Meet the Team

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Katy

Katy came to us with 10+ years of professional pet care experience and values honesty and compassion. She has a Yorkie named Teddy and 2 indoor kitties named Pebbles & Baby Kitty and she has been adopted by a neighborhood stray that has been coming to her house to be fed for the last 5 years. She's even built the stray a cat-house for whenever weather gets nasty.

Aside from watching friend's and family's pets throughout her life, Katy supervised a veterinary clinic for over 10 years and has dealt with many different kinds of patients with a variety of needs. In addition, she has experience working in dog kennels, boarding & daycare facilities, some grooming experience, and even some breeding experience.

Over the years she has learned much in the way of dog and cat behavior and has been trained to multiple pet industry standards of care. She holds a PetSaver CPR & Animal First Aid certification and she frequently volunteers with Best Friends Rescue.

MaKayla

MaKayla came to us as a student at UNCW. She used to work on a ranch, where she got to intern under an equine vet and helped to facilitate therapy sessions for recovering horses.

She loves all kinds of animals which is reflected in all aspects of her life. MaKayla has a Pit Bull mix named Roo who is scared of everything and is quite the drama queen, she has 2 kitties, Neptune and Buggy, 2 sugar gliders, and a very ill-tempered veiled chameleon who she adores. She was raised with chickens and geese and is our go-to if we ever get range animals to care for. She really has a deep love for all the animals, including reptiles.

She has been trained in animal first aid and CPR and reacts well in unpredictable situations. Her flair for life is contagious and animals really pick up on it. We've yet to find a creature that MaKayla can't win over. The spicier they are, the more she loves them!

Click here to view her certificates.

MaKayla

Hi, I'm Brandon. I am a disabled veteran who served in the USMC and I'm 36. I am Crystal's husband and I work with clients in my free time and help with charity events.

I am currently going to UNCW for marketing and my dream job is to present video games at an E3 event. I love video games, music and all things cute and fuzzy. Except tarantulas.

Brandon

Hey, heyy, my name is Crystal and I am the owner of Pawsatively Golden Pet Care, LLC!

A little about me
I am almost 38 and I am married to a US Veteran. I am a 5th generation military brat and my children are 6th generation, the military lifestyle is not a stranger to us! I've lived in Japan, Korea, Okinawa and North Carolina. I have lived in Wilmington, specifically, on-and-off since 1989. I am super blessed that I can call Wilmington my home.

I have 2 children and 2 dogs. Currently we have Tadashi, the Golden Retriever, Hopper, the Staffordshky (he's really a Staffordshire Terrier/Husky mix). I had a beautiful Husky named Kenai who passed while in a boarding facility. That is him in the first picture of me (to the right on desktop and below on mobile). He is a huge reason I was able to take the leap of faith that was opening my own pet care business. I understand the heartache of losing a pet, your best friend, while you are away and I want to help others avoid this happening to them as much as I am able.

I have always wanted to work with animals. When I was a kid I was the one who was collecting Wildlife Treasury cards, for those who may remember that old box - I believe it's considered "vintage" now (haha, showing my age). I would sit in my room and read my favorite cards over and over again. I always told myself I was going to work with animals one day and I would dream of all the ways I could make that dream come true. I didn't expect it to happen quite the way it did, but I'm happy with it all the same.

When I was around 11 I started watching neighbor's pets and homes while they were away. I really became the "go-to" in my neighborhood if you needed your pets cared for. One of my favorite places to go had cats and various exotics that I had the pleasure of learning to care for. Fast-forward a few years and I was volunteering with the Cat Adoption Team and participating in TNR (trap and release) here in Wilmington as well. This is how my journey in pet care started and I've been doing this ever since. It never occurred to me that watching someone's pets in-home would ever be a career. At most, it was a side gig for me throughout my life until one day a friend got me to consider it as an actual career. This friend talked me into stepping outside of my comfort zone and helped me manage the fears that come with taking a leap of faith. It's hard to find the courage to stop doing what is comfortable to start doing what you love.

Finally, in March 2022, I took the leap and started Pawsatively Golden Pet Care, LLC. Offering 20+ years experience serving the Wilmington area, I have started building a team of pet care specialists to assist me in caring for your totally PAWsome pets! I have certificates in the humane treatment of animals from the University of Edinburgh and dog emotion and cognition from Duke University. I've groomed pets on the side for about 15 years and I am certified in animal first aid and CPR and have trained my staff in it as well.

I quickly realized that in order to offer the absolute BEST pet care, I would need to hire actual employees as opposed to independent contractors. I am too obsessed with quality control to sub-out work to someone I cannot control. So, I found some individuals who could bring their own experience to the table and have personally trained them to my standard of care.

Thank you so much for considering Pawsatively Golden Pet Care for your pet care needs!!

Crystal