Geoff Golovsky: Dog Day Care

The owners also receive report cards of their dog’s behaviour, ranging from ‘improved in crossing the road’ to ‘had a fight with another dog’, to help them understand where their pet needs improvement. Golovsky laughs and suggests that most often it’s the owners that need the training.

“Ultimately we see a regression every Monday because the owners let the dogs get away with everything. We were closed for two weeks over the [Christmas/New Year] holidays and the week back was mayhem because the dogs had gotten away with blue murder,” he reports. “One day we’ll have the owners in day care to train them on what we expect them to do [at home].”

In addition to constant human supervision and stimulation, two daily walks to nearby parks and the beach, and being fed dinner, the day care dogs enjoy being the centrepiece of the pet community around Golovsky’s practice. Some are happy events—Golovsky describes a dog wedding held in the clinic on their most recent open day—others bring on the tears, such as the story of a Labrador that gave blood to save another dog’s life.

Apart from a shopfront presence and the branded bandannas the dogs wear on their walks, Golovsky’s business has all come via word-of-mouth, which makes him grateful for all the recommendations given by existing clients, especially the day care patrons. The day care’s long opening hours and the webcam are attractive for working clients, and the concept is so popular that the centre, open since the end of 2006, have already closed their books to new dogs.

“I only have 40 square metres so it’s not a huge money-making business where I’m cramming dogs in. There are other day cares that put twice as many dogs into the same space, but we’re not accepting any more dogs because we’re fully booked until June. We’re trying to do the right thing for the dogs,” explains Golovsky.

Although his next move will be to provide a 24/7 veterinary service, Golovsky also sees an opportunity to expand by setting up day care premises in other areas to satisfy growing demand, no mean feat considering that Golovsky admits his business skills still need a bit of work. “I’ve had to change my name to VetHQ [from Ark Vet East]—it had to do with the trademark office,” he says. “In university we went through about two hours on legal issues and about half a day on business yet we’re all expected to run a business. I’m a vet not a businessman.”

His big-picture business plan is to create a place where pet owners can access everything they need. With a cat lounge, pet boarding, pet grooming, physiotherapy and acupuncture services already offered besides dog day care, and a full range of veterinary services, VetHQ is almost there.

But while he doesn’t have an empire yet, it’s clear that Golovsky feels he’s already achieved something special. “There’s nothing more rewarding than having dogs run into the clinic with their tails up; the owners let them out of the car and they bolt to day care. The dogs appreciate it and the owners say ‘wow you’ve really changed my dog’—that’s all I need.”