PAWS Lends a Hand
Maddy Vitale
MARGATE – PAWS Pet Care is helping dog owners in Atlantic and Cape May counties by providing dog walking services for your pooch if you are working late, as well as providing an opportunity for adults with disabilities.
Jewish Family Service, 607 N. Jerome Ave., started PAWS Pet Care just two years ago. Since then, the business has grown.
For some, PAWS is their first job. For others, it is a chance to earn some money and gain confidence, knowing they are in the workforce. And for PAWS customers, they receive specialized care from trained professionals, ensuring that while they are at work or need someone to walk their dogs, their pooches are getting the best of care.
“After casino closings, we really saw a huge hole of those having difficulty getting a job. Atlantic County’s unemployment is about 14 percent,” JFS Director of Communications Beth Joseph said Friday, Oct. 20. “Getting a job is difficult, and getting a job for people with disabilities is virtually impossible.”
Joseph said JFS looked through the community to determine what might be a good fit for a business. They found hundreds of dog licenses between Ventnor and Margate alone, with that number increasing during the peak summer tourism season.
“There were just a few dog walking businesses out there, so we knew we wanted to create one of our own,” Joseph said.
What Does PAWS Offer?
“I like to say we have a little bit more, because we have pet-check technology. It is a clock in and clock out system where the dog walkers can send pictures of the dogs to the owners,” Joseph remarked.
While Margate and Ventnor are the main areas for the business, PAWS has branched out to Somers Point, Absecon, Egg Harbor Township, Northfield and Ocean City.
PAWS Pet Care offers services tailored to the individual customer’s and pup’s needs. They offer multiple walks a day, companionship for the dogs for a time after their walks, even pooper scooping services. Just about the only thing they don’t provide is pet sitting. Walks begin as early as 6:30 a.m. A 30-minute walk is $15, a 50-minute walk is $25. PAWS also combines a walk with companionship services, such as feeding, for $30. Pooper scooper services are $15 an hour.
Owners don’t need to supply anything but their dogs
PAWS employees bring everything needed for the walk, from a PAWS leash to waste bags and dog treats. When the dog walkers enter the home, the owner will get an alert, photos of their dog as well as a map of paw prints detailing the walk.
Maureen Leidy of Ventnor, has been a PAWS Pet Care customer since its inception and is happy with the service.
“The PAWS service provides a GPS check-in for when the dog walker arrives at my home, and provides a check-out time. This gives me the reassurance that I know when my dog, Holly, is cared for, so I can focus at work,” Leidy said.
Leidy added that the dog walker handles her very large Newfoundland very well. “Sometimes my walker even sends me a picture of the dog when she is doing something cute,” she said.
Jessica Schmidt, JFS lead vocational coach, said the service is a success because the dogs are screened, the dog walkers are carefully selected and undergo rigorous training. It also meets the specific needs of the customers.
“JFS job coaches go out to the home and make sure the dog is a good fit for the program – not aggressive, for example, and vaccinated,” Schmidt said.
PAWS staff is trained by an animal care specialist as well as by members of the Humane Society of Ocean City on spotting injury, avoiding trouble with other dogs and other issues that may come up.
There are eight dog walkers. Although the number of dogs walked frequently changes, there are currently 11.
Who are the dog walkers?
The reasons for PAWS have as much to do with helping people, as it does providing a service for dogs.
For Sherwood Oxendine, 51, of Atlantic City, a PAWS Pet Care employee, it is the beginning of his life in the workforce.
“I’ve never had the chance to work with animals before but have always wanted to. Earning my first paycheck was a goal I have had for a long time and PAWS Pet Care helped me achieve that,” Oxendine said.
Oxendine is in the JFS vocational services program for people with disabilities. Like him, people in the program are assigned a case manager and they work to create a good fit between the dog walker and the dog. People in the program range from people who have autism to some sort of mental health issue, such as a person who suffers from anxiety, Joseph, the JFS communications director, explained.
“We are employing individuals with disabilities and hope residents support this effort,” she said.
For more information contact PAWS Pet Care at 609-822-6817 or email paw@jfsatlantic.org.
