Stacia – Co-Founder

Greetings!  My name is Stacia (pronounced Stay-sha) and I grew up in the suburbs of Denver, Colorado and have been surrounded by dogs and horses my entire life. When I was elementary school aged, I took great pride in befriending all of the “unfriendly” dogs in the neighborhood so that I was able to pet them through their fences, showing off to all of my friends on our walk home from school. My mom actually used to joke that I had a knack for finding all of the lost dogs in our neighborhood as I was always coming home with one, but what I really think is that they had a knack for finding me 🙂

After years of begging as a child, my family finally brought home our first Basset Hound, Oscar, when I was 9 years old and my deep love for all animals was further solidified. Our next Basset Hound, Izzy, came along when I was 12 years old, and she was my souldog; she was never far from my side and I took her everywhere with me that I possibly could. Since our first Basset Hound came home in 1994, my family has had a total of 4 Basset Hounds, 2 English Bulldogs, a Catahoula Leopard Dog and most recently, a Cardigan Corgi (on top of many cats and horses!). It might be a zoo, but it’s our zoo and we wouldn’t change anything about it!

My personal and deeply ingrained love for animals led me to my first jobs as a teenager which included blanketing horses at the stable I grew up riding at, and washing dogs at a local grooming shop, Laund-UR-Mutt. In 2006, I felt a need for exploration outside of Colorado and moved to NYC where I earned my Bachelor’s Degree in Interior Design and after a brief stint as an Interior Designer, I decided to listen to my heart and pursue my true passion in life – animals! In 2010, Heather and I set out on a new life adventure of loving on pups professionally, which has led us here today with an awesome team of like-minded dog lovers on our team who are just as crazy about doggos as we are!

With an abundance of options for pet care in the city, we understand and recognize what a privilege it is to care for your pups and kitties, and we thank you wholeheartedly for this privilege and cannot wait to welcome you into the RuffCity fam!