Creating Community at Zoomies Dog Park with CEO Ramy Saleh

Amy Castro (00:01.058)
What if there was a place where your dog could do more than just run around? A place designed not only for your dog's fun, but also for building a community of pet parents who connect, learn, and grow together. In this episode, we're chatting with Ramy Saleh, the visionary CEO behind Zoomies Dog Park, which is set to open in Houston in 2025. We're gonna explore how Zoomies is shaping up to be so much more than your average dog park and why it's already creating a buzz in the pet world. You're not gonna wanna miss this episode. Stay tuned.

Amy Castro (00:34.39)
Welcome to Starlight Pet Talk. I'm your host, Amy Castro. And my special guest today is Ramy Salah. Ramy is originally from Cairo, Egypt, and he is called Houston, Texas, his home since 2011. He is a Texas A Aggie at heart, and his soul is a Coug. When he's not doing robotic missions at NASA, he is starting up adorable local brands and concepts. He is the founder of Zoomies Dog Park, which is Houston's first members-only dog club.

and the co-founder of the award-winning food concept, KG BBQ. So Ramy, thank you for being here and welcome to the show.

I know, I know. We've been talking for months and months and I know that's one of the things that I wanted to talk to you about is how long this, think very strategic process you have going for building this business has been in play. But I want to kind of take a step back first and ask, know, what made you decide to start a dog park as somebody that works out at NASA? Well, I'm sure you've heard this a lot on your show here. Everybody that comes here loves dogs and it

always starts from the love of dog. But in my case, it was an even more need for love of dog because where I grew up, I grew up in Cairo, Egypt, where dog is number two in the pet world. Cats are number one. They're gods in Egypt. So yeah, they're number two. But I've always loved dogs in my family. They were cat people. My dad is a cat person. My mom is a cat person. So dogs were not, you know, as you know,

as welcome. So I've always wanted a dog. And then when I finally made it, had my own house and I got my dog. I just I realized, man's best friend. Now I get it. And that was very inspiring. I wanted to spend more time with my dog. I wanted to find ways to engage with my dog and do fun things with my dog. But then I realized, wow, everything around us isn't designed for, you know, people and their dogs to have fun at the same time.

Amy Castro (02:35.82)
What's really going on is I can go to these bar friendly bars or cafes and I'm having fun. My dog is on leash under the table. I'm with my friends having a drink, but he's not having fun. And then when I go to the dog park, I can't even find a restroom to relieve myself. He's having fun with his friends. Lovely. Good for him. But where's that place where we can both, you know, both worlds can meet and we can have that kind of fun. So that's where the zoomies idea came through and it

It was really just finding that place where people who are dog lovers want spend more time with their dogs after a long day of work or, know, during their weekend, they can come and find that spot where everyone is enjoying themselves, dogs and humans. Yeah, that's great. And I remember when we first chatted about this, it was like, boy, that is like a brilliant idea. I wish I had thought about that. But so obviously you're creating a place where both people and dogs can.

you know, can socialize, can enjoy themselves, can have their needs met. So what are some of the specific things that you think make Zoomies special for, you know, as opposed to some of the other environments that you mentioned? Well, dog parks have been around since, well, they, grew in popularity in San Francisco since the 1970s. And since then, every city has been wanting to imitate, you know, San Francisco and have their dog parks. So they started these public places and then eventually what happens just like, I think,

cities and public places, the care isn't always there. So the safety isn't there and the cleanliness isn't well maintained. I don't know how many times I've been to dog parks where I see people that want to go and spend the time with their dogs, but then they have to deal with mud. They have to deal with, you know, people not picking up after their dogs. They have to deal with other people who are not paying attention to their dogs and are not playing nicely with other dogs. Not to mention things like

Are the dogs vaccine? Is there any transmission of disease going on? So all of that I've thought of and taken into consideration after going to many meetups for years with my dog, where I would pick each other. This is the group of parents with a group of dogs that get along together, want to play together, are of the same size. And we all know they're vaccinated, they're healthy dogs. So we feel a safe environment. We stand in a dog park and we create our own circle.

Amy Castro (05:01.64)
So Zoomies is like that. Zoomies is for people that have their dogs vaccinated. The dogs go through a behavioral testing, so make sure that the dogs are going to play nice with other dogs safely. We have employees that are standing there to make sure that the dogs, know, when they get a little bit rowdy, we can get their attention away and get them focusing on other things so that the play remains safe. All of that in an environment where there isn't a hole under a fence. I've been to a dog park. My dog...

found a hole that some other dog dug and made it out to the street. And it was a nightmare. I was completely scared. I ran, jumped over the fence, chased after my dog, you know, in the middle of the street to bring him back. That's not a safe environment. Everything is safe in Zoomies. Yeah, I think that's great because that's, you know, I've been doing this show for a while. I've been to an animal rescue for a long time. And it's like, I think I have brought my

personal dog, well, no dogs actually, but I mean, I wouldn't bring foster dogs, but even my personal dogs, I think we've gone to a dog park twice and it was just somebody was visiting for the holidays. It was like after the holiday. So you're kind of bored. You get nothing to do. it's, she's one that said, well, you know, what about going to a dog park? It's like, you know, I

I can't stand dog parks. People don't like all the things you said. People don't clean up after their pets. I don't know what kind of vaccines or diseases. I don't know what kind of behavior I don't need by dog being attacked. And so, you the only time that we would go there during this holiday is we'd go and scout it out at like the odd hours and try to find a time when nobody else was there. But then, you know, that's not fun and it's not good for your pet socialization. having a place like Zoomies where, you know, there's a control factor for all of those things that we're worried about when we bring our

our dogs to dog parks is, I think, an awesome concept. you're not alone. Yeah, you're not alone. mean, if you go into like there are reviews, if you go to something like Brain Fido, it's a popular website where people can go and review dog parks. You'll see people's reviews of, you know, what's going on in the city of Houston, what's going on in in Texas. How well are these dog parks really maintained? They are not. The reviews are terrible. So really, Zoomies is coming in.

Amy Castro (07:12.6)
to help people just like you and me. Let's have a place, a safe place, a clean place where we can have a good time with our dogs and the people with the dogs. Definitely. So how does it work as far as me becoming a part of the Zoomies family for lack of a better term? Because I know it is membership based, which I think is also awesome because that's how you can maintain that information about the pets and their behavior and the vaccines. But how does that work from the time that I discover Zoomies to the time that I'm a member and allowed to come visit?

Well, every human is automatically welcome to enter zoomies. Whether you have a dog, you don't have a dog, you enjoy being around dogs, welcome to zoomies. Our members are the dogs. Our furry friends are the members. Because like you said, it's about the information. Do we know their behavior? Do we know that they're vaccinated? Do we know that their vaccines are up to date? So these are important factors that we check every time. And if a vaccine is out of date, then we send a reminder to our member, hey, please be sure to update your vaccine.

your dog, friend can enter the park. And it's really a two-step process. You go to the Zoomies website, you pick your level of membership. We have daily passes, we have monthly passes, and we have our annual passes. You click it and you fill out your dog's information. Welcome to Zoomies. Next time you bring in your dog, they come in. The first time they do a behavioral test. So we can learn about the dog and the dog can learn about us. Make sure that we're a good fit.

And once that happens, the dog is welcome to free roam unleashed in our dog park. Okay. And let me ask about that. far as the behavior test that, know, two, two questions popped to mind. Number one is who is conducting that. like, I'll use my Doberman Pinscher as an example, who's passed away, but he was a great dog until he got around other dogs. is the behavior test being conducted with another, like a, a test dog that you have there that you know, is well-behaved and well-balanced, or is it.

a trainer that's assessing how a dog reacts to certain stimuli or I mean, you don't have to give away the farms or get too deep in the weeds, but just a ballpark idea of how that might work. Well, we took the approach of train the trainer. So our staff is all trained to do dog behavioral training and dog behavioral monitoring. We partner up with the dog trainers and dog behavioral experts who train us on how to do the behavioral test. And we have a checklist of key things to look out for.

Amy Castro (09:36.556)
And the most important thing to remember is that, you know, sometimes dogs, they're just what they call leash aggressive. So they're on the leash, they're on another dog. feel, I'm not safe. I'm bound. I can't get away. That's the problem with the leash. But the nice thing about Zoomie's dog park is that dogs can get away. So even if I'm not feeling comfortable around a certain group of dogs or a certain dog, I can find the space. It's a huge space. I can walk away. I can go sniff somewhere else. I can find other groups, other friends to play with.

So our behavioral testing is a little different from a behavioral test that you would have at like a regular daycare. Daycare is a closed environment. You have to group the dogs, you have to put them in closed environments. That's not the case in Zoomies. The dogs are free to roam. They are free to explore. They're free to make their own groups, their own packs, their own friends. So our behavioral test is a little different. It has different guidelines.

And it's all based on the experts that guide us and teach us to do these behavioral tests. The main difference you'll see is that our tests are always with another dog. So you're right. There will be a test dog or at least a test dummy dog and your dog will be unleashed and we'll do two phases. Phase one for the first five minutes, you're going to be there as the owner and then we'll watch the dog's behavior change when you are not there because guess what? At Zoomies,

It's a huge space. We have 1.3 acres of land for dogs to roam unleashed. Sometimes, pet owner, you might be sitting, you know, in a pergola and your dog might be away. He might not be having that line of sight with you. So we want to see how the dog reacts, you know, when they're not around their owners and where and where they are with their owners. What we've noticed is dogs behavior with their owners versus not with their owners when they're around dogs is almost the same as long as they're unleashed. The main difference is

Am I as a dog feeling free to move away from a sense of anxiety or am I trapped in my place? That's the main difference. So that's why most zoom, most dogs that we see, you know, in dog parks and test areas where we've done this, most of the time what we see is as long as the dog is free to roam, they just isolate themselves or go somewhere else, start sniffing, reduce their anxiety and they're okay to play again with the other dogs. Yeah.

Amy Castro (11:55.744)
And as the pet parent, pet owner, however somebody wants to refer to themselves, I have the option to either stay with my dog or at least, you know, be within the vicinity of my dog, or I can be over, like you said, at a pergola. And I want you to tell me more about some of the fun stuff that's available for the two-leggers to do while I'm there. But I guess the bottom line is I can either be with my dog or I don't have to necessarily be supervising my dog. Am I understanding that correctly? That's right.

All we're asking for is as a dog parent, you are within the same perimeter of our boundaries of our dog park. We do have staff that will be making sure that the dogs play safely. But if anything happens, the best person that can calm a dog down is always their dog, their parent. So we can always, you know, go approach the dog and then, you know, reach out to the parent and hey, we want to make sure your dog is okay. You want to make sure your dog is, you know, soothed and feeling safe. And then we go from there.

For the dogs, we have a lot of fun. So for the large dogs, we have two areas. We have a small dog area, large dog area. For the large dogs, realize that they love water. So we have water geysers that will be sprouting out of the ground. So the dogs, you will see them chasing after the water, wanting to bite the water, or just have some water in their, sprinkle in their mouths. So we're having that feature there. We're also having tubs for the dogs to go in on a hot day.

and cool down themselves. What we're not having is we're not having pools. The problem is that not a lot of people know this, but not all dogs can swim. Some dogs swim. know that. Some dogs. I've got a dog that's like what I call her is the aqua rock. And she's, I mean, she's a bulldog. don't, they don't swim. Dobermans, dobermans are terrible swimmers. So yeah, a lot of dogs can't swim or not well enough to be, you know, left unattended. That's for sure.

But in the heat, they love to dip. So what we have is tubs for them to be able to dip. We have four tubs in our splash zone for them to go up and dip. For the small dogs, we have smaller tubs, but instead of sprinkling from below, because the little guys, they get scared so easily. If you have a little water splash that's a couple of inches taller than they are, they'll just shy away and run away. So we've designed our place so that the sprinkling would happen from the top. So it's more of a mist.

Amy Castro (14:21.746)
sprinkling over the dogs when it's hot. So there's a lot of fun for the big dogs and the small dogs too because we're adding some agility places in our dog park. know dogs love to hide under things. They love that cave feeling over their head. So we're creating these spaces for them to be able to go under. But there are also spaces that are created with a roof but are not confined so that if other dogs want to come and share, they can leave the place, other dogs can come in.

It's always easy access, but gives them that sense of roof over their heads. Sounds like for the dogs, there's plenty of opportunities for socialization, for enrichment, for, different experiences, which is great. And while I am chilling out as a, as a human, what do you got for me, man? Everything that you can ask for in an ice house and a little bit more. we have a fun stage. we'll be doing music.

but we won't be blasting out speakers like you'd see the other places. We want to make sure the dogs are still enjoying themselves. So we'll be having live music, events, experts coming and talking about dogs on our stage in an event space that's 7,000 square feet for people to enjoy while they're eating a meal, while they're having a drink. We have a bar, we have a mini coffee shop, and we have several food vendors that are going to be available on site.

One of them is going to be permanent. We'll be having barbecue on site. Plus, I mean the engaging stuff that you can do with the dog. So I know I talked about the water geyser. But we're creating a red button for the water geyser so that you can go push a button and then watch the dog show start. So you go and push the button, the geysers start happening and watch the dogs, watch their reaction when they start seeing, you know, geysering from one point and then they chase it and then they see it at another point and then they chase it.

Imagine that with four or five, six dogs just running around because of a fun interaction that you had, you know, by pushing a button. So yeah, we have a lot of fun things going on for the people. planning corners, like fun areas for picture taking for you and your doggy designed by artists so that they can, you know, augment your fun, your sense of fun, your sense of engagement with the atmosphere in the park. So...

Amy Castro (16:43.768)
We have a lot for the people. If it's not the drinks, it's the food. If it's not the food and the drinks, it's the event space and the music. If it's not the event space and the music, it's you in the dog park with the dog having a lot of fun. Okay. I want to ask you about, but I want to save this question because I want to understand why it was so important to you to build all of this into the facility. But I do want to ask another question first because I like to kind of wrap up on the more positive stuff is,

Because I think about my own dogs and they're not always the best behaved. And so do you anticipate a situation where somebody might lose their membership or privileges or is that you think that's not going to be a problem? Well, at the end of the day, mean, the foundation of what we do is safety and cleanliness. So if any of those items is not working out for us, then it's not working out for us. We're of course, we're helping the parents. mean, not everyone is an expert. I'm not a dog expert.

I'm taking training now from experts, but I'm not yet an expert. And I couldn't call myself an expert until I have the years and rigor that, you know, these experts have. So what we're really having is we're helping parents and their dogs enjoy themselves through their life as a wholeness wellness thing. even if a dog is playing a little naughty, okay, we understand the behavior. We can catch the behavior and then we can give the feedback to the parent.

and give them the tools and the ways to upgrade their knowledge and work with their dogs so they can enjoy themselves with their dog and with other dogs. We're planning referrals. We're actually planning referrals with dog behavior experts and dog training experts. We're planning videos and online courses for parents and their dogs to try different things, even if it's simple things like recall.

Sometimes some people just are struggling with recall and within two weeks with a simple program, they can get their dog to be on perfect recall commands. So yeah, we're all about the wellness of the people and their dog so they can both enjoy their lives to the most. Yeah. I mean, that's so important is the, even just we've done a lot of episodes about training and anti-training and parenting versus training. And the bottom line is, you know, what

Amy Castro (19:05.89)
what a dog needs to be able to do, it's gonna be proportionate to the life that it leads. bottom line, there are certain things like recall is a perfect example where that's kind of a must have, and it can really make your life miserable as a pet parent if your dog does not have that down. And so rather than being punitive and saying, okay, fine, you're kicked out because your dog doesn't do this. I love that you're providing those resources for people, whether it's, like you said, referrals or.

webinars, things like that. Do you anticipate doing actual training classes at the facility? Like maybe after hours or on special days or? absolutely. The main reason we have this stage, I mean, the stage is great for entertainment on weekends, but really the core of our of what we're what we want to do is wellness for people and their dogs. So a big thing that we want we're planning to do, of course, is workshops. Some of them are going to be for members only some of them are going to be open for public.

We're already starting to do some online workshops for... saw that. I saw a webinar that popped up on my email. Yeah. So this is a webinar upcoming, since you've mentioned that, that is about pet nutrition and pet health. With very simple steps, we can have, you know, a happier dog with their kibble. Don't have to change their diet. Don't have to spend a million dollars. With simple steps, the dog can still have a healthy life. And it's these little things that, you know, we just can do.

Whether it's on the behavior side, on the food side, on the dog walking side, on the socialization side, very small little changes that we can do that can help us a lot. And these experts know that. And our stage, our event space is open for experts. Any expert in Houston that comes to Zoomies and says, I have an area of expertise. I think I have an area that I can really help a lot of your members.

or even people that are not members of public, have a better life with their dog, they are welcome to come and speak and talk about their areas of expertise and share their knowledge with people. And that's why Zoomies, if you look at Zoomies, we're really split into two parts. The big chunk of the part is dogs unleashed. This is truly for member dogs only. The event space, the ice house and the bar, that is wide open for public because we want these events and seminars

Amy Castro (21:27.394)
to be as public as possible. I leave it to the expert. They decide, I want it for only members. I want it to be paid. I want it to be donations. I want it open for public. I leave that to the expert. It's up to them. But my place, my spot, it is open for public always. Yeah, that's great. So everything that you're talking about sounds obviously amazing from the public standpoint, from the members standpoint. But as the guy who's founding this and creating this,

Why was it so important to you to have all of these features? Cause it would be perfectly, I mean, I'm sure you realize it would be so much easier to just take that space, make a dog park, have your dog lifeguards or whatever they might be referred to to keep an eye on things and boom, you're done. know, just another, maybe slightly more upscale dog park than your average city dog park. Why all the extra effort into this education and what I look at as community building with all of the opportunities for the humans.

That's really where I started community. When I wasn't finding the right place for me and my dog to have fun, what I started doing is organizing meetups. I have a little dog, my dog is eight pounds. So I started organizing meetups for three parks that are around my neighborhood. On Wednesdays, the meetup would go to park A. On Fridays, the meetup would go to park B. And then on weekends, the meetup would go to park C. That's how it started as community. And every time I talked to someone,

They teach me something new about their experience with their dog, how their dog is behaving, something they've learned from an expert that they've talked to. And it's enriched me, it's enriched my life. And I think it's simple knowledge that everyone should know how to better feed their dog, how to get their dog to have better recall, how they can socialize their dog. How can I train my puppy to be potty trained? You meet people and they don't know.

It's very simple information that if you meet another person in your community that also has a dog, we'll walk you through it and you will learn something very valid. And that's what Zoomies is about really started with community of people that love dogs and their dogs, and then creating that optimum space where that can happen. Let's meet, let's talk, let's engage and let the dog socialize too. Yeah, definitely.

Amy Castro (23:48.128)
I know that we have talked before about involvement or I guess giving back to rescues and shelters. What are your plans from that perspective? I love the rescues and shelters. I absolutely love them because their mission really aligns with our mission. Everything that they do, they're about dog wellness. So when a dog is found, right, let's say this is a dog that's been in the streets, maybe never seen a home before. So what they try to do is they try to rehab it.

rehabilitate the dog. So they make sure the dog is healthy, fully vaccinated. They spay neuter the dog. There are also volunteer trainers and behavior specialists that go and train the dog. So the dog is ready to be a better foster, a better chance of adoption. Everything they do just aligns very well with our basic requirements for a dog to be a member. So I think our best members are going to be rescue dogs. The way I'm seeing it, people that have had rescues.

are probably gonna love Zoomies because they got the rescue already behaviorally trained, already vaccinated, know, already spayed neutered. They're already ready for Zoomies to be members. I work with a lot of the adoptions and fosters here in Houston. First, I went to Bark, met Bark and saw what they're working on, what they're up to. And then I went to others. I went to Houston Pets Live. I went to several of the fosters and seen their operations. And I realized...

Well, this just aligns very well. So again, my space is open. My event space is open when, when there's a drive, when there's a big event, when, when they need the space to, you know, have raised funds, I would love to be that space for them. Please reach out to me. We will be your space. Awesome. That's great. Now know we met in person and I don't even know if I remember what the event was it dogtopia? It was dogtopia. And it was like, was it?

It was well over a year ago, if not longer. And, and then when you reached out or somehow we reconnected, I remember thinking, wow, this guy is getting so actively involved in stuff way before, because the business really isn't even open yet. Is it as of the time that this is going to air? Is that just brilliant marketing that I'm not aware of? Or is there some strategic goal that you had in really

Amy Castro (26:13.804)
just diving head first into the animal world. I know you had a booth at the World Series of dog shows. I've seen things where you're at this event, you're at that event, you got a booth at this event. Why that approach? Well, it comes back to our core. It started with community. We're building the community. And community building isn't easy. You have to go out, reach out to people, talk to people, meet people.

be a real person, not just be an email, you know, name behind the screen, right? So that's the main driver of why very, very early before we even open. And we're planning to open mid April. We're looking at opening the dog section and then the rest of the human facilities, the dog, the event space and the, and the bar will be sometime in October, 2025. But yeah, it's about reaching out and building that community.

You've heard me talk about experts. Where could I find the experts? I can't find them just by searching online. There will never be that connection. Are we the right fit for each other? Do we have the same mission? Are we both trying to help people? Are we both into rescues and adoptions? So all that has to align to find your community that really matches your business. And I'm glad you brought up business because I've met a lot of dog business

and pet business in general, small businesses. And I hear a lot of people struggling. And I think a lot of the struggle is not planning strategically. And you have to really know where you are in the market. And every market, you know, the marketing people that say, I have a pie. There is a market pie. What is my slice of the, let's say the food market pie? What is my slice of the toy market pie, the treats market pie, right? So it's similar thing. looked at

We looked at Houston, we looked at the members only dog parks. We saw that in Atlanta, they have their brand. If you go to Northeast DC, they have their brand. If you go to California, Santa Monica, they have their brand. Here in Houston, there is no brand. There is no one offering the service. So us starting early and announcing early gives us that advantage of being able to say we are Houston's first and we truly are Houston's first.

Amy Castro (28:32.822)
If a competitor comes in, let's say these guys from up North, they realize, wait a minute. Houston is, wow, this is a lovely place. I want to start my dog park there. You're welcome. You'll always be second after zoomies. So there was a strategic component to it. There is a community building component to it. And yes, early, a bit of early marketing, a bit of early spend just, we have the luxury for that. Me and you know, my, business partners,

and the community, we have that luxury because there's such support from the community. When we opened up our early memberships, we sold 50 memberships in less than a day. It was just amazing. Yeah. again, we're talking, you know, at the time of this recording, we're still, you know, months out and almost a year out from the human side opening up. so,

I mean, think that's just a testament to you being out there and hitting the pavement and meeting people in person and creating those relationships. A lot of times people get in the pet business because they love pets, but they're not really good at business. And in this day and age, people want to support and involve themselves with and spend their money at businesses that they feel are part of the community or are giving back to the community in some way, or form.

So I think that's definitely a lesson that people can learn, but let's talk about some of the challenges in getting a business like this started. Because to me, it seems like it would all be not easy, certainly, but all be positive. you know, everybody would see the beauty of it, the brilliance of it, and be in full support of it. There's a lot of positives about being in the dog industry. Well, first of all, the industry is very supportive. All the business owners,

people that love dogs, the dogs love what we're doing. So it's a very supportive community. So if there's any business that I would pick to get into, it's the barbecue business and the dog business because of the community support. It's really true about Barbecues is kind of the same. Pretty much. Yeah. Pretty much. Yeah. And when I was getting into the dog industry, was thinking like, what's nice about it is it reminds me of the barbecue business. All the chefs, you know, they have their parties.

Amy Castro (30:49.89)
They have their fans, the fans of the food. The food isn't going anywhere. The dogs aren't going anywhere. So yeah, the dog industry is definitely a good place to be in. But also you have to know what you're doing. So if you're, you have to have a good business plan. You have to make sure that your finances are in order. And you also have to think of how much time it will take from you as a business owner so that you can plan your life and plan your family's life, you know, to accommodate.

the new venture, the new industry that you're getting into. Some people miss out on one of those three elements. So whether it's the personal and the family, or they're missing out on the financial side, or they're missing out on the business planning and strategy side. If you miss one of those, that becomes a problem. Yeah. But luckily for me, it wasn't my first venture. It's not my first entrepreneurship. I've been in the service industry for humans, for barbecue.

and coming into the dog industry, I'm bringing in the same approach, the same level of knowledge. financial performance, how am I going to sell this idea to landlords who have valuable land and I am competing, like a dog business is competing with townhomes that could be built and sold for millions of dollars, right? How can we get a landlord to...

accept something like that. What kind of deals when we're looking at acreage, we're not looking at 5,000 square feet or 10,000. We're looking at acreage here in the middle of the city. In the middle of the city, In Houston 610, America's third largest city by population now. So it's a very competitive environment. How do we do that? You have to have good business sense. It has to make good financial returns for the landlord.

has to make good financial returns for you and your investors. So I do have investors. I'm not alone doing this. These investors believe in the concept. They love dogs, but also they are expecting a financial return. Yeah, exactly. financial return isn't enough to sustain not just me, to sustain the investors and to sustain the landlord, then we don't have an ecosystem that can sustain, you know, a members only dog park for long. Right.

Amy Castro (33:14.764)
Yeah. And I think that's a huge mistake that people make in, starting any passion based or mission based business is that the passion or the mission is not enough. You've got to have those other, other pieces. And I think it's similar to when people come and volunteer for an animal rescue is they, have a perception of what it's going to be like. And that perception, think for a lot of people is I'm going to sit around during my shift and play with kittens or puppies. And in reality, the reality is.

You're going to be scooping a lot of poop, scrubbing down walls, washing dishes, folding laundry, whatever it might be. It's not the sexy job that you thought it was going to be. And I think it's the same thing in the pet industry. know that like the people side, that's one of the things that keeps me, you know, in addition to doing this podcast and running a rescue, my real job, I actually go out to businesses and train them and consult and coach in running their business in communication and customer service, things like that. And

I think people woefully underestimate in the pet industry, how much they're gonna have to deal with human beings. And so it's like, you know, those are the ones, know, getting bitten by a dog is the least of your problems when you're working as a veterinarian. It's the angry clients, it's the, you know, the difficulty with staff, whatever it might be. So it's still, it's still a business is kind of the bottom line with that. Yes, that's right. The engine at the core of it, there has to be a love, a passion for it. Yes, we love the dogs.

We wanna be around the dogs, but around the engine, doesn't move around. A car doesn't move just because it has an engine. It has to have a suspension system. It has to have a cooling system, wheels on it. So all these different elements that you mentioned there, the customer service side, the financial side, the hiring, the right people side, all of these are the different components that gets this really business on wheels that can move forward. I mean, one of the most challenging things that I've seen in...

And Zoom is just getting people to understand what is a members only dog park. And why would I leave my regular standard dog park, public dog park free and go and think of something like a membership for some people? They quickly understand it. They know that, OK, I've been looking for a safe place. I've been looking for a clean place. Well, it does cost some money to hire people to to be able to, you know,

Amy Castro (35:40.066)
keep the place safe, to keep the place clean. So they quickly understand that and they see, okay, there's the value that I'm getting, right? And to some other people, they don't see the value or sometimes some people would be resistant, for example, to the idea of why would I put my dogs in a place with other dogs? And that's okay. Every person has their style of raising their dogs, teaching their dogs.

Some people want their dogs to be for dog shows. So that dog has to be a full whole complete dog. They cannot be fixed. And that's understandable for zoomies because of the behavioral aspect, because of the safety aspect, because of the community aspect, we have to require that the dog is, is, is fixed that the dog is, know, spayed or neutered so that, know, it's, it's more of an enjoyable atmosphere for this environment, this community that's looking for this type of environment. Right. know.

We know that there are different ways for how people raise their children, for how people raise their dogs. It's the same. It's just the way you have to think of your business again. There is a market. And I know that I'm never going to be for the breeders. It's not going to happen. Their dogs need to be whole and complete. But I also know that there is another market of people that are like me, that are the professionals that are trying to find

some time to spend with their dog while balancing a million other things in their life. And that would be the zoomies. Right. Yeah. that's, you know, that's, that's so important for anybody that's starting any kind of a business is knowing what your target market is. But yeah, I mean, I'm sure I know there are pet business owners that listen to this or pet business or people that are considering pet businesses. And yeah, you've got to have, you know, a pretty clear avatar of who you're of who your clientele is, because that's the only way you're going to attract them. And, you know,

keep everybody happy. You're absolutely right. But the avatar really wouldn't close our eyes at Zoomies. And someone asks us, who is your customer? I see my customer. I visualize, I know what my customer wears. I know what time they get out of work. know what time they will be coming to my dog park. And I can describe that to the engineer that's designing my park. I can describe that to the city of Houston that's giving me the permits. I can describe that to my landlord. I can describe that to you. There is

Amy Castro (38:05.469)
an avatar, a true person, a group set of people that I know that we're servicing in Zoomies and we have to visualize and see them. Yeah, absolutely. So looking to the future, because I know I asked you this in one of our very first conversations, do you see this turning into something like a franchise type system or opening up other locations like a Zoomies in Austin? Because I know you've got a barbecue place in Austin, don't you?

Yeah, that's true. KG BBQ. KG BBQ. That's my first entry into the entrepreneurship world. And I've learned so many lessons and I'm taking some of those lessons and reapplying in Zoomies like building a community. You have to have a community. Nobody works alone. That idea of, I'm a superhero. I can do everything alone. I'm a solo, dolo warrior fighter. It doesn't work that way. We have to work together.

we are planning on having more than one Zoomies. Austin has some concepts that are similar. They're not at the same par, at the same level, or maybe not even at the same mission of Zoomies, but we are planning to grow and expand in Houston and Dallas and Austin and San Antonio. We wanna make sure that, know, Texas gets its full, you know, satisfaction of Zoomies before we think of going anywhere else. And we're ready.

We're very lucky business. think I already had real estate developers reaching out and saying, I have this development of, don't know, 70 acres, a hundred acres. And I can dedicate an acre for you to go ahead and, develop your concept. We'd love you in our neighborhood. You'd be great for a great fit for, know, what we're doing with our community. I think there's a need. It's really a need for a better experience for people and their dogs. Yeah.

Well, that's, yeah, it's interesting, but not necessarily surprising once you say it, because I was just telling a friend yesterday or the day before, we were talking, I was talking about how I was gonna have you on the show and we were gonna talk about, and I was trying to explain the concept and how that worked. And I remember saying something like, and when I first looked at the place where you're putting Zoomies, it's like, there's nothing there, at least that I could see, know, I obviously didn't physically go there, but I'm looking at this picture online and I'm thinking,

Amy Castro (40:26.498)
That does not look like a like super desirable part of town. Like I'm putting that in the center of river Oaks and Houston kind of thing. But it got me thinking like, once there's something that's like that there, how does that impact the growth and development of the area around it? It's like, it's this cool, you know, exceptional space for people and pets that's drawing in a certain type of person that's interested in community and maybe being walkable to that park. And it just, could see how that could.

you know, in the reverse of the developers who were looking for you to enhance what they're already developing that Zoomies could create community around it because of what you put there first. Yeah, I mean, I think it's always challenging building the first one and getting the idea, the concept. When I first introduced Zoomies, people would say, is this another daycare, another dog day? Is this another canine resort? Once the idea got through,

It's starting to really sink in. And I have to thank our developers. So Concept Neighborhood, they're my landlord. They're the ones that gave me the land at just amazing rent price because they believed in the concept and they're willing to bet on my success and my success also bringing success to them. the same idea there is starting to formulate and now it's coming into conferences. So developer conferences now are talking about

a new style of retail. I didn't know I was a style of retail, but apparently there's a new genre that's popping out. And they mentioned specifically Zoomies and said, what are these membership only dog parks? Are they dog pet resorts? Are they vet clinics? No, they're really not, but they're a combination of all of that. And it's that one place where if you are a dog enthusiast, you don't even have to have a dog. If you just like hanging out with dogs, if you're like,

you know, having that community of people that love dogs, that like to have fun, have a good drink and have listened to some music. Well, there's no other place that you can find like that. It's becoming its own type of retail. It's some kind of a trend that I think is happening. That's awesome. So where do you see this going? And I don't necessarily mean like, I'm going to have five zoomies, like the logistical aspect, but

Amy Castro (42:49.068)
You know, if I was to happen upon Zoomies five years from now or 10 years from now, what do you hope it becomes? I hope that when people hear the name Zoomies, they can immediately think of very beautiful times that they had spent with their friends, with either their own dogs or with other people's dogs. That's what I hope would be the result. Because the more people understand, you know, how to...

live with dogs, how to work with dogs, the less we'll see dogs in the streets, the less we'll have to worry about dogs not finding homes and shelters. It really starts, this is really the big message that there is a way for people and dogs to live together very happily without feeling a sacrifice. I'm sacrificing my time from meeting friends to be with my dog.

I'm sacrificing time to work out and exercise to be with my dog. I have to leave my work early to be with my dog. There are other ways, there are other ways for this balance to happen. Yeah. Or the other way around, right? I'm, sacrificing time with my dog because I want to go out with my friends or I want to go out to dinner or I want to go grab a drink or I want to go to this educational class. And now I can do both because of this, this, venue that you've created. No sacrifice needed.

It's just happy, happy place, happy balance where we can have it all. We can have it all. Yeah. That's what we're all looking for. Right. Yeah. And I, and I love, I love that underlying theme of, because that's the underlying theme of this podcast is, you know, keeping dogs in, in loving homes and cats and whatever other animals, but you know, finding a way to live life, you know, 360 degree life.

with your pets and so that pets stay in those good homes and people don't have to feel like they have to give up their pet because of this or that. And this just gives them another way to do that. So I appreciate the concept. I can't wait to see how it develops and grows. I think it's awesome that your membership has gotten off to a great start. What can we tell people about, I mean, obviously I can put up the link to the website, but that's pretty straightforward. What else can we?

Amy Castro (45:11.252)
share with people to let them know how they can get involved with zoomies? Well, the most important thing that people have to know about zoomies is that we are open for everyone. So you have a dog, you don't have a dog, you're welcome to roam every part of zoomies, enjoy every aspect of zoomies. That's the most important thing that people should know. Because sometimes I talk to people, they think, I don't have a dog. I don't know if it's for me or not. Well, that's okay. It is still for you. You might discover something new.

you might discover unconditional love. Wouldn't that be awesome? Yeah, really? Well, and think about it for somebody that doesn't have a dog, you know, let's say I'm a young professional, I'm living in Houston and kind of like you, right? You were looking to get your first dog. And I bet I have no idea what's the because that's another thing we stress on the show is that it's not just about getting the dog that your friend gets, because that might not be the right fit for you or for that pet. And so going to a place like zoomies where there's going to be I'm sure I mean, everything

everything under the sun is going to be represented there. You can get to know what dogs are like, what's their activity level, what's their cuddly level, what's their grooming level, how much fur ends up on your hamburger with that husky or whatever it might be, right? So you can kind of decide what might be the best fit pet for you, or, or maybe even decide I'm not ready to take on a dog so I can just come to Zoomies, get my dog fix, and then go home. You know, everybody's at a different place in life. Yeah.

And you know, if you come to Zoomies every day, there's always, mean, we already have planned schedules and calendars and collaborations with our community, with our dog community. That's why I've been doing this so early. So if you come, let's say on a Monday, you might find, you know, a dog groomer, an expert dog groomer that is at a level of, you know, dog show level of, we'll make your dog real fancy, right? And then on Tuesday, you might be coming in, you'll find a dog trainer.

that's got dog training exercises for your dog. And then you come in on Wednesday, you might find the dog nutritionist talking about how with simple techniques you can improve your dog's digestion, their probiotic health. And then you come in on Thursday, you're gonna find a different flavor of dog lifestyle. Maybe we're doing free dog nail clippings today. Maybe the next day we're having...

Amy Castro (47:31.95)
you know, some special healthy treat by a sponsored company. They want to introduce you to how their healthy treats help you maybe have a more enjoyable time with your dog. So every day in zoomies will have something fun, something new. No day is going to be the same, but it gives you that. Like you said, they're the 360 view, just like what you present there and you show 360 view of what it's like to be with a dog at your own level of doggyness. Yeah, there you go. That's great. That's great.

Well, gosh, we covered a lot of ground in this. I really appreciate you taking the time to be on the show. It's been a long time coming, because I know we've been talking about doing this for months and months now. But thank you so much for being here and for sharing your vision of Zoomies. And I just can't wait to see what it brings to the city of Houston once you're open. Thank you very much, Amy. And I can't wait to see you and your doggies. I know you told me they're a little extra playful, but maybe.

maybe Zoomies with its environment will give them something that can let them enjoy themselves in a way that they can express themselves with in fitting with Zoomies community. Yeah. I have four outside the door waiting to come in, I'm sure. So I probably can find at least one I can bring up there to check it out. So anyway, well, thank you again for being here and thank you to everybody for listening to another episode of Starlight Pet Talk. If you're in the Houston area, make sure you check out Zoomies, get in early.

on your membership. going to have links and information on our show notes. And other than that, we will see you next week.