Banff National Park to Calgary, Alberta – 28 September 2024
We have had a busy couple of weeks in Calgary, visiting our dog wash customers, taking videos of installations and also doing servicing on their machines. Not much time to take in the area attractions but we did enjoy the little we did see and hoped to return the following Summer.
One of our customers, Wendy Brooks, has an amazing business. She runs the 40 acres Country Club pet resort out in the countryside in Rocky View, Alberta, which has been in her family for 70 years. Her facility is amazing. She took us for a tour around the property in her golf cart and we felt like we were being shown a private school for our child. They board 300 dogs, 30 cats, bunnies and birds, and are at full capacity in the summer. The place is immaculate. There are a variety of themed suites to choose from all the way up to premium which have beautifully painted rooms and accessories. Animals have access to private outside areas during their boarding, and seniors have their own separate facility. There are off leash parks and trails that can be rented by the hour, a crematorium, a columbarium and a burial area, 2 x specially designed outside dog swimming pools, a large indoor event area with agility equipment, grooming and our self-serve dog wash. This type of business has become very popular in Canada and with 40% of households owning dogs, certainly a lucrative business to be in. Kudos to Wendy!
The next day was Sunday and we were up early to meet a customer who was expanding his dog wash business to offer boarding and grooming pet services. Ramesh owns several other businesses – hotels, car wash/garage and this business. He recognized the potential to expand his services after purchasing a Twin machine from us. He owned the building he had the dog wash in and was in the process of complete renovations when we saw it. After seeing what Wendy offered we could see what a fantastic business opportunity this would be. He was well situated near a new housing development, malls and shops. After that we drove to 17th avenue Car wash who were one of the first to purchase one of our dog wash machines. There was no one there and the pet room with the dog wash seemed to be closed. I know the business owner did have his Car Wash up for sale, but I couldn’t tell if it had changed hands yet or not. Some follow up to do in this area. Finally, I was able to pop into a large pet store in the area and meet up with the owner who I had chatted to over the phone for many years. I was blown away by his huge store and luckily he was working so we could finally meet face to face. He took me to a space in his store where he was considering adding a dog wash – hopefully he will purchase one from us soon.
That evening we met up with Alan Taylor and his wife Pauline. Alan had worked as a sub contractor for Derek at BC government and they had become good friends. Him and his wife were newly retired and enjoying time with their grandchildren. We had a lovely meal with them and promised to return next year to join them for a game of Pickleball. We better brush up on our Pickleball skills in the meantime!!
