Inspiring Conversations with Casey Wilkinson of DogWalkerPro

Today we’d like to introduce you to Casey Wilkinson. 

Hi Casey, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
August 13th, 1988, I was born. My entire childhood I was surrounded by animals. Pets, rescues, other family members’ pets, etc…Even growing up as a kid I remember consistently choosing stuffed animals and pet shop figures over Barbie’s and baby dolls. I knew I wanted to work with animals when I got older, hence why I just assumed I’d be a vet. Fast forward 15 years when I start working real jobs and also pet sitting for friends and family for cash on the side. I also snuck in time to work or put in hours at Snakes at Sunset, Monkey Jungle, Deep Hollow Ranch, & Zoological. Eventually, college comes around and I interned at a vet office, only quickly to learn that wasn’t for me. Panicking I switched to Marine Biology, quickly noticing that wasn’t going to be my career path either. So, I sit down and think, ok I really want to work with dogs. I’d love to become a K9 Trainer and/handler someday. This is where my bachelors in Criminal Justice was made. Upon completion of school, I started applying to departments and that was a disappointing journey altogether. Throughout the course of school, I worked many service industry jobs and continued pet sitting on the side. I found that was where I felt the most fulfilled. So much so that one big falling out with a corporate service industry job I went home and told my family “I quit, I’m going to walk dogs for a living”. As supportive as my family was, I’m sure they were freaking out. Could you imagine? I had no idea how I’d do it; I just knew I had. So, I started off by walking friends’ and families’ dogs. Then they’d give out my number so I’d walk their friends’ dogs. Then they’d recommend me and so and so forth by the time I could catch my own footing and blink, DogWalkerPro was born. 

Alright, 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?
Not at all! DogWalkerPro has been officially in existence for a little over six years now. And we STILL learn something new every day. The biggest struggle was leaning how to run your own business, every day while it was taking off from under your feet and growing quickly without any previous knowledge, experience, or education on starting your own business. Another major struggle was learning how to push past the fear of failure and unknown to keep going. 

We’ve been impressed with DogWalkerPro, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
DogWalkerPro is made up of the biggest animal-loving team in Miami-Dade. We offer an array of pet services including but not limited to: dog walking, dog cardio, pet sitting, pet boarding, pet transport, and pet-related errands. I would say we’re known for, and what sets us apart is our level of care, and reliability. We’ve heard horror stories from clients of previous experiences they’ve endured with other pet companies and we take pride in the fact we’ve never been bad-mouthed. It’s actual the complete opposite, our clientele has single-handedly shared our business countless times over and over again because of their experiences with us. 

Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
The importance of being able to pivot and adapt. Change is inevitable. During the pandemic, our motto was: “Embrace the suck, and just keep trucking”. 

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @dogwalker.pro

Image Credits
Chris Williams
@fredohmane