STRATFORD, Conn. — Story by Arlene Banavong, Paige Jolley, and Nicolina Salanto - Jonathan Law High School
Most high school seniors have part-time jobs at restaurants or as babysitters.
Jonathan Law High School senior Paige Jolley spends her time babysitting as well - but not your typical child. Located in Stratford, Wag Central is a dog daycare center.
They provide everything from boarding to daycare. In addition, they provide grooming, training, swimming, dog parties, and baking homemade treats. With a team full of animal lovers, each person takes part in the animal care experience as veterinary technicians, dog walkers, doggy day care workers, groomers, trainers, and everything in between.
Established in 2017 and owned by Angela Pantalone, eating a social hub for pups has always been her dream. “So my inspiration for starting Wag Central was my own dog Lulu,” Pantalone said.
“Lulu was probably around eight at the time and we needed a place to board our dog. I really couldn’t find anything that met my standards so I opened up a place that I really felt would be great to bring my dog to. Luckily, lots of others liked that philosophy and came along. At Wag Central, we’re different than lots of other doggy daycares. Yes, the dogs get to play but they also get to do enrichment. We do lots of fun things to make the dog part of our family here at Wag but also to make them a better part of the family at home.”
Jolley works as one of the doggy daycare workers at Wag Central. Compared to other part-time jobs she has worked, she can confidently say that this is her favorite. “What inspired me to get this job was my sister,” Jolley said. “She got a job here and would send my family pictures and videos and I just got really jealous and decided to come here and get a job for myself. I come here after school for daycare hours and really what we do is we bring the dogs out in groups and really make sure that they are having fun, playing with each other, getting their exercise, that they’re happy. We are keeping it under control but also letting them have fun.”
Just take it from these animal lovers - working with these furry friends could not be any more fun.
Not only does the job provide a sense of security for the animals, but it provides a sense of happiness for the workers.
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