Meet Dan Reitman: Pet Sitter of the Year and Much More
Dan Reitman is not content just doing one thing. What brings him the most joy is bringing out the best in pets and edu-taining animal loving audiences. That's because Dan is the founder of Dan's Dog Walking and Pet Sitting in New York City and the co-host of two podcasts, Cool Animal People and Wiped Out Wednesday. And, he just earned Pet Sitter of the Year honors from Pet Sitters International. Call your pet over as Dan shares some great pet tips and more!
BIO:
People always ask me how I started this business, and to be completely honest, when I am asked I always find myself explaining how I never planned on starting a business; it just happened. Growing up with animals my whole life working with them was almost second nature. I always had dogs in the house but that was never the only critter we had running around. I have had frogs, lizards, fish, scorpions, chinchillas; basically anything my parents would allow through the doors eventually became a pet. The passion for working with animals was always there.
In 2008, I took a semester off of college to figure out just what I wanted to do with my life. My search quickly ended when I started working as a vet assistant at the Manhasset Animal Hospital under the guidance of Dr. Robert Henrickson, to whom I will always be grateful for giving me my start. Through my work at the animal hospital I was able to learn about all aspects of caring for animals, beyond just pet ownership, but also the symptoms of countless diseases, emergency care, and countless other valuable skills. As time went on I decided to continue my education and enrolled as a part time student at Nassau Community College.
At NCC I began to hone my skills as a business owner, and after coming to the realization that what I had thought was simply just a part time job, my dog walking was a service that had a real need in the community. I wrote my first business plan and was able to continue to grow and develop the company. As time passed and the business began to grow, it came the time to hire my first employee. This was one of the hardest things I had to do up until this point in my business; trusting someone other than myself to care for these animals that I have been caring for and have formed such a strong bond with. I quickly learned that when you find people who are equally passionate about working with animals it can lead to something wonderful.
The needs of Dan's Dog Walking and Pet Sitting continued to grow and unfortunately I had to step down from my position at the Manhasset Animal Hospital but was able to maintain an incredible relationship with the entire staff to this day. We expanded our service area as well as the menu of services we brought our clients. The great thing about a business like this is when you are able to build an amazing team of employees it becomes easier to grow and improve. I continued my education at Hofstra University where I graduated in 2013 with a degree in Entrepreneurship. This business has also allowed me to pursue my passions by allowing me to start a non-profit organization, Hope For Hope as well as a tech start-up, SmartLine and CharityWait. I am also currently the CEO and Co-Founder of High Performance Edibles as well as a Partner at Corigem. For more info about my other work visit my website.
Today I am incredibly grateful and amazed to look back on the journey that this business has taken me on. I have been fortunate enough to surround myself with an amazing team of staff and I have been able to create wonderful relationships with my clients. My mission with this business has always been to provide pet owners with someone who is reliable, trustworthy and caring to care for their pets, and I am incredibly honored to have been given the chance to do so for so many people within my community for so many years. I look forward to many more years of providing the best quality pet care for your pets.