Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephanie Marengo.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I’ve been an animal lover for my whole life. As a child, I would bring home frogs, turtles, and even beetles to keep as pets! The desire to provide care for all creatures stuck with me throughout college, where I earned my Bachelor’s Degree in Zoology from Weber State University. I worked at the Animal Welfare Association in Voorhees, NJ after graduating and then began walking dogs on my own at the end of 2020. Through word of mouth from my amazing clients, I quickly became too busy for my own good and began to build a team. WalkEase Pet Care (formerly Walking With Steph) officially began in 2023. Since then, we’ve provided care to hundreds of animals in Marlton and the surrounding towns.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Building a strong team has definitely been our biggest obstacle. Our team is trusted with the most valuable things in our client’s lives: their pets and their home. It’s a great honor and a great responsibility, so we hire with that in mind. In the past year we’ve updated our hiring process and have since gained some amazing team members. It’s important to us that everyone at WalkEase Pet Care is able to work independently with our core values in mind: Professionalism, Compassion, and Responsibility. We take pride in everything we do, we show up for our team and the animals in our care, and we ensure every visit is a positive and safe experience for the animals entrusted to us.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
WalkEase is a team of pet care professionals that provide high-quality animal care in the form of daily walks and drop-in visits. We provide animals with potty breaks, exercise, and enrichment while easing the pet parent guilt that comes with working long hours. Our favorite service is our Adventure Hike. We pick up your pup, get them safely harnessed in our vehicle, and bring them to a local trail or park. They get to enjoy all of the new sights and scents they can handle and come home totally pooped! They always get fresh water and a treat to enjoy when they get back home. This service ensures each dog is fully satisfied through mental and physical stimulation and that their owner gets to come home to a relaxed and sleepy pup. We also offer Wedding Services, where we bring dogs to their parent’s wedding for pictures or even to walk down the aisle! We get them home safely and give them dinner before bedtime, so their parents are able to enjoy their day stress-free! All of our services are provided by fully insured, CPR and first-aid trained pet care professionals. The quality of our care, the incredible pictures and report cards that our clients receive after every visit, and the emergency-related training is what sets us apart from others. Providing an amazing service is one thing, but being prepared to keep pets safe during an emergency is what I am most proud of.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
Being a business owner is a risk I take each and every day. Unfortunately, our profession is easily influenced by what happens in our client’s lives. Most of our clients are busy pet parents that work throughout the day. If their job or hours are affected, then they tend to lessen the number of walks they need per week or cancel our service altogether. One of the most difficult aspects of this job, is that animals we grow to love pass away or move out of our service area. It doesn’t just break our hearts, but it also reduces the number of walks on our schedules, so we are constantly growing to outweigh the inevitable losses. While it’s a risk, I wouldn’t change it for the world. We get to spend our days outside with so many amazing pets. It’s really hard to have a bad day when you can just take a breath, sit down, and snuggle a puppy!
Whether I personally consider myself a risk-taker or not, I believe every business owner is. Risks are a necessary part of change and growth. With that being said, I think about every option and take calculated risks in order to grow my business and my team. Being a leader means that people are depending on me and that’s not something I take lightly.
Pricing:
- 30-Minute Walk or Drop-In Visit: $35
- 45-Minute Walk or Drop-In Visit: $45
- 60-Minute Walk or Drop-In Visit: $55
- 60-Minute Adventure Hike: $75 ($20/additional dog)
- Wedding Day Care: Starting at $180
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.walkease.pet/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/walkease.petcare/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/WalkEase-Pet-Care-61577261963596/
Image Credits
The wedding photo was taken by Jess Palatucci (@jesspalatucci). All other images were taken by WalkEase Pet Care staff members.
