Hidden Gems: Meet Marissa Peralta of Peralta’s Pet Care

Today we’d like to introduce you to Marissa Peralta

Hi Marissa, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My affinity for animals started when I was very young.
I was lucky enough to grow-up in a house that always had at least one animal, whether that be a dog, cat, or bird.

This love for animals grew to be my lifeline in high-school. As many so often do, I struggled with self-harm. It was not a fun 4-years for various reasons, but my 3 dogs at home were what kept me moving forward and focused. I remember looking into their eyes as I was crying and telling them point-blank “I’m going to do this for you.” From there, I knew I had just chosen my future line of work. With college applications around the corner, I looked for any school offering Animal Science, Pre-Vet, Zoology, etc. I landed on San Diego State. I left home, started school, and many opportunities for animal experience emerged.

While in college I had the opportunity to study abroad in Melbourne, Australia which allowed me to learn so much about different animals unique to their country. I was enrolled in classes that allowed me to survey birds, identify plants, and generally get acquainted with all things ‘nature’. This unique opportunity further fueled my passion. When I returned back to the states and had a break between terms, I immediately got a job at Best Friends Animal Society- Mission Hills as a dog caregiver. This was a tough job, but a true labor of love. I learned everything there was to know about shelter-medicine, dog behavior, training, etc. This job provided a wealth of knowledge, and was my first introduction into working with difficult dogs (i.e. ones with fear-based aggression, separation-anxiety, resource-guarding). Helping the ‘worst’ behaved or least likely to get adopted dogs became my focus. There is nothing more satisfying than gaining the trust of a dog who has been let down by so many other humans in their life. You feel like the ‘chosen’ one. I personally adopted one of the dogs I worked with when she was 8 years old. Her name is Brownie, and she is currently loving life as a young 16 year old.

Despite the love for this job, I had to eventually leave to return back to school, and finish my degree. I still had two years to go, so I used this time to sign-up as a volunteer for the San Diego Humane Society, get a part-time job with Blue Buffalo pet food, and sign for Wag and Rover. Yes, it was a lot, but there is no such thing as ‘too much animal time’. I somehow balanced getting popular on Rover, staying on-track with school, and volunteering.

As I closed out all my animal-based classes and graduated, I got an internship at the San Diego Zoo- Safari Park working with the elephants (more animals, I know, I love them all, big and small)! This provided me animal behavior, training, and enrichment knowledge. Elephants are highly intelligent and of course, very large. Getting them trained in a way that allows for them to be checked out by a vet and assisted if anything were to go wrong is very important. This was amazing to watch and learn. They are very social and also love to play. One of my favorite jobs was making toys for them, imagine large-scale elephant-sized toys. Enrichment and stimulating the mind of any animal is crucial to a happy life, I learned this here.

As all things, they come to a close, and it was time to snag my first big girl job post-graduation. At this time I moved from San Diego to Los Angeles and got a job as a Pharmacy/Lab Technician at Access Emergency Animal Hospital in Culver City. All the while, I’ve still been getting part-time work on Rover despite having moved cities and needing to ‘start over’ my clientele building. Every animal-focused job I have had has opened the door to a new wealth of knowledge I didn’t know I needed to learn, Access was no-different. I, for the most-part, stayed within the lab running the blood-tests for the hospital, but would occasionally assist on the floor when a tech needed help. This was a hard job, because this is when you see animals at their worst, whether that be dying, struggling, or just generally in pain. As heartbreaking as it is, you end up learning the warning-signs of many different illnesses, how to care for them in a triage situation, and how to avoid any hazards within your control.

Business started to boom for me while I was employed at Access and it ended up making the most sense to quit and pursue working for myself. I did this at the beginning of 2020. As we know, by March of 2020 the world stopped due to COVID. My work essentially went obsolete, everyone’s travel plans were canceled, and no one wanted people in their house for fear of getting sick. I returned back to the regular work-force in April 2020 as a graveyard shift COVID test processor for Fulgent Genetics. I maintained this position for 2-years. There were many sleepless days because I was still determined to get my clientele back as the world returned to normal. I would work my job overnight, and maintain regular dog-walking and house-sitting clients during the day. It was exhausting, but getting back to working for myself was the mission. As of March of 2022, I was even busier than before, quit my graveyard shift job, and have been working for myself ever since.

My unique experiences have afforded me a specialized skillset for working with virtually any type of animal with any time of ‘special need’. I cater mostly to dogs that have behavioral issues and cats with specific medical needs. This has allowed me to curb the market in a way because not many have the experiences that I do. I work 7 days a week and while a break every now and then would be nice, I am constantly blown away and grateful to the clients who need me. It continues to fuel me!

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I think for the most-part I was very lucky with the opportunities I received to gain the knowledge that I have. The hardest part of working for yourself is building your clientele and questioning the best way to do that (marketing, running ads, word of mouth, etc)! Outside of that, realizing that in the beginning stages of working for yourself, you have to grind. Working 7 days a week can’t be a problem for you, and while it is exhausting at times, you need to stay focused on your goals!

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Peralta’s Pet Care provides ‘out-call’ service pet care options (a.k.a I travel to your home). This ranges from dog walks, to cat drop-ins, house-sitting, hikes, excursions, etc. Whatever you need, we can do. Most of my pet clientele are comprised of those with behavioral and medical issues, typically the factors that affect why an animal can’t be boarded.

Working with these more ‘difficult’ animals allows their owners to resume living a normal life (i.e. going to work without worrying about giving medication, going on a trip when they have a dog that is afraid of strangers, etc). It is a unique and personally tailored care experience. No one animal is the same, and we are here to implement your pet’s care routine in the comfort of their own home, as you as the owner would.

I am most proud of our core message, which is to provide that normal life back to the owners. So many animals need to be adopted, but rarely are they ‘perfect’. Many have health issues and many have behavior quirks. These are often deal-breakers for potential adopters because they often fear cost, how that could fit into their life, and it generally seems too complicated. We are here to help the ‘difficult’ pets fit into your life. No one should be punished and feel like they are stuck at home or can’t leave because they have a pet who needs a bit more TLC than the average.

We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
Generally, I’d say I am not a risk-taker. I will always go with the ‘sure thing’, however, that is not how businesses are grown. My biggest risk to date has been leaving the conventional work-force to go into business for myself. That felt like the best decision ever. A move like that felt less risky, because I know I was relying on myself to make this choice successful. While I may faulter in self-confidence in some parts of my life, my work-ethic has never been something I’ve questioned. I know I can do it. I know if it’s entirely up to me, I’ll turn it out. My issues with risk-taking come when having to trust others to hold up their end of the bargain. I’m in a phase of business where it is time to scale-up, and the only way to do that is to trust others. So while risk-taking isn’t something I’d often do in my personal life, it seems nearly essential for business.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/peraltaspetpals/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PeraltasPetCare/

Image Credits
-Todd Roisman (for images that include me)
-Myself (for the solo animal shots)