Happy 2021 From Liz at Canine to Five
Dear Canine To Five Clients,
What. A. Year.
On March 20th of 2020, we made the hard decision to lay off over 80% of our workforce. While it would have made the most sense to close our facilities altogether for the first 60 days of the pandemic, our management team made the brave decision to stay open to care for the dogs of first responders. We saw a whole lot of clients in scrubs, clients with silver badges, and clients exhausted from working more than ever, all in the most uncertain time of their lives. I will be forever grateful for the 8 team members who held the company together for those 2 months.
When we opened back up in May of 2020, I had no idea how we would be able to provide exceptional customer service in COVID times. Cages and plastic barricades in the lobby? Not the warm and welcoming vibe I am going for at Canine To Five. However, our amazing clients completely adjusted to our new way of intaking dogs and, to this day, your patience and flexibility continues to amaze me.
2020 gave us the opportunity to use our platform to not only connect with our community through social media, but to promote other small businesses around Metro Detroit. We were able to feature more women owned businesses, and spotlight several Black owned businesses, during a time when community support was needed the most. We appreciate every ‘like’, every share, and every comment our pet parents gave us during the times when we couldn’t be together. Keeping up on your pups outside of daycare made our team so happy!
2020 also gave us the pandemic puppy – one of the hottest new things. We met so many new dog owners and so many new dogs. We also witnessed the heartwarming joy of dogs returning to daycare and seeing their friends again after 3 months of watching their pet parents do zoom calls.
2020 was also a time when our clients were more appreciative and generous with our team than they have ever been, and I cannot tell you how much this means to me. Being a small business owner in 2020 has been a wild ride, and knowing that so many supportive dog owners believe in Canine To Five has been the reassuring thing I needed to keep a brave face on each week.
In 2021, we are here to care for your dog in any capacity you need us to. I recently read an article where one of our front line healthcare clients said “If covid kills me, take care of my dog.” Please know that, as a company you have entrusted to care for your dog, I consider it our job to also care for your dog when you are not able to. Should you have any circumstance in your life where you need help caring for your pet, know that we are here for you, always and forever.
Thank you for everything this year, and for always supporting Canine To Five.
Love,
Liz Blondy, Owner