Meet Paul and Amy from Papillion NE. Paul will be leaving behind 40 + years as a manager in the automotive service industry and Amy will help part-time while continuing her healing work as a cardiac nurse which she has done for 14 years. Paul and Amy have been together for 19 years and have rescued a total of 6 Shiba Inus.

About Oliver Papillion

Change causes anxiety. Change is hard and can be very scary. Change is a whole lot of things but mostly, change is necessary. My husband Paul and I came to this realization a while ago but didn’t know what to do about it. He was frustrated and burned out in his career after 40 years and I didn’t know how to help him get to where he wanted to be. He has always wanted to own his own business and be his own boss. I was afraid of the change and the uncertainty of being a business owner. I was afraid of risking our wonderful life to take a chance but I knew we needed to do something different.

One afternoon Paul approached me about something he had been looking into and was really excited about: HydroDog Mobile Dog grooming! I could feel his excitement as he told me about it; there was an enthusiasm in his voice I had not heard in a long time. I was hooked! I got excited butterflies in my stomach and I was elated to see him so happy and eager to get going. I wanted this for him and I wanted this for us!

We bought our franchise and marked our territory in August of 2020 and started operating HydroDog Oliver the last week of September. It was a whirlwind journey and with the help of our local master franchisor, Kylee Hudson, we were able to navigate it successfully and have a lot of fun in the process! Paul spent time at grooming school and I was able to spend a week there learning some new skills as well. Initially, I was not sure of my specific role in the business but the transition to co-owner and operator has been seamless! It has been wonderful to be able to work alongside my husband in the Big Blue Dog on occasion and help grow our business doing the social media posts and scheduling! I truly feel this has brought us closer and given us a great deal more time to spend together in general. We have also met a lot of wonderful dog owners and other HydroDog franchisees. We certainly feel like part of a loving and supportive family!

I am so delighted that this opportunity with HydroDog came to us when it did, it was a risk worth taking and a change worth making even though it was scary!