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Rain or Shine, She'll Take Your Pooch For a Stroll

Local entrepreneur embraces her love for animals to develop a growing business.

The dog days of winter may be behind us. But if you have a dog to walk, you well know that March can still be pretty chilly and April showers are a sloppy walk in the park. 

Melissa Morreale can tell you about walking in all kinds of weather. Her job—just like the mailman’s—gets her outside every day, no matter what.

Owner and operator of Northbrook Pet Nannies, Morreale got into the business after 11 years in real estate followed by several jobs as an office manager in local firms. She decided to go into business for herself and started pet walking part-time in 2009 after she lost her job twice in six months. Since last November, she has considered it her full-time occupation.

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“I’ve always loved animals,” she said, “but never thought I could make a living working with animals. Then one Sunday, I picked up the paper and it was highlighting people around the country with their jobs and incomes.  A woman in St. Louis was making a very good yearly income as a dog walker. I started thinking, 'I could do this.' ”

Morreale, who owns two dogs herself, began researching the area while she was on unemployment and found that there was a definite need. To drum up business, she created a website and hand-delivered fliers to friends.

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“I did a lot of vacation sitting in the beginning,” she said. “But now, I’m up to 12 regular dogs that I walk seven days a week.”

One of her earliest clients, attorney Keri Halperin, had moved to Northbrook from Chicago with her husband and needed a new dog walker. She found out about Morreale’s services through one of Morreale’s fliers

“It was easy to find dog walkers in the city,” Halperin said. “But when we moved here, it was much harder.”

Halperin didn’t want to put her Portuguese Water Dog, Marley, into a day care facility. But, on the days she worked downtown, she needed help. So she hired Morreale.

 “She’s wonderful and Marley loves her!” Halperin said. “Having someone I can rely on and trust is invaluable.” 

After giving birth to a baby, Halperin relied on Morreale even more.  “I was very overwhelmed and she was a great help.  I was having her come twice a day, and she was very flexible,” Halperin said.

Many people are more comfortable keeping their dogs at home when they go on vacation, which is to Morreale's advantage, she says.

“There is much less stress on a dog when they stay in their own environment and stick to their own routines, especially as dogs get older,” she said. "I spend time with them, hang out with them and make sure they have plenty of human contact while the owners are away.

"It’s also nice for the homeowner because I bring in the mail and the paper, turn lights on so that it’s not obvious that no one is home,” Morreale added.

Lynne and Jerry Marx found Northbrook Pet Nannies through an Internet search and use the service for their Springer and King Cavalier Spaniels when they go out of town.

“We use her a lot and they [the dogs] love her,” said Jerry. “We hire her to come twice a day but sometimes she’ll come more just to check in with the dogs and give them a little more attention.”

“The great thing about my job is that my clients are always happy to see me,” Morreale said laughing. “No matter what kind of mood I might be in, when I open the door to take out my first dog and he’s so happy to see me, tail wagging, there’s no way I can be in a bad mood!”

Morreale, who is outdoors a minimum of three hours a day while on the job, says she enjoys the exercise and fresh air.  “It’s really good for your mood,” she said.

She does not combine dogs on walks, and gives each special attention.

“They’re all different,” Morreale explained. “Some like to sniff everything along the way and others just like to go. Often personalities don’t mix well, either, and so I find it easier to focus one on one.”

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