Today we’d like to introduce you to Kenny Hills.
Hi Kenny, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
It started as a child; I loved animals growing up. I grew up in a small city called Seaside, CA. When I was 13 years old, I began volunteering at our local shelter the Monterey County SPCA. I would go with my older brother’s girlfriend and her mom to help walk dogs and socialize.
After that, I knew I wanted to work with animals. After high school, I got a job at that same shelter. I worked there for a year, but when they wanted me to become euthanasia certified, I couldn’t, and I left.
When I decided to Move to LA in 2010, it was to continue playing basketball at Cal State LA. Moving to LA was such a spur-of-the-moment decision.
I searched Craigslist for a place to stay and for a job. I lined up both and set up an interview with each on one weekend.
That weekend I woke up at 4 am, snuck out my mom’s house and hopped in my 88 Toyota Camry, and drive to LA. With no idea what I was doing, I had only been to LA for basketball tournaments and didn’t understand the city.
I landed the job and the apartment that weekend and asked they give me two weeks to move in, mainly because I was still employed back home, so I needed to close that chapter as well as break the news to my parents.
I knew my mom would ask @where are you going to work? Where are you going to live?” So, I made sure to cover those two.
I worked at a boarding facility called Kennel Club LAX. I loved working with the dogs there, but the job was very repetitive, and I didn’t enjoy that part. So, I applied to 12 boarding facilities in and around Los Angeles.
Only one contacted me to interview. D Pet Hotels Hollywood. Little did I know this would change my life forever. I am very shy and strict to myself until I get comfortable, so when I was hired, I acted as if I’ve never worked with animals. When in fact I have worked at a shelter and even a pet hospital before moving to LA.
During my time at D Pet, I started a dog rescue with a friend of mine, Jessica. We rescued a lot of dogs and the owner of d pet hotels at the time were very supportive of our rescue and allowed us to board dogs who were being rehabilitated, this allowed us to socialize them with other dogs and people.
I spent 13 years working at D Pet Hotels; I traveled to all locations and would do the behavior training and park etiquette for their staff members. I also studied dog training, which was thanks to my dog Kaiya. She was a lab pit and one of the smarts dogs. She was shy, but I was able to teach her how to trust people, and during her trainings we connected so strong that we really understood one another. I was then able to teach her more advanced tricks, like how to turn off the light and grab items off of a shelf, and dinner tricks like how to play basketball and even how to twerk.
Living in Los Angeles isn’t cheap, and when I need to find new ways to make money, I decided to coach youth basketball, but I also had a few clients ask if I do dog walking because their pets were not social enough or didn’t enjoy daycare.
In 2017, I began offering dog walking to a few clients. When I would arrive, the owners would call the dogs, “Lola, your uncle Kenny is here,” it quickly became a normal thing for a few dogs. So, I named my company Uncle Kenny’s Pet sitting and dog walking.
After leaving D Pet Hotels in 2023, I had a staff of about 4 walkers in which each of them had worked for me once at D Pet Hotels. So, I decided to change the name from Uncle Kenny’s to The Lazy Hound and go full-time with my services.
Today, we are still around, providing services such as dog walking and pet sitting. Drop-in visits for our feline clients and dog boarding.
We service a number of areas, such as Woodland Hills and the valley, Studio City, Hollywood, Koreatown, and downtown LA.
I just launched my new podcast called Sometimes They Rescue Us, where we aim to share heartwarming rescue stories and how these pets can impact our lives as well as have some pet professionals come on and share their stories and tips on pet ownership.
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?
Working with dogs can be a safe profession, however you will still face the same bumps in the roads as any other small businesses.
I think one of the biggest struggles is building partnerships with some of the apartment buildings.
One in particular, I reached out and was told they would get back to me. Two weeks later, they had a different business that provides the same service flyers in their elevators.
But I’m a believer in God and understand it wasn’t meant to be. For whatever reason, it just wasn’t meant to be.
I’ve always been my own go-getter, so just because that door closed doesn’t mean there isn’t another door I haven’t come across yet.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
The Lazy Hound was created in 2017 under another name, Uncle Kenny’s Pet Sitting. This year, we re-branded under the new name The Lazy Hound Pet Services.
We service a wide range of areas from the valley, Koreatown, Hollywood, and even in Downtown Los Angeles.
Our services we provide are dog walking, pet sitting, drop in visits, and dog boarding in a home environment.
We believe in empathy, love, and compassion for every animal we come in contact with. And our service brings peace to our clients as they know their pets are well taken care of.
Dogs need at least 30 minutes of exercise a day, and hiring a dog, Walker, is a great way to ensure they can get that. Along with a structured walk and an opportunity to socialize while the owners busy at work.
Our staff are professional, compassionate, bonded, and insured.
We do plan on continuing our growth and hope to land a facility sometime this year, so be on the lookout for an upcoming Dog Hotel.
Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the COVID-19 crisis?
There was a huge spike in pet adoptions during COVID, and that means there is a lot of opportunity for continued growth in the pet industry.
Pricing:
- Dog walking $25-$35
Contact Info:
- Website: www.thelazyhound.co
- Instagram: Instagram.com/thelazyhound.co
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thelazyhoundcompany?mibextid=kFxxJD
- Other: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-sometimes-they-rescue-us-podcast/id1728410071
Image Credits
Hannah Overeem
