We were lucky to catch up with Jesi Kirk recently and have shared our conversation below.
Jesi , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?
The name Howling Moon Pet Care was inspired by one of my past dogs, Zuri. Zuri was a Chinese Crested Powder Puff who loved everyone he met and was a great trick dog performer. He worked as a therapy dog in nursing homes and elementary schools for many years. One of his most loved tricks was howling or singing on cue. When I quit working in the public school system and decided to open my own business I was faced with choosing a unique name. One of my teacher friends and I went out to dinner and talked through my long list of possible names. Howling Moon was original and worked perfectly because our original mascot was Zuri. He loved to go to events to meet new people and show off his howling trick. We chose to use Pet Care as the last half of the name because I did not want to limit the company to one single service. We are now a team of certified professional dog trainers who offer services such as in home private lessons, virtual coaching to clients all over the country, in home day training, stay and learn, as well as behavioral modification. Jesi, the business owner still overs grooming services on a part time basis.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Howling Moon Pet Care is primarily a dog training company. We are a teach of certified dog trainers with extensive credentials and experience. We are dedicated to helping pet owners enjoy their lives to the fullest with their four legged companions. The services we offer include training options such as in home private lessons, in home day training, stay and learn as well as virtual coaching for clients all over the country. We also offer a matchmaking program in which we help clients find the dog of their dreams that fits their life style and individual needs. We offer limited grooming services as well to owner who value a low stress grooming experience for their pets. We love to help clients meet their training goals whether it is basic obedience or preparing for sports or earning AKC titles. We also help pet owners work through more challenging issues considered to be behavioral modification such as leash reactivity, resource guarding, aggression, and extreme fear. We utilize positive reinforcement methods and pride ourselves in being a Fear Free certified team.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
When covid first started we were very limited in the services we could offer as most were in person options. This is when our virtual coaching service really took off. This service gave clients the opportunity to train their dogs in the comfort of their own home. Even after covid started to slow down, we continued to have many people interested in this service. Many of our virtual coaching clients have had trouble finding quality in person trainers in their area or just simply prefer to train their dogs in the comfort of their own home. This service also allows us to observe fearful or aggressive dogs without creating added distractions with a new person or guest in their territory.
Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.
I attended college at NCSU with hopes of becoming a veterinarian. However, I really struggled with subjects such as Chemistry and Physics. I had always loved working with children as a close second to animals so I decided to switch majors and become an elementary school teacher. I continued to work at vets offices and as a dog groomer to help pay my bills through college. I worked as an elementary school teacher in the WCPSS for five years. During that time, I continued to groom dogs on the weekends and during the summer break. I assisted at a local dog training facility a couple of nights each week and trained Zuri to become a therapy dog. Zuri came to school often to provide therapy to my students as well as other teachers. I eventually decided to take the big leap and quit teaching in order to open my business full time. Howling Moon Pet Care has now been in business officially for 10 years! One of my biggest milestones was creating a team to help me provide quality training services to as many dogs and familys as possible.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.howlingmoonpetcare.com
- Instagram: howlingmoonpetcare
- Facebook: Howling Moon Pet Care