OUR MISSION

Our Why

 Call it our mission, our purpose, our driving force—our WHY is to shine a light on the power of pet friendly and the unconditional love that pets teach us. We are here to help businesses and cities alike create amazing pet friendly experiences that raise the bar on what it means to be pet friendly. 

 “I think dogs are the most amazing creatures; they give unconditional love. For me, they are the role model for being alive.”

— Gilda Radner (comedian)

OUR STORY

The Pet Friendly Journey

Pets Living the Dream started out with the idea of helping to bring pet safe/planet safe products to the hospitality industry for traveling pet parents and furry guests. The objective was to help make travel easier for pet families while creating new revenue streams for properties.  

Once guests arrive the last thing they want to do is find a pet store if they run out of treats, waste bags, toys that were left home, etc.  We also saw the need to help properties with the pet safe/planet safe products they were providing. This includes necessities from water bowls to “Pet in Room” door hangers , welcome kits to first aid kits, pet waste bags to cleaning products and then pet services connections in the community.

Consulting, Education and Advocacy

A resource for all.

As our mission grew, we recognized a need for educational programs, advocacy and support for businesses in the hospitality and travel space around pet friendliness. We expanded our services to become a trusted resource for hospitality and travel businesses. By providing educational and consulting programs, we continue to help businesses stay tuned to the latest happenings and trends in the pet industry and pet friendly space while enabling them to focus on their core focus of welcoming guests. 

Hospitality & Travel, Cities and Workplaces.

Opportunities to partner.

An amazing thing happened along the way, too. We learned about Mars PetCare’s Better Cities for Pets™ program.  What a tremendous program by a leader in the pet industry who has recognized how important pet friendliness is for cities and their two and four legged residents. Their focus is on cities and spans needs for shelters, homes, parks and businesses. It supports three broad goals for people and pets everywhere: happy pets, welcome pets and healthy pets. With the complementary nature of our missions, we expanded our scope to support their program by helping cities take and implement the next steps needed to become pet friendly communities. 

Our goal and mission is to empower businesses and cities alike to create memorable, safe and fun programs for visiting pet families and through those experiences shine a bright light on the unconditional love that we are taught through our furry loved ones. 

We are here to serve you and be your pet friendly resource and partner! 

Karen Bartoszek, Founder and President

Karen is a passionate dog mom, thought leader and pet friendly business consultant who has been researching the pet industry for over 20 years. She honed her business development and consulting skills with IBM and AT&T where she traveled extensively with both companies and worked with the hospitality industry while at AT&T. 

A lifelong pet lover, the business idea for Pets Living the Dream started when Karen got her first dog on her own, Sabrina, in 1996. The dream back then was to sell pet products to the hospitality industry but the market was not yet ready. Studying the pet industry over the years she recognized the amazing transformation happening from pet owners to pet parents. Karen stepped out on wings of faith in 2016, leaving the IBM “cocoon” to pursue her dream of making the world a pet friendlier place and promote the power of pet friendly.

Pets are Karen’s passion and her mission. Her vision is to shine a light on the unconditional love that we are taught by our furry loved ones. By making it easier for businesses and cities to be pet friendly, it’s easier for pet parents to spend more quality time with their furry babies. Her goal is to make pet friendly so safe, easy and sustainable that it truly becomes a way of life in communities and businesses across the nation and around the world. 

Indi Bartoszek

  Indi is a strategic leader at Pets Living the Dream. She has several very important roles. These range from testing the quality of the products we promote to serving as the Chief Security Officer protecting Pets Living the Dream from squirrels and the UPS truck. She has recently taken on a new role as Corporate SpokesDog for Pets Living the Dream. You can find her on Instagram at petslivingthedream. 

Indi takes all her roles very seriously. She will, however, drop everything to welcome guests--especially if they might have a cookie for her! Indi has proudly earned her Canine Good Citizen Certification, loves treats, her mom and meeting new friends--both two and four legged.