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annmarie@spawzdog.com
About SpawZ
SpawZ Doggie Daycare & Fitness Center’s owner, Ann Marie Shields, has 11 years of experience in professional dog care and 8 years of experience in the human health care industry. Ann Marie is a licensed Small Animal Massage Practitioner (SAMP) and is certified in Canine First Aid. She is a member of the Association of Canine Water Therapy and the American Boarding Kennel Association.
But perhaps more important than all that: She loves dogs—and they love her.
How did SpawZ come about?
Ann Marie has been in the dog-care business since 1996 when she started the Doggie Bed and Biscuit in Snohomish. It was one of the first upscale, cage-free dog care businesses in the country—where canine guests enjoyed private “bedrooms” with futons and couches, private yards, and a huge pasture for running and playing. Doggie BNB provided what many dog owners want—a safe, homey, loving place for their dog to stay during the day or for extended periods of time. A place where their dog could enjoy human and canine companionship.
Creating the same environment she had at Doggie BNB, combined with even more special features, is Ann Marie’s goal for SpawZ.
A love for special-needs dogs.
Ann Marie’s love of mature or older dogs, and sensitive breeds, stems from her devotion to rescued greyhounds. She adopted her first track rescue greyhound, Jimmy Dean, in 1989, and has adopted four more since then. “It’s so satisfying to give these dogs the extra love and care they need and watch them blossom and become secure and happy,” she says.
In 2002, Ann Marie moved to Seattle and went back to work in the human health care industry. But she continued to pet sit for a few long-time clients with older and mellow dogs. And then, in 2005, a couple of events occurred that led her to create SpawZ. First, she had knee-replacement surgery and was at home recovering for 7 months. And second, just a few weeks after her surgery, one of her greyhounds, Armani, broke his foot and ankle in 18 places.
Armani was in a full-leg cast for three months, and when the cast came off he had significant and disabling muscle atrophy. While Ann Marie was going through rigorous physical therapy and a warm-water exercise program that proved to be the keys to the recovery of her knee, Armani was struggling. It was difficult for him to walk on hard surfaces, so he had no way to regain his strength and muscle tone.
“That’s when it struck me that warm-water exercise might help him, too—and it did,” says Ann Marie. “Plus a vet suggested I try massage, so I went back to school and got my license as a Small Animal Massage Practitioner. Thanks to both water exercise and massage, Armani has made an amazing recovery, but he’ll need low-impact water exercise for the rest of his life.”
Giving that extra touch of care.
During Armani’s recuperation, Ann Marie was able to stay at home and care for him—only because she was recovering herself. “I started to think about other people with ill, injured, or frail dogs who have to work all day and can’t provide the care their dog needs. I know firsthand what that’s like. You worry all day about your pet’s safety and well-being,” she says.
It was about then that Ann Marie decided to create SpawZ, a daycare devoted to mature, senior, and special-needs dogs who require a little extra personal care. Whether that means lounging in a private room, exercising on the treadmill or in the pool, enjoying a massage, playing with other dogs, or cuddling with a staff member, Ann Marie has brought it all together under one roof at SpawZ.
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