Today we’d like to introduce you to Tori, Tony, Bob, PJ Saylor (The Saylor family).
Hi Tori, Tony, Bob, PJ, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Fetch is our dog care business and Fetch Cares is our nonprofit dog rescue / hospice. Both are family owned & operated by the Saylor family (Bob/Dad, PJ/Mom, Tony/son & Tori/daughter.) This will be written from my perspective (Tori). Between 2006-2014 the four of us moved to Utah from Virginia. Tony was a wildland firefighter & ski patroller for 15 years and eventually settled in Utah. He married a local, Jessica Fine, in 2013 and had plans to have kids. So, my parents ended up moving to Utah in 2013 to be closer to grandkids once they started to arrive (they had 2 kids in 2017 & 2019). About a year later I moved here in 2014. During that year before I got here my mom had started walking a couple dogs a week for a little extra income and to start getting the ball rolling with developing Fetch once I moved out here. So literally the day I arrived I hit the ground running with caring for dogs. Fetch was born! In the beginning we (me, Mom & Dad) walked about 5 dogs a week and, long story short, we have grown to about 60-80 dogs per day with 12+ more employees. Tony joined the Fetch team in 2017 making it a full family effort. About 8.5 years ago we were VERY fortunate to be able to purchase 50 acres in Kamas where Fetch is located. It’s important to know how Fetch started in order to know how Fetch Cares started and I’m not sure if you are planning to only focus on FC or both.
We have always been big animal lovers. When I was in college I was really struggling with many things in my life including being diagnosed on the Autism Spectrum at the age of 19. One of the few things that brought me joy was volunteering at the local SPCA and I ended up being there so often that they decided they should hire me. That started my career working with animals. After 2.5 years at the SPCA I worked as a veterinary assistant for 7.5 years. Then I moved to UT. While working at the SPCA and in the veterinary field I developed the dream to one day have a rescue/hospice for the dogs deemed “unadoptable”. This was just a dream but didn’t really see it becoming reality, certainly not so quickly. My mom made this happen!
In 2017 she started fostering a mini schnauzer puppy named Elwood. When she agreed to foster him he was located in another state with a breeder who said he had some kind of neurological disability but they didn’t really know what was “wrong” with him. A few days later when Elwood arrived in UT he was completely paralyzed and his entire body was stiff as a board. He couldn’t even bark. I honestly didn’t think he would survive for more than a week and the veterinarians that he initially saw agreed. We didn’t know what exactly was the cause but something was VERY wrong. Mom started caring for him, taking him to specialists, doing rehab, etc. He slowly started to regain movement. Eventually it became time for him to get his second round of vaccines (the first round the breeder gave him). Within hours of getting his second set of vaccines he started to lose function in his body again. The vets immediately started him on strong steroids to counteract the negative reaction he was having to the vaccines. This kind of vaccine reaction is EXTREMELY rare and surprised all of us. Over the next couple years Mom & Elwood worked very hard to regain his mobility. He now is almost 7 years old, fully functional and although his rear legs are slightly misshaped he can run faster than all of us. You kind of have to see the videos of him over the years to believe it. Although we had fostered and taken in many rescues prior to Elwood, he was the first FC dog.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
With Fetch, the biggest challenge I have are the people. I understand and communicate with dogs way easier than I do with their parents. There are plenty of challenges in having your own business and working with animals in general though too. Some challenges unique to us (vs other dog care facilities) is we are a kennel free facility. I often compare having all of the dogs running around to having a bunch of toddlers running around. So, of course there are daily challenges too.
With FC, each dog that we take in have their own unique sets of challenges. Almost all of the dogs have physical disabilities, medical needs and/or are seniors. The main ways dogs end coming to us are referrals from veterinarians, shelters, other rescues, or individuals who are no longer able to care for their dogs. We have taken in many dogs with broken bones, needing limb amputations, diabetics, megaesophagus, hemivertebrae, blind, deaf, seniors just needing a loving home to live out their last few months, etc. So the biggest challenges are usually when the dogs first get to us and need lifesaving treatment. Almost all of the dogs we are able to get treated, stabilized, socialized, etc and then are able to be adopted into loving homes. The two biggest challenges FC has is money (we operate fully on donations and we aren’t able to do what we do without money) and getting dogs adopted. There is a pandemic in the animal rescue world right now with ALL shelters & rescues being completely overflowing and people not wanting to adopt. So it’s even harder to get dogs adopted that have “special needs”. Even if a dog isn’t going to have any ongoing “issues” people still seem to shy away from any “special needs”. Often times the dogs just need someone to give them a chance.
We’ve been impressed with Fetch (Park City)(NOT associated with the Fetch in SLC), but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We are a kennel free dog care business located on 50 acres near Kamas. We do daycare, boarding, hiking, grooming, training, transport, concierge type stuff like weddings. We are a 24/7/365 business. I live at the facility and Mom/Dad live on property in a separate house as well. The two main things that set us apart are that we are kennel-free and that staff is with the dogs 24 hours a day. I am the most proud of the care we are able to provide the dogs. This isn’t just a business to us. We care about the dogs. I consider the dogs a part of our family just like I do my personal dogs. Every time we lose one (to moving, age, illness like cancer, etc) it breaks my heart in the same ways as when my personal dogs pass away. About 6 weeks ago the original Fetch dog, Lucy, passed away due to complications with epilepsy. She had been a part of our family for the past 10 years. Actually, since even before I moved to UT my mom was walking her. So she was the very first Fetch dog. She unexpectedly passed away just a week & half after one of my personal dogs passed away due to old age. It’s been a bit rough having such major heartbreaks in such a short amount of time. Unfortunately, we are reaching the time that our original Fetch dogs are getting old and passing away. I want people to know that although our clients do pay us for our services we actually do what we do for the dogs. Having a kennel free facility is NOT easy but during my years at the SPCA and veterinary clinic I have witnessed time and time again the negative affects kennel environments can have on some dogs. We aren’t anti-kennels though. But, just like with people, if dogs are caged up with limited interaction there can be many negative affects. Every facility isn’t necessarily the best fit for every dog. For the past 6 years Fetch has been voted the Best of Park City, by locals, in the dog care categories. I am very proud of those accomplishments.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
Risk scares the bajeebees out of me!! The biggest risk I have ever taken was leaving everything and everyone I’ve ever known behind to move to the other side of the country and start a dog care business. I am NOT a big risk taker. My family is much more willing to take risks and have to rely on my trust in them when it comes to risks with Fetch and Fetch Cares. Neither of these would be in existence if it wasn’t for them taking the risk and putting in the hard work with me though. Risk is extremely scary but it’s the first step to growth. That is what I try to remind myself often because life is filled with risks. Even if the risk doesn’t result in the way you are hoping it will always result in growth in some way shape or form.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.fetchparkcity.com www.fetchcares.org
- Instagram: fetch_parkcity fetch_cares
- Facebook: Fetch Park City Fetch Cares
