Hello my name is Amanda Hebblethwaite and I am the owner and founder of Planet Pup doggy daycare and lodging in Charlotte NC.

Last year we had a vision to open a dog daycare that focuses entirely on enriching a dogs life and building social skills that will last a lifetime. I am also a huge advocate for shelter and rescue dogs, and we work very closely with multiple rescues in NC as well as our local animal care and control in Charlotte. We help foster multiple dogs to save them from euthanasia and this is our story.

We leased a building last year with plans to be open by February 2023. We thought we did our research on everything but we missed one thing that cost us to lose $40,000 before our doors even opened, we accidentally hired a shady contractor. We paid this contractor $40,000 in a three months span and the only thing he did was our floors, and took off with the rest of our money.

We filed a police report upon learning we were not the only victims, as this contractor has had previous arrests from the same thing. For whatever reason the police refused to help us. They told us we would have to take the man to court. We felt so discouraged and thought about backing out of our lease and giving up. By giving up, that meant giving up on the dogs and that was something we just could not stomach. I wiped out my personal savings and used the very little funds I had left to open the doors and continue to fight for the voiceless dogs of NC.

We opened May 3rd of this year and can barely pay our bills. My personal credit cards are wiped out and we have very little cash to move forward.

After hiring another contractor we had basically zero dollars as cash reserve, and we couldn’t afford to hire anyone as I can barely pay for myself or any of our bills.

Everything we do is for the dogs! Since we have opened a couple months ago, we have helped our shelter find homes for ten dogs, and we are currently fostering SEVEN. We hate begging people for money, but I am afraid that we may have to close our doors soon due to lack of funds, and that means so many dogs will die without us.

We understand times are rough for everyone, and we appreciate any amount that will help us stay afloat until we build up enough clientele.

This money will be used for more kennels, toys, food, and bills especially our rent which alone is $6500 a month! Please find it in your hearts to help us make it through this year so we can continue to be a valuable resource in our community and State.

Again we hate begging but we are begging for help! The dogs need us, and we need you. Thank you for reading our story, and if you cannot donate we ask you share this. Thank you again much love from Planet Pup and the voiceless dogs of NC.