What Does "More Than Just dog walking" Really Mean?
It's funny...
A lot of companies nowadays like to say they are "more than" this or "more than" that. It's become something of a cliche. Okay, then. What does it mean in our case? Well, on a superficial level it of course has to do with the literal fact that we offer more than just Dog Walking services. We do Poop Scooping and Pet Sitting as well. But that isn't the main thing we're trying to get at here. I guess you could say it's about more than that *facepalm.*
The point we want to get across is that Burton and Dogs is about dogs, but it's about people too. It's a prosocial company. The goal is to generate revenue by providing amazing pet care services and then use the profits from those services to fund creative welfare programs designed to elevate people. Mental health programs, subsidized housing programs, programs that feed the hungry, and employment programs that assist with maintaining clean environments in our community. In fact, each of these areas is represented by a color on our logo.
Mental Health
Nutrition Access
Nutrition Access
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, about half of the U.S. population was affected by a diagnosable mental illness of some kind in 2022. The same data shows that 6% of adults qualified as SMI (Seriously Mentally Ill).
Nutrition Access
Nutrition Access
Nutrition Access
There's no doubt that the United States produces enough food for everyone in it, but access to quality nutrition remains an issue for many in poverty. Healthier food often costs more and is more difficult to prepare.
Housing Access
Nutrition Access
The Environment
Homelessness remains a seemingly intractable problem for just about every major city in the country. According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, about 770,000 people experienced homelessness in 2024.
The Environment
Nutrition Access
The Environment
Great strides have been made over the last several decades in reducing carbon emissions and pollution, at least on average in many regions. But according to the American Lung Association, Phoenix has some of the worst air quality in the nation.
Exercise Buddy Program
Exercise can be one of the most effective ways to battle against depression and anxiety and, by this point, that much is common knowledge. But we often need another person in our life to provide the motivational support and accountability to make it a daily habit. A workout buddy program is the first initiative we want to create for those struggling with their mental health. At first, we will simply donate our time (and sweat) to spend with those who sign up, perhaps with a note from their doctor, and we will work out with them, doing whatever they want to do. We'll go for walks around the neighborhood, hike up a mountain, or get a session in at the gym - with memberships we pay for. We'd like to offset the costs of martial arts memberships, spin classes, dance classes - anything that gets people moving.
Ketogenic Metabolic Therapy Sponsorship
Depression, anxiety, and even more serious conditions such as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, all have a common pathway, and that pathway is through mitochondria. A poor diet is not necessarily the "cause" of every mental ailment, but one available intervention that can help repair mitochondrial health is through changing how you eat. The ketogenic diet, for example, has been shown to improve metabolic health through processes like mitophagy and mitochondrial biogenesis. Originally developed in the early 1900s for the treatment of epilepsy, it can stop seizures - even when medications fail to. The science is still emerging, but this powerful intervention seems to provide relief for mental disorders as well. A consequence of this realization is the new field of Ketogenic Metabolic Therapy. They are still fairly rare, but there are clinicians and dietitians who specialize in this area and offer personalized coaching. We want to pay for those experiencing serious mental illness to receive that coaching.
Brain-healthy Meal Delivery Program
Healthy food can be expensive and difficult to prepare, especially for low-income individuals with mental health struggles. To help with this, we want to partner with meal prep and delivery companies to provide nutritious and brain-healthy meals to those who could benefit the most from them. We will pay for these meals, or significantly reduce the cost of them for those experiencing economic and psychological hardship. Food is medicine. A diet rich in nutrition and whole foods can make all the difference in someone's life, if only it was easier to access. We want to make it easier.
Housing Subsidy and Employment Program
Housing is expensive and many can't afford it. A lot of the reason for this is a matter of supply. There aren't enough homes. We will probably never be in a position to be able to fix that problem, but perhaps we can create an incentive structure within the existing paradigm that can benefit some number of people. Maybe we can offset the cost of housing with a program that employs people in jobs that basically anyone can do if they're willing. The idea we have is to put up homeless families and veterans in furnished apartments where the rent is paid in full for the first month and then half-subsidized for up to two years after that. This offer would be made on two or three conditions. They'd have to: 1) enroll in and complete a rehabilitation program, if deemed necessary by a case manager; 2) accept a job offer to scoop poop and clean up public spaces for Burton and Dogs; and 3) maintain an adequate level of job performance and remain employed with us.
This may sound like a far-fetched, over-idealized dream, but if we charge our advertised rates for Poop Scooping, the numbers work. And if we can land a government contract or two to clean up parks and other public spaces, that could help employ people as well.
Electric Company Vehicles
Community Mental Health Walks
Electric Company Vehicles
In order to carry out some of our services, we will need to purchase special vehicles like cargo vans for group walks and pet waste haulers. Since we are committed to minimizing our impact on the environment, all of our company vehicles will be electric.
Generous Wages
Community Mental Health Walks
Electric Company Vehicles
In order to attract the best people to be a part of our team, it is necessary to offer candidates competitive wages. But we go the extra mile and pay them generously, because when workers are happier, so are the customers they serve.
Community Mental Health Walks
Community Mental Health Walks
Community Mental Health Walks
When the weather cools down in the Fall of 2025 we plan to host Mental Health Fundraising Walks at Pecos Park open to the public and its dogs to support mental health non-profits around Arizona on each "First Saturday."
You. And Your Dogs
In one of my favorite books the author argues that life is like a landscape of peaks and valleys, in which peaks correspond to the heights of positive well-being while the valleys represent the opposite. As people, we navigate this space with the choices we make. They can lead us up to a peak, or down to a valley. Burton and Dogs is about striving upwards - together with our clients, their dogs, and anyone in the community who wants to join us.
So yes, by hiring us to walk your dog or scoop their poop, you are doing "more than" just that. You are taking a position alongside our team as we make the climb towards a high peak and whatever views await us there.
Many of the ideas and programs that form the dream behind Burton and Dogs are ambitious - and maybe a little idealistic. But every organization needs to believe in something. They need to strive for something. Well, this is our something. If you'd like to be a part of the climb, there's something very simple you can do. Maybe we can realize at least some of the dream together. Welcome to Burton and Dogs.