Meet Patricia Hunnybun | Professional Pet Care Expert & Trainer

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

Hi Patricia, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
Consistency and learning. It is important to be consistent but also flexible in a service industry such as mine. I have learned to see and treat a customer as a valuable asset and a human versus a $ bill.

I live both my professional and personal life by the “Golden Rule” and although initially, I was making exceptions almost 100% of the time, in time, I did have to learn that a healthy balance and consistency is a healthier approach to ensure not to get burned out, thus providing even more exceptional options and service, and quality overall.

We are now almost 100% referral and word of mouth without advertising for years. Building the best reputation is the most valuable thing I did for my business and the success of my brand.

The success comes from always learning, growing and adapting and focusing on Quality over Quantity every single time.

I have been in the industry over 30 years and to this day, I am still learning, still improving, and still adapting.

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?
I am a professional pet care provider offering pet care services in my home, pet sitting services in clients home, and in the past also included training.  I am an Internationally Certified professional in my industry with numerous accreditations, certifications, honors and awards and considered an expert in the pet care field.

My business began as a passion and hobby. The old saying, “do something you love to do or would do for free as your career and the money will follow”

I was determined and diligent taking things slowly and one step at a time to just continually build upon what I knew at the time, and build it from the ground up. I never approached this career as I already know it all, and love to learn, and sought out education on a regular basis.

I also learned from doing things hands on, refining my work and processes mostly, by what wasn’t working or efficient, and by some mistakes along the way also.

The most challenging thing I have encountered is when I became so sought after, and became too big – was finding that perfect point of balance of a customer base. I am still working out that perfect balance between my professional life and time, and my personal life and time, but each year I get better at it.

I also got to a point of being so busy, while building my business, making every exception to build my reputation and business that I was close to burn out and for about 6 months to a year during that time, it was a lot to figure out how to get back to loving what I do, feeling that it was still a passion and not a job.

Making a hobby into a career can easily and quickly just become another “job” and work and I finding the balance again in how to maintain a passion and love for your hobby and earn a living is sometimes very difficult.

My brand is all about my customers. I have over 400 all A rated reviews and 5 star reviews, without a complaint because I stayed diligent and on course to focus on quality, not quantity. I also build a personal relationship with each customer on a personal level, I am well known for “porch chats” and although it took me a while to realize this, and this year in particular I am working even more in this area, my customers are also my “colleaques”.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I personally am an avid wildlife and nature type of person so I would take them to the less traveled roads and those hideaway places that are not as touristy., and seek more unique things to do and see.

I of course would need to consider their tastes and wish list, but for me, making opportunities and going places that offer great photography would be high on my list. I am a fan of chasing sunrises and sunsets to capture amazing scenary but also, to take moments to just sit in silence and enjoy things that no man can make or create. Nature.

I love Tarryall area, Manitou Springs, and a way out of the way place called the Buck Snort Inn.

Some of my favorite spots to eat are The Melting Pot and The SteakHouse at Flying Horse. and The Bistro in Black Forest.

For more casual dining or going out, I do love Mountain View Cafe and RR Coffee in Black Forest and Amanda’s Fonda in Manitou Springs.

One can not negate cooking at home, grilling in the back yard and relaxing at our home catching up, sharing photos, watching some movies and playing board games.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I could not possibly narrow this down to just one individual who inspired, encouraged or mentored me. Being in the industry over 30 years there are so many individuals as well as professional organizations that helped me achieve the success to where I am at today.

If I had to name one or two, I would first mention Dayna Carnival of Palmer Lake who is no longer with us; but she was a pioneer of sorts in this industry and really paved the way of how to build a professiona business doing something she loved and I love, and that is taking care of precious pets.

Petsitters International is also a resource that comes to mind. The education, resources and industry support is the best in the world. Being certified internationally was not an easy achievement. Their testing is very challenging and it took me over a year of learning and studying to pass their exam, and having this credential means so much to me; but more so, the education from it is priceless and has made me one of the top professionals in my industry and helped me be dubbed an “expert” writer for a local newspaper a while back and an expert writer approved by LinkedIn.

Website: www.pamperedpoochesplayground.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Pampered-Pooches-Playground-LLC-Black-Forest-Colorado-1435598993144936

Other: Our parent company is under Pampered Pets & People LLC where all of our honors, awards, reviews, credentials, accreditations are listed under, but our primary business today is our Professional Doggy Daycare and Boarding “home away from home” experience in Black Forest namely, Pampered Pooches Playground LLC