Girls team up to start pet walking, sitting business

The three budding entrepreneurs sat giggling in front of me. Rotolo Middle School students, the young business women are in their second year of operation and they are only 11 and 12 years old.

They own and operate Padfoot, a dog walking and pet-sitting business that operates within walking distance from the high school. All new accounts are subject to their parents' approval.

Their mission statement is "Committed to safely caring for your pet."

"When we started this we mostly worked with dogs in our neighborhood," Kelly Floyd said. "We recently passed out fliers to people that we knew that had dogs or cats to see if we can get more pets to take care of."

The flier, done by Kaity Bicek, features hand-drawn pictures of Paycie Padfoot.

"We decided to name our business "Padfoot" after the character Sirius Black, nicknamed Padfoot, in Harry Potter," Kaity said. "We're all big Harry Potter fans."

Rachael Bamrick started the business after the idea of baby-sitting fell by the wayside.

"We all like animals, and it seemed like a good idea to be able to help people with dog walking," she said.

"I'd rather work with animals," Kaity said. "I don't do diapers."

Kaity is willing to pick up a pooper scooper when necessary, though.

The girls are currently training other girls to help with their business. The trainees go on walks with the three and learn how to appropriately walk dogs. They learn responsibility, values and how to handle different walking situations. Padfoot only walks one dog at a time for safety.

The girls are not in business to make money. Seventy-five percent of their profit goes to benefit an animal shelter. The rest goes to getting treats for their clients.

They have a VIP of the Month award that gives one Very Important Pet the special designation. That particular pet wins prizes: toys and treats.

"We like being able to help the dogs in the shelter," Kelly said. "And we all like animals."

That was evident when our dog, Ellie, came into the room. She sniffed each one and then plopped down at their feet, not mine.

Not even a client and she was already trying to be VIP of the Month.

Each one of the girls has a dog at home that they take care of, and Kaity is taking dog training in a 4-H program. All hope to continue with animals in the future.

"I'd like to be a dog trainer," Kelly said. "We'd all like to have a place someday where we could have a dog rescue service."

"I'd like to be a veterinarian," Rachael said.

Whatever they choose, Kaity will be there with her business acumen. During the interview she spoke of the business cards she was working on.

The girls' business is already branching out.

"We have a friend who moved to Texas and she is going to open a Padfoot with her friends there," Rachael said.

For now, the girls are content with pet walking and pet-sitting in their neighborhood, but they're always looking ahead.

"Now that the weather is good," Kelly said, "we might be able to serve dogs and cats that are a bicycle ride away."

For details on Padfoot, e-mail padfootservices@aol.com.