses catering to pets thrive during pandemic
Isolating during the COVID-19 pandemic has had many Calgarians seeking companionship from cats and dogs.
And now entrepreneurs who were starting their pet supply businesses in 2019 have seen a massive boom more than a year later.
"We saw an increase of 600 per cent on, I believe it was March 15 when it was declared a pandemic," said Jarrod Warkentin, the owner of Fetch and Stay. "We were ready, you know, there were no hiccups."
Warkentin has a storefront but his main focus is on free pet food delivery to customers.
"My grandma, she had two cats," said Warkentin. "She had to take the C-train to go to the pet store, pick up the litter, haul it back and (in the) wintertime too."
The delivery service is so popular he's had to hire more staff to transport dog and cat food to pet owners all over Calgary.
"We now have a full time driver," he said. "We're delivering five days a week, sometimes six days a week, we're looking at hiring another part time driver pretty soon."
Gulnaz Zagidullina is a dog trainer and typically has more than a dozen pooches at her home just east of Calgary. She says many new pet owners struggle to train their dogs properly.
"And all this amount of dogs we got during this pandemic was overwhelming," said Zagidullina. "I think a lot of dogs got this anxiety happening because they never got properly socialized."
She wanted a way for dogs to exercise and expend energy in a healthy way and came up with an idea.
"I always dreamed about having my own facility with a pool so and I got this opportunity to open up," said Zagidullina.
In the summer of 2020 she offered swimming lessons for dogs and rented the space out to dog owners to bring their pets to exercise and cool down in the summer heat.
"This was a great thing for the dogs who couldn't go out there and see everyone and they saw the pool, they start swimming, it's safe, it's fun, it's healthy and owners loved it, dogs loved it so I think that was the perfect timing actually," said Zagidullina.
Paws en Route is a pet transportation service in Toronto and Vancouver and is now opening in Calgary. It offers rides for all kinds of pets. Drivers will take pets on their own or with the owner to the vet, daycare or to socialize with a friend according to CEO and founder Dacia Roehler.
"We saw a really big boom during the pandemic and continue to see it because we're still in the pandemic," said Roehler. "We saw a lot of what I call long haul rides so we were picking pets up from breeders and taking them to their forever homes or booking flights for them to get to their forever homes."
Roehler came up with the idea in 2017 when she struggled to find a ride to the veterinarian for her golden lab Finn. She didn't want any other pet owner to experience that hardship.
"For a short haul it can run depending on where you're going because it could be longer and where you live, but it can run you $25 to about $60 for a ride and so roughly around or slightly cheaper than a taxi," said Roehler.
She wants to expend her business in all major Canadian cities and then south of the border into the U.S.
Learn more about Fetch and Stay here and Paws en Route here.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Senate expenses climbed to $7.2 million in 2023, up nearly 30%
Senators in Canada claimed $7.2 million in expenses in 2023, a nearly 30 per cent increase over the previous year.
Pedestrian, baby injured after stroller struck and dragged by vehicle in Squamish, B.C.
Police say a baby and a pedestrian suffered non-life-threatening injuries after a vehicle struck a baby stroller and dragged it for two blocks before stopping in Squamish, B.C.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
'It’s discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
RCMP uncovers alleged plot by 2 Montreal men to illegally sell drones, equipment to Libya
The RCMP says it has uncovered a plot by two men in Montreal to sell Chinese drones and military equipment to Libya illegally.
Government agrees to US$138.7M settlement over FBI's botching of Larry Nassar assault allegations
The U.S. Justice Department announced a US$138.7 million settlement Tuesday with more than 100 people who accused the FBI of grossly mishandling allegations of sexual assault against Larry Nassar in 2015 and 2016, a critical time gap that allowed the sports doctor to continue to prey on victims before his arrest.
BREAKING Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko won't play in Game 2
The Vancouver Canucks will be without all-star goalie Thatcher Demko when they face the Nashville Predators in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series.
Man wanted in connection with deadly shooting in Toronto tops list of most wanted fugitives in Canada
A 35-year-old man wanted in connection with the murder of Toronto resident 29-year-old Sharmar Powell-Flowers nine months ago has topped the list of the BOLO program’s 25 most wanted fugitives across Canada, police announced Tuesday.
Doctors ask Liberal government to reconsider capital gains tax change
The Canadian Medical Association is asking the federal government to reconsider its proposed changes to capital gains taxation, arguing it will affect doctors' retirement savings.