Dogdrop, A New Kind of Dog Daycare
Each week during the course of the Leap Venture Studio, our 3-month accelerator for pet care startups, we will feature one of the seven companies in our cohort.
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Modern day pet parents are focused on the health and wellness of their pets more than ever before, while also having different needs and expectations for care. Primed to capitalize on this trend is Dogdrop, a new kind of dog care based in Downtown Los Angeles.
Like many pet parents, CEO and co-founder of Dogdrop, Shaina Denny, was frustrated with her search for dog daycare for her dog Poppy. Hours were inflexible, rates were high, and the locations were not accessible. Her search for daycare led her and her co-founder, Greer Wilk, to build Dogdrop in 2018.
Dogdrop wants to make caring for your dogs easier. “We believe that Dogdrop is a lifestyle brand. Our goal is to provide the best pet care for dog parents, making it more accessible, more affordable, more convenient,” says Shaina.
Dogdrop’s first location opened in early 2019 in the Arts District of LA, a neighborhood with a high concentration of new apartment buildings, tech offices, gyms, restaurants, and bars. Shaina and Greer used their own pain points and those of modern-day pet parents to build a tech-enabled daycare with flexible monthly memberships and attention to design. Members can choose hourly, daily, or unlimited memberships.
When you drop off your dog, Shaina says, they socialize, exercise, and receive quality care from the Droperators, Dogdrop’s daycare attendants. Droperators are responsible for not only creating a top-notch experience for the dogs to get them excited to return day after day, but also serve as hosts for parents who can attend Dogdrop sponsored workshops, training sessions, and other community events.
Dogdrop is focused on becoming a lifestyle brand that focuses on the dog and the pet parent. The Leap Venture Studio has been a unique opportunity for Dogdrop to build close relationships with other pet care startups for future partnerships and advice, as well as develop their brand voice with R/GA Ventures. With pet parents spending more money on higher quality products and services, Dogdrop sees this next decade of pet care focused on community and wellness.
Although the pandemic has forced Dogdrop to decrease their daycare hours (now operating from 11am-3pm Monday-Friday) to prioritize the health and safety of their Droperators and members, they have not slowed down on building their brand. Dogdrop is creating a space for pet parents that value community, wellness, and meaningful experiences for them and their pet.
By Isabel Havens, Leap Program Coordinator for Michelson Found Animals
