Meet Angela Reinbacher | Owner and Founder

We had the good fortune of connecting with Angela Reinbacher and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Angela, is there something you can share with us that those outside of the industry might not be aware of?
Like any industry, pet care has rules and regulations… until it doesn’t. Veterinarians and dog trainers are required to hold licenses and certificates to practice. For example, a new mobile vet opened in the Denver area and it took her months to get the official paperwork to open her business even after she was a registered vet.

On the flip side, general pet sitting and dog walking is very unregulated. Anyone can pick up a leash and walk a dog. This creates worrisome issues for the industry that increases the risk for pet owners.

First, since in-home dog walking and pet sitting does not require a list of requirements from the state to begin operating, that means that the general population who does not know what to look for in a pet care provider may hire someone who can open you and your home up to risk. If a pet care provider is NOT insured or bonded then you are at risk for covering the cost of anything that may happen to your home or pet. For example, if your dog walker came in the winter to walk your dog and slipped on ice on your front porch, the dog walker can SUE YOU if the dog walker is uninsured. If they DO have business insurance, this protects you from that potential lawsuit.

Second, anyone can say they are “professional.” Since there are no certifications or licenses required when caring for animals in the owner’s home, it is hard to verify who is professional or not. In order to protect yourself, you should always ask these questions:
– How many years have you been a registered business?
– Are you insured?
– Are you bonded?
– Where are the reviews for your business and how can I view them?

While the above questions are not comprehensive of all the questions you should ask before selecting a pet care provider, it is a starting point to help mitigate risk in an unregulated part of the industry.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
My first job out of college burned me. The business grew at the mental and physical toll of the employees, as well as the expense of the client experience. I watched this company do this while they were experiencing rapid expansion; therefore, I knew that when I started Wild Paws I did NOT want to grow at the expense of employees or clients.

Reflecting on my past four years owning and running Wild Paws, I can see so many intentional choices that were made to ensure I did not grow at the expense of clients or employees. At the same time, I can also see WHY my post-college job did; because it is so much EASIER to do so.

Not growing at the expense of others means you are being mindful in your decisions and actions… even in the hard moments. Actually, ESPECIALLY in the hard moments.

Clients: When we experience quick growth we can cut corners to provide less work for the same price we were previously charging. We can be short in our replies and feel like the client NEEDS; therefore, we give them less respect and attention than they deserve and pay for. To ensure Wild Paws was not growing at the expense of the client, I was adamant about ensuring the care provided to pets and the updates given to clients were just as great when we had 4 clients compared to when we had 100 clients.

Employees: “Start ups are so much fun,” said no employee ever. Start ups have a knack of running employees into the ground through burn out and over working them. From an employer perspective, its easy to do. The business grows, more clients come, and someone has to serve them. The intention I had going in was that I would rather overwork myself than my employees. In the end, I need my employees more than they need me so keeping them content and not burnt out was a goal of mine. I would ensure I am making modifications to their hours when they wanted more/less and I did not overload them.

To be honest, both of these items were hard!! We get tired, we want to take an easier route to try and find rest and reprieve. But I had made a promise to myself I would not do it. As the business has stabilized more, there aren’t the same pain points we had in years 1-3. Since we are still experiencing growth, there are still opportunities to grow at the expense of clients or employees, and I will continue to not choose to go down those routes.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
6am: Manitou Springs Incline. Sounds intense, but its beyond fun.

8am: Denver Biscuit Co in Colorado Springs.

11am: Come back to Denver and take a nap because after working out and carbs, you’ll want one.

1pm: Take a walk around Sloans Lake or blow up a paddle board.

Relax and enjoy the day.

5pm: Hit up Little Arthur’s for the best hoagie you will ever have.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
From the creation of a business to the actual “success” of the business is such a whirlwind of ups and downs. Through those, there are so many times that we are positively influenced by what is around us; helping to keep pushing us forward and keep going during the hard times. While there are countless (and I mean countless) learning moments and support from close friends, one of the biggest lessons that sticks out to me is from Justin Clements.

Clements was the owner of a company I had worked for when I lived in the Midwest. We stayed in touch as I helped out doing some remote side work for him while I started Wild Paws. Since he knew about Wild Paws, I would bounce ideas off him and ask for advice. The best piece of advice he ever gave me was “get curious.”

When I started Wild Paws four years ago, I was much more hardheaded than I am now. My thoughts were always the correct ones and I was ready to argue my point. Now, as one can imagine, this didn’t make a good manager. As I would discuss employee or client issues, Clements would tell me to “get curious.”

Getting curious means putting the defenses down and begin asking the person across from you questions. Ask genuine questions to have them explain further why they did that action or why they have those thoughts. As you do it, the person across from you also begins to pull their defenses down and you can have a much more productive conversation that makes both parties feel respected and heard.

I still use this method today in personal and business life. If an employee makes a mistake, I first ask them “hey, I’m curious on your thought process when you did X,Y,Z,” or asking “I hear you feel uncomfortable with ____, can you tell me more about that?”

In the end we are all human with complex emotions and brains; we want to be heard and understood. What I’ve found, is “getting curious” can get us to understanding quicker and in a kinder way. Plus… in the end, as much as we want to be right, we aren’t ALWAYS right.

Website: https://wildpawscolorado.com

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