Copyright Joliet, IL Patch
Woofie's, founded by two Ashburn neighbors, is looking back on 21 years and will hold birthday events like a Santa photos fundraiser. ASHBURN, VA — In 2004, Amy Addington and her Ashburn neighbor Leslie Barron were having trouble finding good services for their pets. Addington had three dogs and was determined to not have them go to a kennel. The neighbors decided to team up and started a home pet care service called Woofie's. "They absolutely are members of the family, and all the pets are unique," Addington told Patch. "Some might be young puppies, some are seniors, some are rescues, but at the end of the day, every pet deserves the very best care possible, and it's not a one-size-fits-all." Twenty-one years later — 147 in dog years — that pet care service has expanded to 67 franchise locations and even offers mobile pet grooming services. To celebrate its 21st birthday, Woofie's will host birthday events, including Yappy Hour fundraisers with participating franchises donating 21 percent of proceeds to local animal rescues. "Turning 21, we had a little fun with it, of turning 21 turning legal. So we have Pouring It Forward, and making that a nationwide initiative, and our franchisees have really embraced it," said Addington. Co-founders Addington and Barron worked in corporate and health care, respectively, when they founded Woofie's in 2004. The neighbors built up their business, getting parents and teachers at local schools to be among the first clients. "It was pure sweat equity, going out and doing all the walks, literally seven days a week, and our biggest thing was to really just go above and beyond for the clients," said Addington. "I always tell people we didn't invent the concept of pet sitting and dog walking, but our goal was to do it our Woofie's way, which was truly going above and beyond and caring for every pet like they're our own." Along with the dog walking and pet sitting services, Woofie's added mobile pet spas in 2011 to bring grooming services right to clients' homes. Addington says it is a good option for pet owners who have multiple dogs, so they can stay in the comfort of home and not be caged while awaiting grooming. "It's a really great tie in, because everything is predicated on the relationship with the client, having the trust to enter the home to take care of the pet," said Addington. "And for the owners, they love the convenience of mobile grooming instead of having to take their dog to a brick and mortar." It wasn't until 2019 the growth of Woofie's started occurring. The owners decided to franchise Woofie's after getting requests from areas further away from Ashburn like Reston or Fairfax. The first three franchises were based in the Northern Virginia area while the corporate headquarters remained in Ashburn. Rapid growth of franchises started occurring in 2022 when Woofie's became part of Columbia, Maryland-based Authority Brands, which oversees numerous home service companies. "As the parent company, they give us the expertise, the capital, the resources that we need to build and scale the franchise system," said Addington. "But the operations team, the Woofie's team, really has a lot of autonomy to keep the brand whole and to keep what made Woofie's unique, not corporate or anything like that." For pet sitting and dog walking services, new clients first receive a home consultation. That allows staff and clients to go over what's in the home, alarm systems, routine, food, medications and more. Clients can use the app to when staff are arriving and leaving their home and see a detailed report afterward. Woofie's staff go through pet tech and first aid training, and groomers are all getting American Kennel Club's S.A.F.E. certification. On the grooming side, staff do a "snout to tail" assessment to check pets for health concerns. "Our biggest focus, and especially on the grooming side, is the health and wellness of the pet," said Addington. "Even the best owners, as close as they are with their pets, sometimes there's things going on that you just don't see — bumps under all the big fur, or there might be some underlying issues. And groomers, a lot of times, can see things when they're in the grooming appointment, because they're really getting in there with the dog." During any of Woofie's services, staff have access to Pet Vet Connection for 24/7 telehealth services if a pet has a health concern. "If we are doing a dog walking visit and we notice the dog limping, or we're doing an overnight pet sitting visit and the dog throws up...or the groomer sees something, a small abrasion when they're doing the groom, we have access to a vet immediately," said Addington. "We can call them, do a vet telehealth visit immediately, and then share that with the client." Addington remembers her first dog walk with Barron when Woofie's first opened, but their mission of providing the best care to pets hasn't wavered. She attributes the success of Woofie's to franchise owners being deeply invested in their communities. "We're very big on networking with local pet sitting and grooming companies, anyone in the pet space, but also all the non-pet-related businesses. We work with the schools, and we do a lot of giving back," said Addington. "With the grooming van, we'll go to the local shelter and do free baths and grooms for the dogs there. We do Yappy Hour events. We partner with local restaurants, and we have local shelters that we donate funds to." The 21st anniversary events are part of Woofie's ongoing efforts to connect with and give back to the community. The original Woofie's community of Ashburn will celebrate with its 12th annual Paws & Claus Photos with Santa Fundraiser on Saturday, Nov. 15, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. That will be a joint effort between the Ashburn-Leesburg, South Riding and Reston-Sterling franchises. Woofie's partners with Ashburn-based A New View to offer a backdrop for the photos. Along with pet photos, there will be local vendors, raffle baskets and family holiday activities. The Ashburn event benefits Paws of Honor, which provided free veterinary car to retired military and law enforcement K9s. There is a goal of raising $10,000 for Paws of Honor.
