March 2021 Update:

We are open and ready for new clients! All dog walkers and cat sitters have been fully vaccinated for your safety! Don't worry we will still follow CDC guidelines. Please stay safe out there everyone! 

Older Article:

Our services are currently paused due to the Coronavirus. We hope you are all safe during this time. On a happier note, we are launching our Sparky Steps Apparel and Product Line. We published a few products that are available for sale today, more will be published weekly! Stay tuned and subscribe to our newsletter for updates on the blog and new products! Thank you and continue to read if you want more details on how we are dealing with this situation.  

Coronavirus

So. we all know what’s going on in the world. The coronavirus has finally hit Chicago and it hit us hard. Lockdowns, quarantines, and people getting sick. We hope whoever is reading this is well, safe, and healthy. If you’re currently sick and fighting this virus then please fight hard and get well soon! If it’s been years since this virus then I’m assuming one of the two happened. The world is a wasteland, apocalypse and something like The Walking Dead happened. Or on the opposite side of the spectrum, we overcame the coronavirus, and all is relatively normal now (I’m really hope this is the case for you future readers). Either way, you can continue to read on to see how it affected Sparky Steps in 2020 and what we decided to do to take steps to move forward, give hope, and work on ourselves and our business.

How Are We Doing?

We have been dog walking and cat sitting for many years now and we have always had a good hygiene rule in effect. No one likes a smelly dog walker going into their home and stinking up the place. However, this pandemic has amped up our hygienic efforts dramatically in the last couple of weeks. Yes, we are still open and servicing a few clients.  Many of our clients have cancelled, almost everyone is working from home, and a few are stuck in quarantine. We wish the best for our clients and everyone that has been affected by this coronavirus. It’s crazy how quickly things can just flip, the world is quite fragile if you really think about it. The world is at a pause but that doesn’t mean we can just sit by and do nothing.  At the moment of writing this there isn’t a mandatory shut down or lock in, so we will continue to brave the outside world when our clients need us!

Rules We Have Implemented

1. Hand Sanitize Before and After Each Walk
2. Wash Hands as Often as Possible
3. Social Distancing to the Max – 6ft or More
4. We Use Our Own Leash to Avoid Cross Contamination
5. Avoid Crowded Areas
6. Wear Masks
7. Sanitize Car Before and After Each Session of Work
8. Sanitize Clothes Before and After Each Session of Work

Taking Steps!

Before all this craziness, we’ve been working hard on something new. Pet related apparel and products that we can offer to our clients and new customers! We didn’t just want to create another clothing line, so we decided to donate 10% of proceeds from each purchase to the ASPCA, American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. This way we assist in the fight against animal cruelty and continue to help animals find forever homes. We still want to continue our Spark and Bark volunteer sessions when everything goes back to normal. But for now, virtual help is what we can do! Through sales of artistic products, we can assist even more with donations! We've always been really into Art! Now it’s time to combine our passions of Art and Animals. Create awesome apparel and products that the people might like! Let’s see how it goes!

This is an established business that’s transforming into something new. But we will still hold our mission to help animals find their forever homes and continue to educate and inspire. Our blog will keep pushing out new content! We will keep interviewing families on how their pet(s) found a forever home. We believe everyone has a story. The new will not completely replace the old. We will keep our services open for a small number of clients with safety and love being a top priority. But our business will be shifting to the creation side of things. The creation of art through writing, digital painting, crafting shirts, posters, mugs, and more! We want to see how we can get to a place where we create art that brings joy while still making an impact in the lives of animals.

We hope we find a cure for this COVID-19 soon so all will go back to normal. Although we have a feeling things won’t go completely back to normal. We might all become a bit more germophobic and agoraphobic in the days ahead. Who knows if dog walking services will ever go back to normal? If you find yourself in hibernation and quarantine, then it isn’t time to be sad. It’s time to work. Work on those things you’ve been hesitating on, that’s what we are doing here at Sparky Steps. We’ve been hesitating on launching this new side of the business but no more. The time is now.

So, on a more positive note, be on the lookout for fun artistic products from Sparky Steps that create a difference when purchased. Also be on the lookout for our Spark and Bark Interviews. We know everyone has a story, this is ours now, working hard at home. Creating art and trying to survive and hopefully thrive in the future. The future can be bright if we make it so.

Stay safe everyone, subscribe if you haven’t done so already! Be on the lookout for new products and fun posts! 

Written by Michael Jaurigue