When Jodi Gup saw a gap in services for animals in the community, she quite simply found a way to fill it. Well, maybe the journey wasn’t as easy as that. The Dog Stop® located at 1175 Gulf Breeze Parkway opened in June of 2020—in the middle of a pandemic.

Gup moved back to the Gulf Breeze area from Washington, D. C. ten years ago and jobs matching her skill set, interests and passions were hard to find. Gup’s background is in senior fundraising positions in the field of higher education; she worked with private research universities engaged with national and international clients. Gup had a newborn and wanted to spend more time with her daughter while still being professionally challenged. After taking a few positions that weren’t a perfect fit, Gup’s career coach suggested she consider raising funds for herself rather than other organizations by starting her own business. Gup quickly realized she wanted to work with a franchise offering a good model, infrastructure, and a team to rely on. She also wanted to work with animals. Gup connected with a franchise consultant which led to her relationship with The Dog Stop® franchises.

Gup says she has no regrets about leaving corporate work. She explains, “No day is the same with animals.” She has more time with her daughter, which was her number one goal. She can go to dinner with friends or go to the gym; flexibility in her calendar allows her to enjoy life more and be more engaged in community activities. 

Gup transferred her management skills to The Dog Shop® where she relies heavily on her team of eighteen to run daily operations. The shop opens at 6 a.m. to care for boarding dogs, then at 7 a.m. day care and grooming dogs begin to arrive. The Dog Stop® is an all-inclusive indoor/outdoor dog care facility offering dog grooming, dog daycare, dog boarding, dog training, in-home services, and a pet retail store. Facilities promote healthy and happy dogs through socialization, physical exercise, mental stimulation, professional grooming, and a holistic retail approach. They even offer STAYcations for pets including all-day play, individualized care, and private suites.

Read the full  article: January Bella Magazine :: Pages 38 & 39