ALEXANDRIA, VA – For a while, Maggie was a very insecure dog. Although she was fine at home, she usually barked as soon as she saw another dog. That is, until she was signed up with a special doggie daycare. Every day, she and 20 other dogs were whisked away to a special dog park for a two-hour-long puppy play date. At the park, she had such a good time that her anxiety completely dissipated. Soon, Maggie was as friendly as ever.
Meet St. Elmore Nanton, the owner of Courteous Pets Care. Every day, he loads up his van (aptly dubbed the Paw-ty Bus) with dogs from around the city and drives them to his own dog park just off I-95.
Although Nanton now has a successful business, his entrepreneurial journey was no walk in the park. Having immigrated from the Caribbean island of St. Vincent, he spent years printing t-shirts and doing other work for below-minimum wage pay. Finally, his luck turned: His friend got him a dog trainer position at one of Alexandria’s doggie daycares.
Having grown up around dogs his whole childhood, he was a natural from the beginning…