Meet Camila Costa | Certified Dog Trainer
We had the good fortune of connecting with Camila Costa and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Camila, is your business focused on helping the community? If so, how?
Sol Dog Walking mission is to improve life quality for the dogs and dog’s parents.
Our services (Dog Training and Pack Walks) help treat behavior issues and will result in a better relationship between dogs and humans, they also help the dogs become more social and to have an easier time navigating life. Dogs in our program become great walkers and better listeners with reduced anxiety and improved impulse control!
Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Sol Dog Walking is owned and operated by woman. As the owner I am very present, I see all the dogs frequently and I am always available for my clients, we have a good relationship as we have the same goal (to improve the dog’s life quality).
I literally started with zero clients, just a van and my own two dogs, but quickly the clients started reaching out and in less than a month we had a solid pack. In one year I got our second van and first employee. Now we have 3 employees!
I would say the hardest part was to navigate the legal part of opening a business, I had to “learn as I go” and quickly hired a company to help me with taxes. I would say that along the way I learned that is impossible to do everything alone, and is important to ask for help as needed.
I am proud to say that in my business the wellbeing and safety of the dogs always come first, I see some other companies with similar services that are all about quantity, at Sol Dog Walking we truly are about quality.
Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I love the beach, so I would make sure to stop by Trails, Sano, and probably a little walk from Linda Lane to T-Street.
For food we love our local breweries, Los Molinos, Artifex, Nicks and South of Nicks are also our favorites.
The farmers market on Sunday is always great and we have a lot of nice hikes in town too 😀
Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My bachelor and my professional background was entirely in advertisement. That was the universe I knew and I lived in since I was 17 years old, I am proud of the career I built in that field, the agencies I worked and the professionals I learned from. But I was simply not fulfilled, I felt like all my hard work was not really making the world a better place. In 2017 when I decided to quit from my full time job I started looking for things that I would like to do and keep me occupied, so I did join the app Wag, I walked a few dogs on the app and I went to visit my mom for the holidays. She had a new puppy and was training her dog at the time, I did follow a lesson with the trainer, Cristiano and talked with him about his job. That was it, I was decided to dive in the dog world. After the holidays I enrolled for a Dog Training Certificate and as part of my curriculum I was shadowing a trainer in a San Diego Humane Society, helping shelter dogs really felt like a blessing to me. I was also working in a dog facility, started as a kennel attendant and made my way up to management and COO. I learned so much from the owner and all the staff, I still have them in my heart and I am forever grateful for the opportunity. All the people I mentioned here definitely contributed to my path and to me opening my own company and dedicate my life to dogs. I would also never be able to do it if it wasn’t for my husband who was holding down the fort as I was finding myself a new career and then helped me opening my business awhile raising together a 1 year old boy.
Website: https://www.soldogwalking.com
Instagram: @soldogwalking
Facebook: soldogwalking
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