Today we’d like to introduce you to Judith Schnur.
Judith, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
In the late 1990s, I had finished school to be an occupational therapist but I knew I couldn’t do it because I wanted to do everything for everybody and you have to let people do for themselves. I knew I wanted to make a difference, and I knew I loved dogs, so I thought ‘what can I do?’ At that time, pets were boarded at the vets in cages. I hated the idea of that. I couldn’t go on vacation unless someone came to watch my dogs and keep them company at night. So, I started going to different parts of the United States to gather ideas for a different, more comfortable, way to board pets. In 2003, I bought the property and started planning, and by 2005 we hired an architect to start designing the building.
We opened our doors in May of 2007, and have been going strong ever since.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Nothing about starting a business is ever easy, My biggest struggle to this day is that I am not very business-savvy and I absolutely despise doing book work. I love my customers and I love the animals, but I hate the book work!
Please tell us about Pawsitively Heaven Pet Resort.
Pawsitively Heaven Pet Resort is a cage free boarding facility for dogs and cats. Each dog gets their own room with a raised bed, television and some rooms also have dog doors that lead out onto a fenced in patio. The cats get a five level condo in the cattery and get to come out to play in the cat room every two hours. The dogs are walked five times a day in our fenced in yards. We also offer pampered pet services that includes additional walks off site (on top of the other five walks a day), in-room pampering sessions, and extra play times in our yards.
I am most proud of my staff and the way they take care of the animals, and the compassion they show. We also have wonderful customers. It makes me feel good that we can provide a service to people and their pets, or help out if our customers have an emergency and need a place to board their pets.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
My favorite childhood memory is of the cricket I used to keep in my pajama drawer as a pet. We weren’t allowed to have pets growing up and every time I brought home a stray animal, my parents would make me let them go and I would cry. So, I found a cricket that I kept as a pet, but I didn’t know anything about crickets. I tried to feed him hamburger. It did not work out and when he passed, I just cried. He was a good pet while he was with me.
Pricing:
- Large Room (7.5′ x 7.5′) is $68.50/day
- Medium Room (5.5′ x 7.5′) is $63.50/day
- Small Room (3.5′ x 7.5′) is $58.50/day
- $5.00/add’l for a room with an outside patio
- Full day of Daycare is $36.50/day
- Half day of Daycare (under four hours) is 26.50/day
- Five level Cat Condo is $38.50/day
Contact Info:
- Address: 10052 Kitty Ave, Chicago Ridge, IL 60415
- Website: http://www.pawsitivelyheavenpetresort.com/
- Phone: (708) 636 3647
- Email: stay@phpr.care
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pawsitivelyheaven/?ref=badge
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BestPetResortEver/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/pawsitively-heaven-pet-resort-inc-chicago-ridge

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Doris Gember
July 5, 2017 at 11:38 pm
Pawsitively Heaven is the very best Pet Resort anywhere!!! They saved my Chico and Judith Schnur truly loves her animals.!! It is a resort for sure!