Oakland Woman Built a Haven Just for Senior Dogs

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Issue #153

February 12th, 2025

Quick Hits:

😄 Dogs love their lives more than we love ours

🎟️ Houston gets its first members only dog park

🏆 2025 Westminster Dog Show winner is Monty, a Giant Schnauzer (first time for breed)

🐺 New study suggested that maybe dogs domesticated themselves

Imagine your dog's golden (sugar-faced) years filled with gentle walks, cozy naps, and the dedicated love of someone who truly understands their every need.

Sugar Face Dogs, founded by Allysyn Kiplinger in February 2023, is a boutique senior dog care service that delivers a one-of-a-kind sanctuary for our aging besties situated in the Bay Area.

Sugar Face Dogs offers a range of services tailored specifically for senior dogs, including:

• 🏠 Boarding in Kiplinger's home

• 🐶 Day care

• 🐕‍🦺 Slow, gentle walks with plenty of sniffing time

• ❤️ Special needs care

• 🍲 Pet food & supply delivery management

• 🌈 End-of-life support

Kiplinger's approach centers on gentle physical, mental, and social enrichment, always within the limits of each individual dog's capabilities.

This personalized care ensures that senior dogs receive the attention and understanding they need in their seasoned years.

The business operates out of Kiplinger's home near Piedmont Avenue in Oakland, California, where she has lived since 1995.

The property features cottage gardens with a "wabi-sabi" aesthetic, providing a calm and nurturing environment for her canine guests.

Pricing for Sugar Face Dogs' services is tiered based on the level of care required:

• Day care: $45 per dog per day, with a discounted rate of $35 for a second dog from the same family

• Boarding: Starting at $60 per night for healthy dogs, with rates increasing to $75 for dogs requiring extra attention

• Walks and drop-in visits: $30 for a minimum of 30 minutes

Kiplinger's passion for senior dog care stems from her personal experience of caring for 11 rescue dogs over 25 years.

This deep well of experience informs her approach and has helped her build a loyal clientele. To date, Sugar Face Dogs has cared for at least 79 dogs (per her alumni wall on the website), a testament to the quality and necessity of her services.

What makes Sugar Face Dogs truly special is Kiplinger's dedication and genuine love for senior dogs. She describes caring for them as her "passion, calling, vocation, charism, and spiritual gift". She refers to herself as a sugar face as well.

This level of commitment resonates with pet owners who want the best for their aging companions.

The success of Sugar Face Dogs highlights a growing opportunity in local markets for niche pet care services.

As pets live longer and owners become more attuned to their specific needs, businesses that cater to particular segments; such as senior dogs, special needs pets, or specific breeds (looking at you smoosh faced dogs) – one can find a loyal and appreciative customer base.

Interestingly, Sugar Face Dogs has achieved its success without a strong digital presence or really…any presence at all.

The business lacks a social media footprint, and its website, while informative, can be difficult to navigate and read at times.

This suggests that Kiplinger's reputation and the quality of her services have spread primarily through word-of-mouth, underscoring the power of personal recommendations in the pet care industry.

Despite the digital marketing challenges, Sugar Face Dogs maintains an active blog, which serves as a primary channel for updates and engagement with clients.

This approach, while polar opposite to today's AI-driven world, aligns well with the personal, high-touch nature of Kiplinger's services.

The success of Sugar Face Dogs offers valuable lessons for aspiring pet care entrepreneurs:

1. Identify a specific niche and become an expert in it

2. Prioritize quality of services over marketing glitz

3. Build a strong reputation through exceptional service

4. Leverage personal experience and passion to connect with clients

5. Recognize the power of word-of-mouth referrals in local communities

While Sugar Face Dogs could potentially benefit from improved digital marketing and a more user-friendly website, its success proves that in the pet care industry, genuine care and expertise can trump digital savvy.

While this business isn’t going viral on TikTok or getting covered by local news, it’s incredibly heartwarming to see a business serving its community and the sugar faced pups residing within.

PAWS right there!!! Don’t forget to subscribe 👇👇

WINNER 🏆️ : DOGGYDEX

Proudly introducing the DoggyDex™, an index comprised of 10 publicly traded companies whose primary focus is the dog/pet industry.

List of tickers used can be found below.

The yellow line-plot in the chart represents these companies above (DoggyDex™) and their combined performance against both the S&P 500 and Bitcoin on a weekly basis.

Pawformance is measured by % gains & losses.

• $CHWY - Chewy: E-commerce platform for pet supplies

• $IDXX - Idexx Labs: Vet point of care instruments and vet software

• $FRPT - Fresh Pet: Pet food company

• $ELAN - Elanco: Manufactures pet disease prevention products

• $PETS - PetMeds: Online pet pharmacy

• $ZTS - Zoetis: World's largest producer of meds and vaccines for pets and livestock

• $TRUP - Trupanion: Pet insurance company

• $WOOF - Petco Health & Wellness co.: Pet health & wellness company

• $BARK - BarkBox: Subscription service providing dog products, services, and experiences

• $PET - Wag! Group Co.: Tech platform that allows pet owners to connect with industry professionals for services such as, walking, training, etc.

The pet supplement market is BOOMING, projected to reach $4.28 billion by 2033 (CAGR of 6.1% from $2.379 billion in 2023).

Key drivers include increased pet ownership and a focus on pet health (shocker, we know), with dogs (49.9% market share), chewable forms (46.5%), and hip/joint supplements (18.0%) leading demand.

North America dominates (40.4% in 2023), showing strong regional emphasis on pet wellness.

Supplements can be a strong complementary product offering to already fresh food fed dogs, or an alternative to those who don’t want or can’t make the switch to premium fresh foods.

You reached the end, you deserve a treat 🍖

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