Meet Karen and Jane Bond of Eco Dog Care LA

Today we’d like to introduce you to Karen and Jane Bond.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
My sister, Jane, and I jumped the corporate tracks in 2009 and decided to build a business around dogs and the people who love them as much as we do. We believe that a community’s health can be measured in part by DPSF – dogs per square foot. Well, that is a joke, of course, but only a little bit. People walking dogs often wave or stop to talk to each other and frequent cafes with outdoor seating and dogs are often a great way to introduce new neighbors. Strong communities build from the ground up and dogs are closest to the ground. I’ve had dogs in my family since we were kids, supported rescues, and participated in agility so have a clear vision of what services would help other dog lovers.

Jane is as passionate about “green” issues as I am about dogs though we both care deeply about both. My sister scuba dives and is acutely aware of the risks of toxins in groundwater and the ocean. And so, combining our passions resulted in Eco Dog Care LA which we opened in January of 2011. We offer cage-free daycare & boarding as well as self-wash and grooming services.

While setting up the business and researching green products for our operations, we hit a wall. We couldn’t source shampoos and related grooming products that were both eco-smart and eco-friendly so we decided to create them ourselves. Our friend, a bench chemist for a major consumer goods company, brought the science and we had the vision to infuse eco-friendly bases with essential oils and other botanicals that are eco-smart. To us, eco-smart means using Nature’s power to deliver specific functional value: cleanse, nourish, soothe, and protect a dog’s skin and coat. Customers started asking whether they could buy them so we formed Eco Dog Care Products (www.ecodogcare.com) in 2012. We sell online as well as in local retailers Hound Dog + Cat across the street from us on West Pico and in Echo Bark Inc on Sunset. (We sell in a couple of other places on the East Coast as well. We’re expanding in 2018 to serve a national base.)

Jane focuses on products from NJ while I run services here in LA, but we each back the other. The internet is a wonderful thing,

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Corporate experience and grad degrees don’t necessarily translate to a small business start-up so there was a steep learning curve as there is for many small business owners. But we knew and trusted each other’s basic smarts and work ethic so worked through the “uh oh” moments, especially during construction and build-out. I had a clear view of how I wanted to provide the safest environment for big and small dogs and keeping that vision in the forefront helped us get through a number of challenging discussions with contractors, plumbers, and electricians. And Jane had a giant notebook of schedules, payments and sourcing info.

We also took a risk opening on Pico just slightly ahead of the curve. I lived in the neighborhood for over 20 years, first as a renter on South Orange Grove and then buying on South Ogden. Jane and I were familiar with West Pico (Hauser to Fairfax) and knew it as a gritty street with potential. After we saw Chic and Bloom open, it started to feel like a groundswell was rising so we took the chance on a huge storefront at the corner of West Pico and Genesee. It was nerve-wracking but Jane trusted my instincts. We’ve been so grateful for the commitment to the community from Herb Wesson and for the way the new and older businesses have watched out for each other. And, of course, being an LA Great Street strengthens the business climate because it strengthens the neighborhood.

The good news is that the neighborhood has a very high DPSF! Of course, our business was a new one but slowly people found us. (We still see some dogs that we met in our very first months of operation!) The only real hiccup we had to start was with our shampoo of all things.

It’s toxin-free and eco-smart so is a bit different than typical dog shampoo. It doesn’t have a lot of foamy bubbles, for example, so self-wash customers were very skeptical in the beginning. Understandable because big corporations have trained us to believe suds=clean but that’s just marketing, not science. We eliminated sulfates, parabens, phthalates, DEA, and phosphates so our shampoo, Simply Clean, doesn’t have clouds of bubbly foam. But it also doesn’t have the toxins that affect groundwater and may affect the dog and the person bathing the dog. We think it’s a good trade-off but back in 2011, it took a little bit of convincing.

Please tell us about Eco Dog Care LA.
Eco Dog Care LA offers cage-free daycare & boarding with separate areas for small and big dogs. We also have 5 self-wash areas and offer baths and full grooming. (A professional groomer works from our space.) Our online reviews speak of the love we have for all the dogs in our care and that’s really what matters to us. Quite simply, they are family to us, too, whether they are boisterous boxers, fussy terriers or elderly bassets.

We’re also proud to be certified as A Green America business and a member of the Pet Sustainability Coalition (PSC). Our operations are as “green” as we can make them and we’re continually on the look-out for new and better solutions. It’s especially satisfying when we can buy products from California companies that are as committed to eco-solutions as we are. For example, we now buy bio-degradable dog waste bags from BioDogradable and recyclable food bowls from Kinn Inc. And, our grooming products are free of toxins and vegan. Jane’s goal is to have our shampoo certified by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) but they don’t yet cover pet care products. We’re working with Westwood Labs out of Azuza to scale up manufacturing and to further refine our formulas. We chose to work with them not only because of their reputation in the industry but also because of the investment in clean energy and leadership on the PSC.

We also care deeply about rescues and offer deeply discounted or free services and products to help them help dogs. (And more than a couple of baby kittens.) This doesn’t likely set us apart because I know many pet-centric businesses do the same, but it’s part of our business DNA. (I’d say “core values” but that’s way too corporate.) Also, part of our DNA is our instinct to work with other businesses in the local and global community; for example, we have a great partnership with Hound Dog + Cat and also actively support Shop Local initiatives across the country with our product line.

Contact Info:

• Address: Jane Bond
  5751 W Pico Ave
  Los Angeles, CA 90019
• Website: www.ecodogcarela.com and www.ecodogcare.com
• Phone: 323-939-0945 (ecodogcarela) 908-797-4502 (ecodogcare)
• Email: info@ecodogcarela (LA services) and ecodogcare@gmail.com (products)
• Instagram: ecodogcarela and ecodogcare
• Facebook: ecodogcarelosangeles and ecodogcareproducts
• Twitter: ecodogcarela and ecodogcare
• Yelp: www.yelp.com/biz/eco-dog-care-los-angeles-3

Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.