October 3, 2024
As we celebrate 10 years in business at Fast Tracks Canine Activity Center, we have so much to be thankful for. Since we opened our doors in 2014, we have truly enjoyed getting to know and serve so many wonderful pets and their people from the Cedar Falls community and surrounding areas. It’s been our joy and privilege to provide fun and reliable dog daycare, dog boarding and dog grooming, with plenty of wagging tails and happy barks along the way.
Trust is essential in this business, and earning yours is not something we take lightly. We work hard every day to maintain a high level of pet care, while always looking for ways to improve. Thank you for entrusting us with the well-being of your furry family members. Whether they’re here for a half day grooming session or a weeks-long vacation, we consider our canine clients part of the Fast Tracks family and treat them as we would our own precious pups. Seeing their wiggling excitement when they come through our doors and figure out they’re at Fast Tracks – well, it never gets old.
Relating to dogs on their terms has always seemed natural to me. I realized I had a special connection with animals early in my childhood, and it’s still one of my favorite things about this business. As a kid, I spent a lot of time at my grandfather’s farm, trying to help out (although I’m not sure I was very much help) and always learning from him. One of my earliest childhood memories is of my Grandpa talking to his cows, like they were having a normal conversation. He always treated his animals well, and our standard of care at Fast Tracks is intended to be a tribute to his legacy.
The Evolution of Dog Daycare Standards
Over the past decade, the standards for the dog daycare and boarding industry have evolved in multiple ways.
- Humanization of Pets: Pets are increasingly viewed as family members, resulting in higher standards of care. This includes luxury services such as spa treatments, certified training sessions, and organic food options.
- Enhanced Safety and Materials: Modern dog daycares prioritize safety and comfort, utilizing carefully selected materials for flooring, toys, and bedding to maintain a clean and comfortable environment.
- Technological Integration: Technology plays a crucial role, with apps to make scheduling more convenient and webcams that allow pet parents to check in on their dogs. The pandemic accelerated the integration of more technology, enabling services like curbside pick-ups to streamline the process.
- Increased Demand: The COVID-19 pandemic spurred pet ownership and, consequently, the demand for our services increased, especially as people resumed traveling and went back to the office for more of their workweek.
Frequent Improvements at Our Facility
As a result, Fast Tracks has invested in some significant transformations to enhance the experience and safety of our furry guests. One major improvement was transitioning our playground surface from grass, dirt, and wood chips to high-quality astro turf. This new footing has facilitated more effective and hygienic cleaning protocols, while also minimizing the risk of dogs ingesting foreign objects, ensuring a safer play environment.
We’ve also upgraded our boarding facilities from traditional wire crates to robust, industrial-strength enclosures. The new kennel style offers superior sanitation, enhanced safety, and more spacious living areas for your pets, ensuring their comfort during their stay with us.
In 2018, we constructed a new building featuring an i-wave device to actively reduce bacteria and viruses in the environment, underscoring our commitment to high standards for health and cleanliness.
Our staff training has also seen significant enhancements. We now use PackPro training modules to ensure our team is well-equipped to manage and care for our canine guests. Several staff members have achieved Fear Free certification, empowering them to handle pets with the utmost sensitivity. Updated Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) ensure consistency and excellence in our service.
Professional Highlights at Fast Tracks
One of the most rewarding highlights for everyone on our team has been serving as a foster home for dogs from shelters in the Cedar Falls area and successfully finding them new homes. We’ve helped more than 20 dogs so far, and we get so excited every time they find their forever family. By staying with us at Fast Tracks, we’re able to get to know them and observe their behaviors, so people get a much better idea of the dog they are bringing into their home. We even hosted a BBQ event to promote the program, as well as partnering with the local shelters to get the word out on social media. In the future I would love to host more events and hope to increase the number of fosters we can accommodate simultaneously by integrating a new boarding room specifically for them.
Lessons Learned
As I look back on the past ten years, there are some things I might do differently in hindsight. I might have pursued more of a business education early on, in addition to my training as a skilled dog professional. And in a perfect world, starting out with our current capacity and level of specialized facilities would have been beneficial. But I wouldn’t trade the experience and lessons learned along the way as we’ve been able to invest in our business to benefit our clients and our team.
Visions of Success
As we look ahead to the next ten years and beyond, success to me means having the freedom and ability to pursue my passion projects. The future of the pet service industry is bright, and I expect that it will continue to expand by integrating more conveniences and enjoyable experiences for people into the mix. New trends in the industry are catching on quickly, like dog park bars where pet parents can socialize, and dog daycare drop-off lanes followed by drive-thru coffee shops to fuel the morning commute. Ultimately, success for me would be the ability to realize my dreams to better serve and contribute to the community we call home.
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