Our Story

We (Tony & Amy) started The Dog Perk in 2006.  We had both always wanted to own our own successful small business and had made several failed attempts in our past on our own (we were married in 2006, so previously had been on our own or in previous relationships).  Tony was in the car sales business when we met and he got out of that to get into the mortgage business just in time for the dramatic downturn in the economy.  Amy had been a school teacher turned HR Assistant, turned Executive Assistant and after several years of dealing with certain MEAN people in corporate America, she needed out!  The mean people Amy came into contact with inspired our first and most popular t-shirt "Dogs are God's Apology for Mean People and Bad Days".

Why a Dog Business?  When we met and married in 2006, Tony had Rodney, a beagle raised from a pup, then 10 years old; Amy had just recently adopted Dudley, a Black Lab/Springer of questionable age...but probably 1-2 years old.  Then, a year later, we took in a little girl beagle under the guise of a Foster, little Abby, a 5 year old beagle who was kicked out of her puppy mill in KY when she was too old to breed.  She didn't know much when she came to us; she didn't know how to go in and out of doors, was not potty trained at all and was seemingly intoxicated by having room to run.  They boys trained her in over the months to where she's potty trained (although still sends beagle messages via pee) and she knows all the routines of the household; in fact she now dominates even though she's the smallest.  She's even a bandana model now...living proof that lives can change! 

So anyway, before we were married, we were "dog lovers" for sure...but over the years became certified "DOG FREAKS".

In the early years, the idea was to sell coffee and t-shirts to dog lovers at the dog parks.  It's tough trying to wrangle 3 very excited dogs and 1 Caribou coffee safely into a dog park where leashes can be lost and owners can run free with their coffee.  That's how we came up with the name "The Dog Perk"...selling coffee at dog parks.  Soon we realized that due to all/most of the dog parks being owned by the various cities and state parks...it was not going to be a realistic business model.  No one would let us in!  And we didn't have the capital to start our own park.

Slowly, over time, and much persistence, and much learning by trial and error, we finally turned a profit 3 and a half years after the inception of the business idea.  We made A LOT of mistakes and spent A LOT of money to learn what we now know about owning a small business and making it profitable.

We enjoy owning our own business so much we decided to help others start their own business using our products and using the knowledge we have gained over the years.  We have come up with a plan that has a very minimal upfront investment (only $3000) and will allow dog freaks like us the ability to start their own business in their own state or region but avoid all the years of trial and error and financial woes we went through. 

For more information on this Business Opportunity, please contact us.