Today we’d like to introduce you to Domenic Paneno.
Domenic, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I’ve been a caretaker and healer since an early age.
When I was nine, my oldest brother – Sam – suffered a football injury that led to the amputation of his lower right leg. At ten, my other brother – Rocky – had a balcony collapse underneath him while studying abroad in Italy, causing him to fall six stories and resulting in paralysis, loss of both kidneys, partial heart muscle, and a 3-week coma. Then at 13, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer and suffered a hospital-caused overdose that caused permanent brain damage.
While other kids were out playing, I spent many of my formative years providing day-to-day physical and mental support and enrichment to my loved ones.
I learned early that improving others’ conditions is a major source of happiness to me. My upbringing taught me how to be a great listener and how to build on my empathetic intuition – something that is so critical when working with clients that don’t speak your native language (e.g., dogs and cats).
Fast forward to age 23, when I graduated from UCSD with a Psychology B.S. I wanted to help people but didn’t know exactly how I would.
Before making the decision of what to do with my life, I decided to do something I had been wanting to do since I was little… which is a volunteer at an animal shelter. I have always had a special ‘fluency’ and fascination with animals and wanted to immerse myself into the world of caring for them.
I quickly took to the work, and by three weeks in, I hopped on the opportunity to become an Adoption Counselor at San Diego Humane Society (SDHS).
The work is very unique – it requires the ability to communicate with both people and animals, as well as mediate between the two. To do it well, requires the ability to effectively listen to and empathize with both animals and people, and help bridge the gap of understanding on a wide multitude of medical, behavioral, biological, and psychological issues.
I cross-trained everywhere I could: behavioral training, veterinary, intake/relinquishment, euthanasia, foster/volunteer engagement, nursery, etc. This quickly armed me with the knowledge and skills to counsel on the management and/or rehabilitation of a massive range of maladies — typically seen with shelter animals. There were times when I had potential adopters coming in and asking specifically to work with me, as they had heard from other adopters who had positive experiences.
Nearly 2,000 adoptions later, I found that the work was deeply rewarding but was not sustainable financially. The average non-profit adoption counselor makes just above minimum wage, which is far removed from the value and rigors required of the work.
Since the living was difficult, I chose to move back to LA and live with my brother Rocky.
Shortly after in 2015, I decided to start a business — spring-boarding off of my knowledge, experience, and skills honed at SDHS.
There are many caretakers out there that are capable of taking care of the healthy Jack Russell Terrier puppy, calm older Cocker Spaniel or well-trained Golden Retriever… but how about the shy/fearful German Shepherd, dog-reactive Pitbull, or the Poodle mix with a tendency to bite anything that touches him, but needs his insulin shot by 8:00am? That is where I step in.
I started out solely on the Rover platform, with my first project being a dog-reactive Staffordshire Terrier named Jax. Jax was a shelter adopt at ~3 years old, who was a 10/10 out on the dog-reactivity scale. He also needs to receive his daily medication wrapped up into a ball of peanut butter and planted in a way so that he feels he is sneakily eating it… otherwise, if he thinks you know, he won’t eat it. I was able to re-work the structure of Jax’s walks and help bring his behavior into a range of manageability.
Many of my clients’ pets are like Jax; they have something for us to work on rehabilitating and then other quirks that we simply work on managing.
I officially formed my business – Maestro Pet Care, LLC – in 2018.
I continue to service clients in the lower San Fernando Valley area, providing both short- and long-term care and solutions, with an established history of positive results. I love the work that I do and am so grateful for my clients and the opportunities I am afforded to make people and their critters’ lives better.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It hasn’t exactly been a smooth road…
The start of my business was slow-going as I worked through some of the typical business growing pains.
As any business owner knows, marketing is expensive. So my primary approach to marketing was keeping my profile healthy on Rover and waiting, passing out business cards, and hoping on word of mouth. Gradually, I got some reviews under my belt and built a consistent client base.
Then, the pandemic took me and my business for a wild ride.
My clients work in all kinds of fields, but the majority work in the entertainment industry. So… when that industry ground to a halt during the pandemic, my business suffered a massive slowdown.
Many of my clients that would utilize my services while working were no longer working. Also, due to the uncertain nature of our economy and the nature of the COVID-19 virus, many clients either were not able to afford continuing to use me and/or needed to err on the side of caution by maintaining isolation.
So, I got a firsthand lesson in adapting when business (and my sole source of income) comes to an unpredictable and nearly complete stop. The structure and flow of my work drastically changed, and I learned how to become more versatile and proactive.
Despite my efforts, I still had to take out a hefty business loan in order to keep my wife and I afloat.
As the pandemonium gradually settled, my clients started to utilize my services again, and I started working with new clients that had adopted animals during the pandemic.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
My business specializes in providing pet caretaking, with an emphasis on medical and behavioral management + rehabilitation.
The vast majority of animal caretakers out there do not have the skills and experience to adequately care for the many behavioral and medical issues that our furry family members tend to have. Those that do have the skills and experience, tend to stick solely to behavioral training or working in a veterinary clinic — not the in-between, which is what I do.
I am ultimately a caretaker and trainer with veterinary knowledge.
While I do not provide veterinary diagnosis, I help lead my clients in the right direction of what to consult with their vets on and cultivate understanding around a wide range of medical maladies.
My services include: Walks, Hikes/Excursions, Sittings in my clients’ homes, Transportation & Vet Visits, Behavioral Consultation, and Adoption Consultation. I have also worked with non-profits to provide miscellaneous services, and am always open to taking on new, unique jobs.
All of my clients and their pets need something different, so I work with my clients to create a custom-tailored plan of care – with behavioral modification as necessary.
I am very proud of my overall client retention rate and the positive feedback I have received (including reviews). I put my mind, body and soul into my work, so it is rewarding to know that doing so results in making my clients and their pets’ lives better.
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
It is part of my consistent life’s goal to help others and improve others’ conditions. Translated into my work, I strive to constantly improve the human-animal bond via cultivating effective communication, providing enrichment, and educating.
Love and understanding are core values with which I live my life by daily. I am grateful that my work affords me the opportunity to practice both of these daily and make it easier for my clients to share the same with their animals.
I practice gratitude constantly and am truly grateful for the small, sweet moments in life. I feel that this cultivates a strong awareness of everything going on around me, and consequently results in me remaining fiercely present. This is important because I think it lends to part of why I am able to communicate so effectively with animals… they too remain fiercely present. I know that my clients appreciate this as well, as remaining present allows me to capture and relay unique moments and nuances that happen during my time with their pets.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.maestropetcare.com
- Instagram: @Maestropetcare
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/domenic-paneno-55050b71
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/maestro-pet-care-los-angeles
Image Credits
The headliner photo, the studio shot of me and the German Shepherd, and the one of me with the white background – Credit: Les Dishman Photography
