Becoming Bone & Breakfast: The Evolution of Our Story

We have dreamed of opening our own boarding business since we had our first child. There were always reasons not to. It was too hard, too expensive, not enough time, etc. This year, we finally said now is the time!

Will and I met in 2014, when I started working at a dog boarding facility in Jackson Hole. It was totally by chance that I started working there. I was working a part-time retail job at the time, miserable and had just had my hours cut by a vindictive boss. My mom worked at FedEx and ran a package to the facility one day. She saw a beautiful, giant red Siberian husky not unlike the one my dad owned when I was little. She felt compelled to ask if they were hiring, and brought me home an application. I quickly had an interview lined up, and left the interview with a job secured as a dog handler.

Will worked there as a dog trainer, finishing his school to become certified while working under the owner. He had been working at a dog daycare in the Atlanta area for a few years at that point, and regularly fostered dogs for a local rescue. He moved out to Wyoming to gain a sense of independence as a young adult. He visited Jackson on a road trip with a friend, and, as many people are, was mesmerized. The Tetons are quite a sight, and nowhere on earth feels as wild and unfamiliar as Wyoming wilderness. Jackson is like a snapshot of the old west, when it isn't crawling with tourists. When he got back to Georgia, he quit his job, got lined up to work at the facility in Jackson, and bought a plane ticket.

He grew out his hair, grew a mustache and adopted a cowboy hat into his daily wear. When I met him, he was wearing his cowboy hat, boots, and had a shiny revolver on his hip. We became good friends quickly, and I continued spending my off-time with him even after he found another job later that year. I stayed on as a dog handler, and later managed the front desk when Will and I started dating a year later. We spent our free time hiking and fishing with our dogs, enjoying the outdoors. We started fostering dogs in our home occasionally, and boarding dogs with us that would go to work with me and hang out in daycare during the days.

In 2016, we got engaged, I got pregnant with our first daughter, and went on what ended up being permanent maternity leave. We got married and had our daughter in 2017. We bought our first home and moved to Idaho, still boarding family members' dogs when they would go out of town.

In 2022 we sold our home and moved back to Wyoming, in with my parents. We had our son, and I started working again for the boarding facility, remotely managing their calls and emails. We continued to daydream about starting a boarding business. We got serious about it, looking at properties to buy, or rent but I worried about competing with my employer.

In 2023, I got pregnant with our youngest daughter, and we had the opportunity to relocate here to Florida in the fall. We jumped at the opportunity, happy to leave behind the frigid Wyoming winters and continue our outdoorsy lifestyle from when we were younger. The dream continued, with us often talking about "when we start a business". It was always "eventually".

Finally, in 2024, we said "Why don't we just go for it? We don't have to have a big, fancy facility to board dogs well." We have our expertise and experience. We have our own dogs who are great for socializing with others. And since I work from home and care for the kids, we have the time!

We are so excited to be on this journey. We have both always been passionate about continuing to work with dogs. We can't wait to see where this business takes us.