Written by Amy Brown

Published Issue: Winter 2008

Travis was two months shy of his eighth birthday when he died in my arms after being hit by a farming truck in Clarksburg, California.

The beautiful autumn morning started off in my friend’s 22-acre vineyard where Travis and his sister Sunny trotted off-leash through the rows of orange leaved vines. Like most days out at the vineyard, I enjoyed watching my two “kids” chase rabbits, each other, and their tails. They loved swimming in the creek beds muddying their underbellies. Their energy was boundless, their happiness unabashed. And, watching them, I felt utter peace, their happiness directly affecting my own.

Travis caught sight of a herd of goats grazing on the side of the levee road facing the river. These goats were apparently rented by the Reclamation Board to curb overgrowth. To this day, I do not know how Travis managed to escape my attention, but he did. I also don’t know what was going on in Travis’ hyperactive brain when he darted for the goats. What was he going to do once he reached them?

He never did. He was hit by a truck and left motionless. As I saw the driver pull Travis off of the road, I sprinted the 600 yards to be by his side. I instantly knew as I made my way through the vineyards up to the levee road, that I was running to say good-bye. When I approached him, I put my head on his belly as he struggled to breathe.

“You were a good dog,” I told him, as I caressed his hind legs. “I love you, buddy.” With that, my dear pet, friend, family member, running partner, and unconditionally loving dog let out an exhaustive breath and left me for good.

I buried Travis in the vineyard. I buried him underneath a walnut tree.

It has been months now and I still cry over Travis everyday. I remember the way he chased his tail, his incessant barking to get my attention, his high flying Frisbee catching capabilities, his need to chase every cat, squirrel and bird within his line of sight, and his forgiving nature seconds after I swatted him for taking food out of the trash can. People who don’t understand thought I was crazy for spending seven grand on his reconstructive surgery on both knees. I remember my husband hauling him up and down the stairs every night during his recovery.

Why is it that the loss of a dog can leave me paralyzed with sadness? Why was my pain over losing Travis felt more than any loss over the end of a relationship or even the death of a loved one? I felt puzzled by my grief.

This whole experience got me thinking about dogs and their owners and the bond between them.

Why is it that dog is man’s best friend? The answer, or certainly the search for an answer, led me to Desalene Jones.

Desalene Jones is the founder and owner of a Sacramento-based dog daycare called Cha Cha’s. Think of it as a children’s daycare minus the kids. On any given day, Desalene can have up to 40 dogs in a 2,000 square foot commercial “house” located in East Sacramento. And before you begin to imagine what this place is like, stop, because what this business has evolved into is so much more than what you can picture.

Desalene has turned the love that owners have for their dogs into a successful full-service daycare.

Do people really spend the time and capital it takes to make sure their dogs are getting the most out of their day? Apparently they do, and Desalene has found a way to provide this service to the busy, guilt-ridden pet owner who wants to give something back to their dogs.

The Woman
Behind Cha Cha’s
Desalene Jones grew up in Chicago surrounded by dogs. Her family showed Doberman Pinchers. When asked what that entailed, Desalene let out a long sigh and explained the dogs have to be perfect, and that meant, “No white spots on their fur; their tails had to be firm; they had to be well trained; they had to be able to pose and walk around a ring; they had to be okay with being touched and caressed; and they couldn’t be too big or too small.”

“And what if they weren’t perfect?” I asked.

Desalene simply said, “They weren’t kept.”

Shortly after her parents divorced, Desalene and her mother began collecting strays. They owned several dogs and numerous cats.

“When I was in high school, I was a nerdy kid. It was vital that I have some sort of fashion sense, but I always seemed to get cat hair all over me. That certainly was the opposite of cool.”

She limited her time with cats, not only because of their shedding, but also for their independence and lack of interest. That’s not to say she didn’t like cats. She just felt a calling to dogs, that they needed her in some way.

Desalene moved to California for the weather. “I was tired of my nose hair freezing.” She was in her late twenties and wanted to settle some place warm. She packed her bags, loaded the car and drove west. She settled on San Diego. It was a good idea until she realized it was out of her price range.

“Nine years ago, Sacramento was still affordable.”

The Capital City is where Desalene ended up, with nothing but what was in her car. No plans, no friends, and certainly no job.

Her first job was through a temp agency. She worked for a communications company. Desalene thought that getting a dog and bringing him to work might improve her spirit, not to mention her productivity.

She developed a “Bring-Your-Dog-to-Work” pilot program and presented it to corporate management. The program included research she had done which indicated that people who are able to bring their dogs to work have less stress and get more accomplished.

“I printed out articles on worker retention, recruitment and employee satisfaction and presented it to the higher-ups at the company.”

The answer was, “No.” They were concerned with liability.

After the setback, Desalene aimed her energies toward being with dogs. She would rush home from work to a volunteer job at the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA).

“When I was with the dogs at the shelter, I felt grounded, like I was in my element. I almost didn’t want to go back to work the next day, but I needed a paycheck.”

Desalene began working with aggressive dogs at the shelter. She would even go so far as to take them home with her. “I worked with the trainers at the SPCA to learn the proper way to break the dogs’ bad behaviors so they could eventually be adopted.”

She essentially saved these dogs from being euthanized. Most of the dogs that Desalene would bring home were pit bulls, and she does admit she had some problems. “I got bit a few times, but I have been bitten by Yorkies and cats too. Just because most of the aggressive dogs were pit bulls doesn’t mean they are all bad. They too deserve a chance.”

As Desalene’s reputation as a dog lover grew, her co-workers at the communications company asked her to dog-sit on occasion. A colleague asked Desalene to take her pit bull for a little while so she could find another place to live.

Months went by and the co-worker never came to retrieve the dog. “The company was a big place, so I never ran into her. I would send her e-mails, but after a while I stopped asking if she wanted her dog back. I became attached.”

Several months later, the woman and her husband asked for the dog. Desalene reluctantly returned the dog. Two months later, the woman and her husband, who were planning to have a baby, were fighting over who was going to scoop the dog’s poop. The issue was never settled. They had the dog euthanized.

The dog’s name was Cha Cha.

Cha Cha’s Angels-
The Beginning
Work began getting in the way of what Desalene really wanted to do.

“One day I just quit my job. I obviously wouldn’t do the same thing today because of the risks involved now-my family, my new baby, but I was in my twenties, and if I was going to start my own business caring for dogs, it was then or never.”

Desalene visited the local library and found a book on what it would take to start a pet sitting business. Without much money, she visited Office Depot and bought a pack of door hangers and downloaded a picture from the Internet of a dog and cat with a halo over their heads.

Cha Cha’s Angels was born.

Desalene started receiving phone calls and word of mouth references. Her business began to grow. She would walk dogs, feed cats, and change rodents’ cages.

“I only did this for a year for several reasons. For one, I felt that my limited time at my clients’ houses wasn’t producing the results they were paying for. I was there for 45 minutes out of the day, and these animals were left alone for another 6 to 7 hours. It didn’t feel right. Also, while I can tame a pit bull, I’m not comfortable with rodents.”

“When I had to pet-sit rodents, I needed to stick my hand in their cages and since I was afraid, they were afraid. I was hoping that my clients didn’t have a nanny cam, because I was doing such a terrible job.” She also believed that her time spent with her clients’ cats went ignored. “Cats were too independent for my care. I would walk in and check on them and feed them. I’d start to pet them, and they would be off doing their own thing.”

That’s when Desalene realized her calling-to care for dogs only.

“That is when the dog daycare concept came to me. I needed to care for them all day. They needed to come to me.” She then sent letters to the clients she already had and told them that she would be taking dogs into her home during the day.

Desalene changed her business’ name to simply, Cha Cha’s because of marketing reasons. She began taking in dogs of all ages, sizes, and breeds. As her business grew, so did her need to find an actual place to take care of the dogs. Her own home wasn’t really working out that well.

How To-Starting
the Business
With very little money and no resources, Desalene turned to the trusty Internet for some much needed guidance.

“Google is responsible for my success. I didn’t know where to begin so I started with a search that included money, business, women.”

Desalene located the Small Business Administration (SBA) website. According to the Google search engine, the mission of the Small Business Administration (SBA) is “to maintain and strengthen the Nation’s economy by aiding, counseling, assisting, and protecting the interests of small businesses.”

It was at this site where Desalene found SCORE, which counsels America’s small businesses. Encouraged by the information, she visited the Sacramento SCORE office and discussed her business idea with a team of volunteer counselors. They encouraged her to follow the idea.

SCORE helped calculate her financial needs and develop a long-range strategic plan. The organization also hooked her up with a lawyer to discuss her options regarding zoning issues for a Cha Cha’s location. SCORE’s seminars cost anywhere from $0 to $30, a price definitely more reasonable than what she was finding.

“I was searching out certain grant programs and most of the ones I found were from some shyster who wanted me to pay a bunch of money to listen to some guy talk about how to go after grants.”

SCORE helped her hook up with Count Me In, which is a non-profit provider of micro loans and business education for women entrepreneurs. Count Me In provides micro loans from $500 to $10,000 to women who are starting or growing their businesses.

Desalene flew to New York, where she presented her ideas to a panel. They quickly saw the potential in Desalene’s plan and loaned her the start-up money. The owner of Count Me In contacted Desalene shortly after she was awarded the micro loan and asked if she would like to enter the organization’s small business competition. Desalene jumped at the chance to compete for a larger loan, and she, along with five other women, was awarded $40,000.

Was Desalene an entrepreneur first or dog lover first, I ask?

“Being an entrepreneur is something you are born with,” she says with a grin. “You either have it or you don’t. It’s inherent. It takes a specific personality. I honestly believe this to be true.”

Desalene took me to Cha Cha’s for a guided tour. “Prepare yourself to be slobbered on,” she warned.

From the outside, Cha Cha’s looks like a regular house in between antique shops and, incidentally, the grooming shop where she used to work. The facility smells clean, like the whole place was just scrubbed down in baby shampoo, and the minute we approached, the barking began.

Curious eyes look over the counter at me, all wanting a sniff of the visitor. As we pushed our way past the door, the tail-wagging excitement began.

There were labs, boxers, pugs, great danes and bulldogs running in circles around me. When one dog tried jumping on me, Desalene put her hand up, and in her powerfully low and commanding voice, told Max, “No.”

Max obeyed. In fact, all of the dogs obey Desalene. She has a power over her clients that not only commands respect but also portrays a canine order. Desalene is clearly the alpha in this group, and they all seem to love her.

I also had the pleasure of meeting her kind staff. They all wear scrubs and tennis shoes and are on their knees playing with their guests as much as they are walking around picking up droppings in the backyard.

When I asked about new clients and how they are chosen, Desalene tells me about the interview process. She brings a new dog in the waiting room area, while all other dogs are kept outside. She allows the new dog to become familiar with their surroundings by sniffing the entire perimeter of the place. Then, she brings in one dog from outside to see how the new dog reacts. If they become aggressive in any way, she doesn’t accept them.

“Do you turn a lot of dogs away?” I asked.

“Not often, but I do find myself saying no to an overly aggressive dog occasionally.”

Desalene also evaluates the dog owner. “I find that if the human is off, their dog is probably off a little too.”

Desalene often times just trusts her gut in situations such as these. And those instincts have led her to not only have a productive business where dogs are free to run and play, but have also helped her to realize her continued dream of helping others.

What’s Next for
Desalene and Cha Cha’s
Desalene admits that her priorities have shifted slightly with the birth of her baby boy, Justice, but she still plans on opening up a second Cha Cha’s location in the near future.

She also has an urge to help other women start their own business. Desalene admits it’s scary. Her biggest competitor is PetSmart, and they are opening a dog daycare with millions in start-up capital.

How can small business entrepreneurs like her compete with that?

“Consumers have a comfort level with a big corporate business such as PetSmart or Wal-Mart, but I offer a more personal touch.” She tries shopping at “mom and pop” outlets to support small businesses.

Desalene plans on helping other women by possibly opening up pseudo-franchises of Cha Cha’s in an attempt to help them get established. “I will then hand over the business to them so they can own and run it.”

The Purity of Dogs
Desalene feels that her success is not necessarily financially driven; it really rests on happiness and doing what she loves.

“Dogs are pure at heart. They offer something humans cannot and that is unconditional love. Whoever thinks they don’t need it is incorrect.”

She describes a dog’s love for his owner as absolute and unrestricted. They don’t hold grudges. They don’t judge or get mad because you didn’t take them for a walk, and they wait patiently until you get home where they shower you with shameless affection.

After spending time with Desalene, I was able to sleep a little more soundly knowing my feelings toward the loss of my dog are felt by many. I dream in bliss of the many dogs frolicking around the grounds of Cha Cha’s.