Today we’d like to introduce you to Monika Kreinberg.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Monika. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
It all started with the planning of our own wedding. My fiancée and I really wanted to include our two dogs and our cats in our wedding. For us, they are our children. We looked all over to see if we could find a company that could help us get them to our wedding and take them back, but we couldn’t find any. Additionally, we also didn’t want to trust our beloved furbabies with just anyone. We ended up doing a lot of planning from our part and we did manage to get them to our wedding.
Unfortunately, our dog sitter loves our dogs but really didn’t know how weddings work and our wedding planner was not focused on them, which results in missing video footage and pictures. We can’t bring the day back, but it inspired me to start a company that prevents others from having to go through what we did. Furever Us provides a service, that allows couples like us, to have their furbaby present at the wedding. Couples can lay back and relax knowing that their dog or cat is safe and happy.
I have always loved animals and have been rehabilitating them since I was a little girl. I decided to go into psychology rather than a veterinary school because I did not think I could take the pain and suffering that goes with that job. I decided to become a therapist and use my dog as a therapy dog.
Together, I have volunteered in courts as a pet-assisted therapist, to help out when needed and in my own private practice. My husband too has grown up with animals and has volunteered in shelters with limited medical funds. You learn a lot through those experiences. It is this love for animals that actually brought us together and this love that helped us grow Furever Us. Together, we have rescued, transported and fostered more than 50 animals in the past few years. We also like to give back to the community and donate 10% of our profits to local rescues we know.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I think starting a company is usually never smooth. There is always a learning curve to everything. The only thing we knew is that people’s pets would be our top priority, just as ours are for us. We have slowly been growing and have been getting to know people in the industry. We have met some amazing like-minded people, that not only love what we do but also recommend us to others.
A few people we have met or contacted are not big animal lovers and have looked at our service with skepticism. That is ok, we love to prove people wrong and with more than 68% of the U.S. population owning at least one dog or cat, we don’t worry about those few that don’t like them.
The main challenge that we are dealing with is expanding. Weddings are most often in the weekends and sometimes we get double bookings (two weddings in a day). It is natural for most companies to hire more people. I come from a mental health background and will say my skills come in handy. Our hiring process is very thorough. We are talking about people’s fur-children and there too many horror stories out there. It is a big responsibility and one that should not be taken lightly.
We have just brought aboard our first new dog chaperone. This took half a year in the making. We only bring on people whose background have been checked vigorously and who have shown a history of putting animal welfare in front of other things. Our new chaperone and her husband both volunteer and have pets of their own. They also understand the importance of planning and punctuality in weddings, which is a must for anyone in the industry. We hope to bring more likeminded people on board in the future, the difficulty will be finding them.
Please tell us about your work. What should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Furever Us is a wedding pet care company. We provide pet chaperoning services to couples who want their pets present at their wedding. This can include transport to and from the venue/s, a dedicated dog chaperone for each dog before, during and after the wedding, we provide pet care during the days leading up to the wedding and for the honeymoon.
Additionally, we rent out props like signs, outfits, wagons or remote-controlled cars that couples can use for an instafamous dog entrance. Furever Us also has a certified dog trainer on board, for those couples that want some extra help. Lastly, we also do videos and behind the scenes photos from the dog’s point of view something that most videographers don’t do.
We are the first wedding pet care company in all of South Florida. We would like to say that, the couples are our clients, logistically they are, but really it is their pets we cater to. Our goal is to make sure that furbaby/s have as much fun as the couple.
They deserve to be spoiled on the big day as well. I think I speak for both, when I say, we pride ourselves in being great fur parents, to our own pets but also to those of others. We are known among our friend’s circle to be the go-to resource for behavior or health problems in dogs or cats (apart from the vet of course). Both of us have been rescuing animals since before we could even walk. We love all furbabies and think life would not be complete without them.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
This is a tough one… but I think I was very proud during our first wedding expo. We went in, not knowing how people would react to such a new type of service. It turns out, ours was the most popular booth (according to the event organizer). We couldn’t keep up with the amount of people that wanted to know more. All I can say is that hard work really does pay off.
Contact Info:
- Website: FureverUs.Com
- Phone: 786-797-1777 and 877-FUREVER
- Email: fureverusfl@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.Instagram.com/fureverus
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/fureverus
Image Credit:
These images all belong to Furever Us LLC
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