Our Story
It all started a really long time ago... the idea first entered Katie’s mind when she was working long hours on the ambulance, and her own dog had been stuck inside all day. A dear friend of hers was also working late, and they jokingly said, “Wouldn’t it be great if we had someone who could get our dogs out??!”
Fast forward to Katie gearing up to finish her degree in Fire Science and landing an amazing internship opportunity with Dayton Fire in their Fire Prevention and Investigation department... Quite literally, what she thought was her dream career. At the time she had two small kids already, and realized that focusing her life chasing a career meant that she was missing out on what life really needed from her.
She left both the ambulance company and her internship knowing there was no turning back... She took some time to figure out what was next, and that idea kept coming back to the forefront. At the time she decided to go for it, she was driving through the Bad Lands out west with her Husband, Matt, who was fast asleep in the passenger seat. During his nap, she developed in her mind a business plan, and even came up with the company name “Homeward Bound.” With her literally driving back home to Ohio, it also being a favorite childhood movie sentiment, and her business model of actually going to client homes to care for pets... It was perfect.
Fast forward life 7 years... two more children... and a lot of work - Her business is now caring for more than 300 neighbors in the area, with a full team of employees. To Katie, this business has evolved so much from being a way to initially make extra money doing something she loved while still having time with her children... To now setting a standard in the community for our industry while also having the ability to support the family of her staff which is so important to her.