Meet the Owner, DeDe
An entrepreneur, with a love for dogs
I always had an entrepreneurial spirit. I had a dream of owning my own business, and I love helping others, so I went to school to pursue my undergraduate degree in psychology, and then a Master's in Counseling Psychology so I could one day own my own private practice.
But while in college, I adopted my dog, Penny, and my life changed forever! I have always loved dogs my whole life and had had dogs as pets since I was 6 years old, but this was my first experience owning my own dog as an adult. I fell in love with her and watched my life transform before my eyes! Suddenly, my entire world revolved around Penny.
I would take her swimming at the greenbelt, play frisbee at Zilker Park, only eat at dog-friendly restaurants, and I started bringing her to doggie daycare twice a week. She LOVED it! And I loved seeing Penny so happy getting the exercise and socialization she needed!
It brought me so much JOY to take care of my girl Penny! That is when I realized I wanted to dedicate my life to caring for dogs and owning a Dog Daycare was the perfect combination of my love of dogs and my dream of owning my own business.
A true Austinite
Although I technically was not born in Austin, I consider myself as close to a native Austinite as one can get. I have lived here since the year 2000, attending elementary school through high school in Austin.
When it came to college, there was nowhere else I wanted to go besides the University of Texas at Austin. Having attended every soccer, basketball and volleyball camp that the University of Texas athletic department offered during my youth, and even sleeping in dorms during said camps, I always knew I was destined to be a longhorn. The University of Texas was the only college I applied to, and I was accepted early, in the Fall of my junior year of high school, and my dream of being a longhorn came true. Hook’em!
Opening Pups & Pals
While in graduate school, pursuing a Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology, I found myself feeling a bit jaded. I had always wanted to pursue a career centered on helping others, but suddenly I was not feeling inspired by my career choice. I realized something was missing…the joy.
My family always joked about how, with the number of dogs we had combined as a family, we should start a dog daycare! Especially when we gathered for the holidays, our living room was overrun with dogs and often felt like a dog daycare!
What started as light hearted dinner conversation with family, turned into a reality when I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was destined to build a career working with dogs. I felt that this would check all of the boxes I was searching for in a career. I’d be providing a service to my community, helping others, but also, the key ingredient: JOY.
In December of 2015 I called my Dad and said, “I think I’m going to do it! I think I’m going to take the leap and open a dog daycare.” And 11 months later, on November 14th, 2016, I opened the doors to Pups & Pals Pet Lounge.