Episode Transcript
[00:00:02] Speaker A: Welcome to the muddypaws podcast. I'm your host, Dawn Cross, and today I'll be discussing dog hotels and daycares with Gabriel Araujo, hotel manager and nurse, veterinarian.
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[00:00:21] Speaker B: So if I could get you to start off, you introduce yourself and what you get up to in your line of work.
[00:00:26] Speaker C: Nice. So my name is Gabriel. I'm 24 years old. I am from Bell Horizonte, which is the capital of the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil.
I've been a veterinary technician for six years now, and currently I serve as the general manager of Paraiso dos Fosinos, which is a dog hotel, a boarding and temporary care facility.
[00:00:50] Speaker B: That sounds amazing. So how did you get into managing a dog hotel? Because it's definitely something that I recognize. An amazing backstory story.
[00:00:59] Speaker C: Well, so my mom started this business in 2013 with a small space in our backyard. She was caring for dogs while their owners traveled, or some dogs were rescued from. From the streets, which is something that is unfortunately really common here in Brazil.
Well, the business really took off in mid-2015, around that time when she began receiving more dogs through referrals from pet owners and friends, and also from other, how can I say, from her customers.
In 2016, we moved to a house in Pedro Leopoldo, which is a city near Bell Horizonte. It's more like countryside, away from all the business of the city. You know, due to conflicts with neighbors, they were being disturbed by the noises because dogs are noisy, and they were also disturbing the dogs. So we decided to move to the city, you know, just to make sure they were well taken care of, you know?
That same year, I contracted a necrotizing pneumonia. So I was in the hospital for three months. And my mom was crazy because of that.
So at that time, I realized I wanted to go to this healthcare career. It was something that amazed me.
So I told her I wanted to be a nurse technician.
And she said, well, I can't afford this right now. The business was not as big as it is right now.
So she said, I can't pay for your veterinary technician course.
So I took it, even though it was not what I wanted at the time.
And I fell in love with it. Taking care of animals is something really nice, something really rewarding. It's a very rewarding career.
So in 2018, I completed my studies. I was 18 at the time.
And right after it, I started working at the best veterinary hospital in my city.
I learned a lot there. I Saw a lot of great cases, a lot of things that taught me how to be a good technician.
So eventually I began working with her, taking care of the dogs at the operations.
So I was helping the veterinarians who worked with her back then.
And today I am the general manager and I organize the staff, the clients, I provide consultations based on my knowledge and I offer the necessary support. Everything she needs, I'm there for her.
[00:04:06] Speaker B: It sounds like an amazing journey as well. And I kind of spoke to quite a few people where obviously being a vet is really warning because obviously, yeah, you are helping them. You know, it's not as easy just for dogs and cats and everybody to be able to be, to tell us their concerns as well. So to be able to kind of get in tune with them and also just help out with them must feel absolutely amazing.
[00:04:31] Speaker C: Yeah, it is, it is a very, as I said, it is a very rewarding career.
And we not only help dogs, but we all, we also help their.
How can I say it? I forgot the word.
Well, their owners, I don't like, I don't like to call them owners, but.
[00:04:53] Speaker B: It'S like their owners, yeah. Pet parents. It is like having as a child, but a furry one, you know, it is, it is.
That's brilliant. So obviously you must see and have a range of stories from being a manager at this hotel. And I think, you know, some people who may own pets may feel quite worried about kind of doing that, whether, you know, it's going to a cattery, a dog sitter, that kind of thing. And I'd love to pick your brains on, you know, what's maybe like a common worry that people have, you know, maybe you've had some first time attendees or as such, you know, what's kind of like some of the main worries that you come across with for the pet parents.
[00:05:36] Speaker C: Well, a common concern they have when using our dog hotels or using other daycare facilities is whether their dogs will feel comfortable and well cared in a new environment. You know, so many owners worry about anxiety, especially if they are used to being at home instead of like going to boarding facilities, daycares, you know, So I guess to address this, we prioritize creating a warm and welcoming atmosphere. We have very well capacitated staff, so we are ready to take care of this.
So what we do in order to make sure their pets feel comfortable is we play with them. We have a lot of, we have a lot of toys, we have a lot of activities we do with them in order to kind of make them Forget they're not at home, they're not with their parents, you know.
And we offer regular updates and photos to keep their parents informed about their dogs activities and well being and how they're doing and what they are doing. And my phone is ringing all the time asking oh well how is, how is my dog doing? Well, your dog is doing well. And we send videos, we send photos, we, well, we just do what we love to do.
[00:07:05] Speaker B: That's kind of like having that reassurance a bit like, you know, like when parents first have their kids go to nurseries and they get those updates as like a whole little system where you can check it for an app.
So it must be nice to have that same quality with your dogs because sometimes that is very much, yes, that's my precious child. I want to know how they're eating today and that sort of thing. So that's really awesome that you guys do that.
[00:07:30] Speaker C: Yeah. And also we are, we are trying to implement this new system where we can, we can talk in real time with their owners and send them updates about their pets. Because our hotel, we operate in a different way. So basically we call it a temporary dog shelter. So people rescue their dogs from the streets and send them to us and they can stay for like two weeks or they can stay for 11 years. Like we, we have, we have dogs now that they have been with us for like 10 years because either they have some disease that makes make people not want to adopt them, you know, which is really sad, or maybe the dog is just old and people usually don't like old dogs. I personally, I love old dogs. They are, they're amazing.
So it is, it is really sad. But we're trying to implement this new system to make sure the parents are well, they are assured.
[00:08:47] Speaker B: I love that. A question pops in my head actually is obviously that parents feel very cautious or worried about it, especially when they're using a daycare facility for the first time. But what's maybe some qualities they need to look at from their dog to, you know, whether or not they would settle well or deal with in that environment. So I think the only thing that comes to mind for me right now is you know, whether or not they've socialized with other dogs before. Like what other things could they look out for or work upon before they get to a point where like okay, I feel like they'll be okay in the facility.
[00:09:24] Speaker C: Well, I think when people come to us through Instagram or maybe through Facebook so we have those, those pages and they are active so they see how we manage to kind of take away this, this anxiety from the dogs, you know, and they can see on Instagram how the dogs are, how they socialize with other dogs. And we have a system to identify whether the dog is suitable to be with other dogs or not, you know, so. Yeah. So usually if the dog is not like very socializing and maybe fighting, we put them with other dogs who have maybe the same kind of behavior, you know, so usually those, those, those bays are like three or to four dogs, maybe less. Maybe they are by themselves. They just need a place to stay so we can put them by themselves, you know, but either way, we still play with them. We still, we still make them feel like home, you know.
[00:10:36] Speaker B: Yeah. Kind of cater their needs and how they react with other ones. You never know. Some might be like, oh, that's absolutely brilliant. I've got tons of new friends now.
[00:10:45] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:10:46] Speaker B: With anything, like sometimes they just need a bit more. Just like, I just need to chill. Or maybe if they're more senior dog and they're not as playful and youthful as like a 10.
[00:10:55] Speaker C: Yeah, usually. Well, just to, to give you an image of what, what the, what the place looks like. So it's a house. It's a big house and a 6,000 meters, 6,000 square meters land. So they have plenty of space to play. They have fruit trees, so they eat a lot of fruits. They love the fruits.
And usually the old dogs, they just like to lay down in the garage and, you know, just be themselves, you know, just enjoy the weather, you know, it is really amazing. It's something that really amazes me to see how they behave in different ways.
[00:11:38] Speaker B: Sounds awesome. Well, kind of. My last question really is, obviously you've met Ranger dogs, looked after them, cared for them, you know, what's something that has surprised you about dogs that maybe some people don't even think about or know about?
[00:11:56] Speaker C: Something that has truly surprised me about dogs is how smart they are. So I've always knew that this is, I think this is.
Everyone knows that dogs are really smart, but they, they are not smart, like learning new tricks. That's not, that's not about this. They do that. But smart about being like, having empathy and emotional understanding. So my girlfriend has three dogs now and three cats and their dogs, they just feel. When I'm not okay, you know, so they come to me, they hug me, they. They kiss me, you know, so pretty much every single dog can sense their owner's feelings and respond with comfort, companionship.
So the dog will just approach them and give them support, you know, and they can also adapt really well to situations, you know, so it is really easy to, to rearrange their eating schedule, for example, so if you feed your dog three times a day, you can start feeding them like twice a day.
And in a week or so they will, you know, they will, they will readapt to it.
[00:13:30] Speaker B: You know, I think that's something that's really amazing is how emotionally tuned in they are to us without us even saying that, oh, I'm upset and obscene. They do have quite comprehension of our languages, but it's different when, you know, they just kind of know you need a hug and they'll just kind of flop onto you. And they didn't know I needed this. But now this is great. I'm getting dog cuddles and cat cuddles and it's, it's really awesome how emotionally intelligent they are, I think is the correct term there.
[00:14:03] Speaker C: Yeah. And they have this eagerness to please you, you know, because they're, they're so grateful because you're feeding them, you're giving them, you're giving them like a home, you know, so they, they feel like they have to give it back to you. You know, it is, it is fascinating how each dog has its own like unique personality, you know, and also their, there's this sense of gratitude, you know, it lacks in humans.
[00:14:36] Speaker B: Definitely. Well, is there anything else you'd like to add before we wrap up the episode?
[00:14:41] Speaker C: Well, I would just like to say that if you ever come to Brazil and you need a place to, you know, to shelter your dog, like while you just need to travel, just let us know, we'll be here for you.
[00:14:57] Speaker B: We'll obviously put a link to your website and everything. Even if you know they're not necessarily going to travel to Brazil, it's really great to see like in depth how people take care of dogs and even that. You never know, you might learn something new just by, you know, absorbing through social media as well.
Okay, well, thank you so much for coming on today and sparing a bit of your time.
[00:15:20] Speaker C: Thank you so much for having me here. It was really nice talking to you.
[00:15:28] Speaker A: Thank you to my guest today, Gabriel, for chatting about his expertise and advice when it comes to dog kennels. If you'd like to know more about their work, please click the link in the description.
I have been your host on Cross, so make sure to click follow for more episodes.
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