February 6, 2017

Meet Laura Vorreyer of Your Dog’s Best Friend

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Laura Vorreyer.

Laura, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I love Dogs! Ever since I was a young girl I felt very connected to dogs and feel immense compassion for them especially when I see strays or dogs without loving homes. I grew up with Black Labrador Retrievers and considered them my best friends. Not knowing exactly what I wanted to do when I grew up, I gravitated towards doing something I love and that something turned out to be hanging out with dogs.

When I moved out to Los Angeles from Chicago in 2002 I noticed that many people have dogs but need to leave them at home all day so they can go out to work. Lots of people feel anxious about leaving their dogs at home, they worry that their dogs will miss them or they will need to go to the bathroom or might even be destructive out of boredom. Dogs need a variety of physical and mental stimulation to keep them happy and this includes lots of physical exercises.

Your Dog’s Best Friend offers a variety of services to keep dogs content, well-exercised and with a companion while their parents are away. We send real-time picture texts of your dog on the walk or visit and let the parents know what type of adventure your dog has had while you are away. Parents come home to a much happier dog and don’t feel so stressed about leaving their dogs at home.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The dog walking path has certainly had its share of gutters. To say it has been easy would be a lie. During the economic downturn of 2007, I lost many of my clients due to the sad but simple fact that they themselves lost their jobs or suddenly struggled financially. Around the same time, competition increased exponentially as people suddenly without income scrambled to do anything that would bring in money for them.

So, really, two events simultaneously happened which nearly drove me out of business. One, losing clients and two, more competition. I even had former clients start their own dog walking businesses!

Unfortunately, times were so ruff (pardon the pun) that I had to let go of all of the dog walkers I had hired. I was sad to see so many of them have to go out and try to find “real” jobs, but there just wasn’t enough business to go around.

In time, things have turned around and I am grateful for the lessons the challenges taught.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
Your Dog’s Best Friend offers a variety of services customized to the needs of your dog. We are a premier service for discerning clients who want the absolute best for their pets. We specialize in dog care but offer our services to cats, fish, reptiles, birds and any pets that might need us while their parents are gone.

We offer house sitting services as well and can look after your home even if you don’t have a pet, offering such assistance as bringing in mail or plant watering.

Going the extra mile and our personal touches are what we are known for. Many of our clients are seniors and they have special needs. We can administer medicines and offer support to older pets that might need a bit more care.

Our passion and experience are what sets us apart. We treat all the pets as if they are ours. We are reliable, dependable and most off all we are communicative. Customers can always reach us when they want to know how their pets are doing. We even offer Face-Time and Skyping for those pet parents that might be missing their pets very badly.
I am eternally grateful to have my daughter Nicole Vorreyer working alongside me running Your Dog’s Best Friend. Nicole manages the Marina Del Rey location and if you need help on the Westside, chances are, Nicole will be helping you out.

Of course, we couldn’t do it without our team of animal lovers who help us be the great company we are today!

What were you like growing up?
I grew up on the north Side of Chicago and was a pretty introverted kid. I have an older brother and a younger sister and they were my best friends along with my dogs, of course. I was always that kid trying to nurse a sick squirrel back to life or begging my Mom to stop and help stray animals that we saw on the street.

At eleven years old I had radical back surgery to straighten a crooked spine and spent a year in bed in a body cast. My dog Ginger would sit by my side and keep me company. I did a lot of reading and would make up stories and tell them to Ginger.

I also loved to go to the movies and enjoyed listening to music on my record player. Some of my favorite musicians are Bruce Springsteen and Madonna. By the time I got to high school, they were pretty popular and I would hang out in my bedroom listening to their albums.

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