A Field of (Doggie) Dreams
By Nate Paige
Amanda Corr, owner of Process Canine. Photos by Angelo Merendino
Oftentimes, a determining factor in the success of a business can be enthusiastic customer response. For Amanda Corr, owner of Process Canine, a dog daycare, boarding, and training facility located at 3706 Lee Road, what began as a side gig out of her home has grown by leaps and bounds.
Ten years ago, Corr was employed by a dog daycare business. Two years in, she decided to go it alone, offering services out of her home in Lakewood. “I offered overnight dog sitting,” she says. “I soon moved to Cleveland Heights and continued the dog sitting. It felt like a temporary job, and I thought I would watch people’s dogs until I found my career.”
But word-of-mouth referrals caused Corr’s client base to grow rapidly. “All of a sudden I had this full-time job where I had dogs boarding at my house – on a small scale – along with daycare.”
After unsuccessful attempts to find a larger space, she decided to focus on obtaining certification to become a dog trainer. In 2015, Corr attended the Michael Ellis School for Dog Trainers in Santa Rosa, California.
Dog training consists of a lot of self-education,” says Corr. “Since then, I’ve done a lot of seminars and lots of online learning.”
While contemplating her next move for the business, Corr came across a Cleveland.com article about a business pitch competition sponsored by the Shaker Heights Development Corporation (SHDC) and Huntington Bank, through which the winner would receive a $20,000 grant to open a business in the Chagrin-Lee corridor.
Process Canine is located at 3706 Lee Road
“On a whim, I signed up and ended up winning the grant, and it snowballed into getting the location that we have today, with the help of SHDC,” says Corr. “That allowed me to keep all three aspects of the business: daycare, boarding, and training. We opened in 2017 with a staff of two, and things really took off.”
Moving from a home business to a larger space offered its own set of challenges.
“As confident as I was, it was a leap of faith,” says Corr. “The biggest challenge was that this type of business could pose a nuisance to the neighborhood. In addition to zoning variances, there were lots of discussions with people in the Moreland neighborhood to make sure they were comfortable with it. I’m glad I was able to make those relationships with my neighbors.”
Less than two years later the need for more space was imminent. “We grew out of the first space. I attempted to continue training in the initial space, but daycare and boarding grew so fast, we needed the entire space for those services.”
In 2019, Corr was able to obtain an additional space, a corner unit located several doors down, which is a 16,000 square-foot space used exclusively for training. “It’s the largest dog day care yard in Northeast Ohio. It’s broken up into four indoor playrooms. There’s enough space to make a fifth room, if necessary.”
Corr attributes the success of her business to an “incredible staff” of 12. “Our team is highly dog-savvy and committed to providing a safe and healthy atmosphere,” says Corr. “And I am forever grateful to the SHDC/Huntington Bank grant competition. I spent a number of years trying to get funding, but it’s difficult approaching banks saying, ‘I watch dogs out of my house, but I think I can grow a business out of it.’ The grant and connections made during the competition process were the key pieces to our start.”
For more information on Process Canine’s services, visit processcanine.com or call 216-505-5954.
