San Francisco Chronicle – How dedicated dog lovers saved their canine day care in Oakland

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

In late March, the clients and staff at Every Dog Has Its Day Care in West Oakland received a shocking email: After 22 years, the business would close within a few months. Grief ensued. Clients picked up their dogs, lamenting their broken hearts. Kelly Hall hugged Katie Wojnoonski, the company’s chief operating officer, tearfully recalling the helpfulness of the staff when her dog Lewis had a leg injury. In turn, the staff sadly anticipated the pending separation from their beloved charges. Senior dog handler Susy De Luna cried, thinking, “I’m not going to see these dogs anymore.”

And then sadness gave way to determination for Hall and other dog parents, along with Wojnoonski and Lindsey Parker, the facility’s director of operations: They weren’t ready to let the facility close. The pet owners and the workers banded together, and within about six weeks, they accomplished an astonishing feat, raising nearly $3 million to buy the business and forming a cooperative to run it, the Dog Social Club Cooperative.

Get the full story here:

https://www.sfchronicle.com/style/article/How-dedicated-dog-lovers-saved-their-canine-day-14028365.php