WASHINGTON — Woofie’s, a dog walking service started by Loudoun County neighbors Leslie Barron and Amy Reed in 2004, is expanding its business with franchising plans and has chosen the dog that will be the official face of its business.
Mia, a 3-year-old Australian Shepherd, was chosen at a casting call held in June to find Woofie’s new mascot. Mia was selected from nearly 200 dogs at the casting call and will serve as the face for the company’s marketing materials and mobile pet spa vans.
The casting call also raised $5,000 for Virginia Beach, Virginia-based nonprofit Operation Smile.
Mia belongs to Shelby and Colin Whittington, who rescued the dog after her original owner surrendered her back to a rescue group. The Ashburn, Virginia, couple are huge soccer fans, and named their dog after two-time Olympic gold medal winner and two-time FIFA Women’s World Cup champion Mia Hamm.
Shelby is a schoolteacher in the county and Colin is a Loudoun County Sheriff’s deputy.
Barron and Reed purchased their first mobile dog van for the company in 2011. Woofie’s now has 13 groomers, seven vans, 15 office employees and more than 75 dog walkers and pet sitters.
Their first dog walk in 2004 netted the pair $10. In 2017, the company had just under $3 million in revenue, according to the Washington Business Journal.
They have formed a new company, Woofie’s Pet Ventures LLC, and hope to start franchising their business model within the mid-Atlantic region this fall.
