For Madison Clark dogs were a normal part of life. While some kiddos wish for a dog or beg for a puppy for Christmas, Madison never had to. Her dad, an AKC certified trainer and breeder, was always working with dogs, which means Madison was constantly surrounded by dogs. If asked, she will tell you that her obsession started with a cockapoo.
Madison was raised by, as she describes them, “free-spirit” parents in Globe, Arizona. By “free-spirit” she means that each parent followed what they loved and created their own paths and careers out of it. She says her dad had “WD-40 and a dream.” It’s her upbringing that taught her the value of hard work and how to earn what you have.
She pursued college in New York City, attending King’s College majoring in media, culture and arts and minoring in business. While in NYC, Madison ran across her first doggie day care. She saw a sign during a walk and curiosity ran its course, bringing her to the building advertised on the sign and ringing the bell to be let in.
“The woman who answered was equally frightening and entertaining,” Madison says, describing her first interaction with the owner of this doggie day care. The woman, who had the typical New Yorker accent interwoven with an old fashioned smoker’s voice asked, “You pickin’ up?” She still let Madison in when she explained that she was just curious about doggie day care.
She walked into what was two apartments with the dividing walls torn down—creating massive open floor plan for dogs to roam, explore, and play freely. This type of doggie daycare, was completely new to Madison. It's vastly different from what most pet owners are familiar with when considering boarding options. This wide open space was the opposite of the kenneling that dog owners would sign up for when placing their pup at the vet for overnight trips. From Madison’s perspective, this place was exactly what dogs needed when you needed a place to put your pup when you aren’t home.
Madison was brought into the office of this NYC doggie daycare where the owner assured Madison that she was absolutely not looking to hire someone. Yet, throughout their conversation Madison was presented with an opportunity to display her extensive dog knowledge and wisdom. By the end of this conversation driven by curiosity over a sign and discovering a new concept, led to Madison having a job. The equally frightening and entertaining woman with her husky voice laced with New York sass was impressed with Madison and decided to hire her anyway. Madison worked at that doggie daycare for three years. Eventually though, Madison would move to Las Vegas where she would work for a friend, doing copywriting.
Her time in Vegas was short, moving away after a year. Madison would live in Michigan and North Carolina, each time still finding a way to work with dogs and doggie daycares, before she came back to Arizona, making her home in the east valley.
It would be easy to see how dogs are in Madison’s DNA. Not only was she raised with them, getting extensive training and education through her dad and his dreams but everywhere she went she would find herself working in doggie daycares. Knowing this background, it would be very easy to see how Madison ended up with her own doggie daycare in Mesa. As outsiders, we can see how all these pieces line up as if we’re watching the lead up to the ah-ha moment in a movie. For Madison though, it wasn’t that simple.
While going through old college files, she found her business class project—a complete business plan for Desert Pups. She sent the project over to her mom, looking for feedback. Her mom, encouraging Madison to take the plunge and start this business, took it a step further. Her mom became her business partner and helped provide the funding.
The frightening and entertaining woman who gave Madison a job in NYC also gave Madison a foundation for her doggie day care. The open spaces we find for our pups at Desert Pups is modeled off the NYC doggie day care. The family business doesn’t end with the mother/daughter duo for partnership either. Madison’s dad built the structures and the corral system used and is the handyman extraordinaire for Desert Pups, only a phone call away. Madison’s nephew and his girlfriend were the first employees Madison hired. Her childhood best friend also works at Desert Pups. While there have been “outside” hires as Desert Pups has grown, those people have also become family. It doesn't stop there either, just ask the clients.
Madison, following in the footsteps of her free-spirit parents, is following her passion and her heart. Her love of dogs is so evident in everything she does at Desert Pups—from the open space for the pups, to the live-streaming cameras for owners to check in on their pups. Oh, and there isn't a kennel in sight.
Madison has hit the nail on the head in terms of doggie happiness and comfort for owners. Driven by the thought of “would I want this for my dog?” as she approaches everything, she has created the perfect second home for the pups in our community.