Good Neighbor Podcast Estero
Bringing Together Local Businesses and Neighbors of SWFL
Good Neighbor Podcast Estero
EP# 192 - Nurturing Pets and Community: Carrie Ann Ventre’s Story
Ever wondered how the magic of a production show could translate into a tranquil pet spa setting? Join us as we chat with Carrie Ann Ventre, co-founder of Bubbles and Biscuits Pet Spa and Social Club, who shares her incredible journey from the dazzling world of magic shows to creating a serene haven for pets. Alongside her partner, Mary-Frances Morris, Carrie Ann has developed a unique facility offering grooming, self-wash, training, and enrichment services, all aimed at reducing pet anxiety and making each visit a joy. Learn how their combined expertise helps create a low-stress environment and the hurdles they overcame, including the impact of Hurricane Ian, to bring their vision to life.
Listen in as we uncover the heartfelt connections formed with the pets and their families at Bubbles and Biscuits. Carrie Ann beautifully describes the experience of being a 'grandparent' to these fur babies, showering them with love before they return home. This episode is an ode to the growing trend of prioritizing pets' emotional well-being, and the rewarding sense of community it fosters. Plus, we wrap up with a note of gratitude for the positive impact on the local community and invite listeners to nominate their favorite local businesses for future episodes of the Good Neighbor Podcast, Estero. Don't miss this touching and inspiring conversation!
Bubbles and Biscuits Pet Spa and Social Club
Carrie Ann Ventre
8951 Bonita Beach Rd SE #500
Bonita Springs, FL 34135
(239) 495-9663
furryfriends@bnbpetsbonita.com
WEBSITE
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Cabo Jim.
Speaker 2:Schaller. Welcome Good Neighbors to episode number 192 of the Good Neighbor Podcast, estero. Today we have Good Neighbor Carrie Ann Ventry from Bubbles and Biscuits, pet Spa and Social Club. It sounds so much fun I want to go.
Speaker 3:Hi Jim. Yeah, unfortunately, right now we're only taking the four-legged babies.
Speaker 2:Oh, all right, I got to go two more legs, I guess.
Speaker 3:All right.
Speaker 2:But yeah, why don't we start off by you sharing a little bit about what you do over at?
Speaker 3:Bubbles and Biscuits is a grooming, self-wash, training and enrichment facility that caters to the fur babies in our families. My business partner, mary Frances Morris, and myself have known each other and worked together in the industry for about 15 to 17 years. I had a kennel previously and she's been training for about 25. We decided to open this facility down in Bonita Springs to go another step above and offer a safe, low stress environment where you can bring your pet. We offer several different options of services and our goal is to be a community support. As well as offering the services that we do, we also want to be a resource and build a nice family our fur family.
Speaker 2:That's important. You know connecting with the community and being a family all together. You know connecting with the community and being being a family all together. You know with the, with the fur babies and everybody else. So let's back up your story a little bit. How did you get involved in the pet industry?
Speaker 3:that's a funny story because I um, I used to do production shows and magic shows and one of uh the places that I lived uh in traveling with those shows, uh lady ran a boarding and grooming business out of her basement and she started uh asking me for help. And I helped her and found that I was really good with the, with the fur babies, and decided that once I retired from that business which is not a longevity type business that I wanted to go and work with animals more. So I bought a kennel down here in Fort Myers and met Mary Frances through our mutual love of animals and we started working together and we did a. We developed a community events thing where we would go into your community and do a pet appreciation day and then, when I decided that the kennel was 24 7 and weekends and holidays, then we decided to open this facility. So it's a little less 24-7, but I still get to take care of the babies and play with them.
Speaker 2:All the fun stuff, all the good stuff. So doing that, though, sounds very challenging. Has there any been any kind of maybe obstacle or challenge along your journey that you can look back at now and say you know what it was rough at the time, but I'm glad I went through it and I'm in a better place now because of it?
Speaker 3:Well, I think that everything is a learning experience. One of our hardest challenges was we were supposed to open right before Hurricane Ian hit and that postponed everything about two to three months because all of our contractors rightly so had to go help people who lost everything. So that was a little bit of a challenge getting opened and where we're located, a lot of the people weren't there right now, I should say. So that was a big hurdle getting open, getting everything kind of back to normal so that we can help the community as much as we can.
Speaker 3:But you're back now and you're moving forward right. Yep Full steam ahead.
Speaker 2:That's it. So, surrounding what you do, are there any maybe myths or misconceptions that we could clear up for our listeners?
Speaker 3:As far as the misconceptions, it doesn't always have to be a stressful experience and working with Mary Frances as a trainer, if there is a pet that's fearful of grooming, fearful of the dryer, fearful of getting their nails done, she has the knowledge to almost reintroduce that so that it's not as stressful for them. We can take the steps and create an environment that is calm and when they, when the provider, the service providers, calm, then the pet is calmer. So working with the training and and the grooming hand in hand helps promote that. We also have in the back with the enrichment, mary Francis is able to work with the pets who are a little more, um, not used to the world and the different noises. So that's the training side, but the enrichment is always the fun side where we are able to teach them different how to walk on a catwalk, how to do the A-frames and different agility equipment on a smaller scale than, say, a regular large scale facility that does that does that?
Speaker 2:Wow, and much like humans, I mean. You know anxiety is very prevalent nowadays. So you know, and it's different situations and you have to handle those differently. So it's nice that you've identified that and you know pets go through the same thing. So do you notice anything?
Speaker 3:trending in the industry lately, or changing. It's trending towards more care for our pets and being more aware of their emotions and their feelings. You know that it just like people they get sick, they get diseases and they get all kinds of crazy stuff that the people are just now realizing that the better care we take care of them, just like ourselves it's going to prolong their lives and you know, you don't have to force them to do anything. So our approach is a little less stressful, more hands-on and calm, and in that way it's not a bad experience. We also encourage that they bring the pets there just to say hi, we'll give a tour, and in that way it's not always coming for grooming or always coming for a bath. Um, they get a little anxiety with that.
Speaker 2:They're like oh no, I'm going there, not today yep, exactly, please no oh, it's just retreat score. Okay, all right, I'm okay with that. So are you from southwest florida originally?
Speaker 3:um. I grew up in ohio okay um, but I've been down here in the area now for 21 years. Mary francis is originally from tamp and Tampa area.
Speaker 2:What brought you down here?
Speaker 3:The kennel. I wanted to. I knew I wanted to purchase at the time a kennel that was in existence and then build from there, and I knew I wanted to be away from snow. I'm with you on that Cold weather.
Speaker 2:See you later, yeah, so owning a business can be very demanding of your time and resources, but when you do get a free moment, are there things that you enjoy doing outside of work? Obviously, you work with pets. You mentioned magic. You got a favorite magic trick.
Speaker 3:I was always the assistant, not the magician myself, so I'm a good'm an Xbox jumper, as they say. Being down here in Florida, the weather is so beautiful to get out kayaking. I'm a certified diver, but I haven't done a whole lot of diving recently because of work. I get down there and that's my safe zone. That's it. Get out, enjoy what's beautiful, I know exactly.
Speaker 2:So is there one thing you wish our listeners knew about?
Speaker 3:uh, bubbles and biscuits that maybe they don't know well, because we are ready, willing and able to help you in any way that we can. So if it doesn't seem like it's a normal request, go ahead and ask, because we're going to try and help and because of our different connections. If we don't know, we can find somebody who does. But we're there to build a family, a community of support, even with the other grooming shops, with the other pet stores, the other grooming shops, with the other pet stores. It doesn't have to be an isolating business. There's enough for everyone to go around. So we really wanted to build a community.
Speaker 2:Absolutely.
Speaker 3:Let's all work together, right.
Speaker 2:Yep, absolutely. How would our listeners go about contacting you if they wanted to learn more, wanted to bring their pet by for a visit?
Speaker 3:their pet by for a visit. So obviously we're on google. Um, our address is 89 51 bonita beach road, southeast suite 500. If you're familiar with the area, we're behind the iguanas or the oldies grocery store. But we are on facebook. Um, I am venturing into instagram. That's been a challenge. I work with dogs on computers, um, and our, our phone number, the 239 495 9663, which spells out WOOF, you know? Uh, traditional way.
Speaker 3:I love it we love to do tours, we love to answer questions and meet the babies, meet the parents. I will admit that I have a tendency to remember the pets' names first. I remember mom and dad.
Speaker 2:Our priorities right. They're the most important.
Speaker 3:Buffy's mom and dad are here.
Speaker 2:There we go. Any last words for our listeners.
Speaker 3:We really appreciate you and what you're doing for the community. That's exactly what we're striving for and I'm just grateful, grateful to be able to experience the babies, the fur babies, meet their families and build a nice relationship and then that way I don't have to own them all, I can be grandma.
Speaker 2:Sugar them up and send them home right.
Speaker 3:Exactly. Actually kind of wear them out, there you go Well.
Speaker 2:It's been a pleasure getting to know you. Thank you for being such a good neighbor and I hope to see you out in the community soon.
Speaker 3:Wonderful. We really appreciate it and I hope you guys have a wonderful day.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast, estero. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to GNPEstero. com. That's GNPEstero. com, GNPEstero. com or call 239-296-2621.