The Humans Behind For the Love of Dogs
Hi Friends, I’m Lea, founder and CEO of Woof Wardrobe Designs, LLC, and by extension For the Love of Dogs.
I have been an animal lover for as long as I can remember, and my arms have always been open to help as many pets as possible so they can live their best lives. Perhaps unsurprisingly, I come from a family of animal lovers; at the very start of my business, between my parents, sisters, and I, we all had ten animals to our names, collectively. (Not all in one household, I swear!)
I started Woof Wardrobe Designs, LLC because of my obvious love for animals and I wanted to be able to do more for the dogs of South Texas. When I had originally founded WWD, I had learned that there were a lot of dogs, from South Texas especially, that were being moved out of state because we had too many strays and unwanted dogs in the area. If I hadn’t had seven dogs, two bunnies, a bird, and some fish in my home at the time, I know I would have taken in as many of those sweet fur babies as I could.
It was then and there that I decided to take the opportunity and channel my love of animals from a passion project into a side hustle—although not in the way that most people would think. The entire goal of starting my new business was to allow me to help the shelters near my home. As said before,I know that if I had the space for about 40 more dogs that the shelter couldn’t handle, I would have taken them in a heartbeat. Whether that was to take them on as my own personal pets and provide them a great life in my home or help the shelters find the best homes possible for them, it didn’t matter. I just wanted to do something. But I didn’t have that space. But lets be honest, I’m not sure anyone truly does, aside from the shelters. So instead of breaking into my full-time job’s income to support the local shelters more, I decided to open a dog-based business so that I could donate the profits directly to the shelters, local rescues, and foster families—a move that would allow me to help more than I would have been able to otherwise.
While starting this business, I worked for a corporate wine and spirits distribution company. Though I loved what I did and made a decent income in this full-time position, the COVID-19 pandemic definitely took its toll. The year 2020 undoubtedly made a really big impact in everyone’s lives. My liquor sales job took a hit and I thought, maybe, this is the out of Corporate America I never realized I needed.. Maybe now was the time that I went from being a part-time business owner to a full-time one, and maybe this was my cue to do what I truly love.
With all that being said, I became somewhat of a liquor enthusiast, and it has since become a secondary defining feature of my personality! Now, one of my favorite personal quotes is “I'm saving the world one animal and one cocktail at a time.”
After all of the major changes thrown my way, I decided to take the leap, and because I love to support other local businesses when I can, I reached out to a local groomer I met and asked if she wanted to partner with me. She’d agreed, and within months we started working together to open a storefront here in San Antonio Texas.
And so For the Love of Dogs was born.
I’m here today having achieved my goal of opening a storefront because I started a business exclusively For the Love of Dogs.
Baby Bailey Australian Shepard, Kona Saint Bernard/Great Pyrenees, Kash Mini Australian Shepard, Bentley Goldendoodle, and Brew Bernese Mountain Dog, and I cannot wait to meet you all!
About Maddy, Your Local Dog Groomer
Maddy is the kind of person that you want to have on your side at all times. She’s so incredibly passionate about her job, and cares for and loves dogs just as much as I do. When you get your pet groomed by her, you’ll see how dedicated she is to giving her best no matter what and she’ll treat your dog like the royalty that they should be.
Maddy grew up with all kinds of pets, but her favorites were always dogs. She got her first pup when she was 10, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel whom she named ‘Princess’, and who instantly stole her heart forever. She trained Princess to become a therapy dog so that they could go into hospitals and visit patients. Maddy didn’t think that Princess should only put a smile on her face, and wanted to spread the love to others as well. Thanks to Princess, Maddy knew she wanted to work with animals in some capacity when she grew up, she just didn’t know how at the time.
As Princess got older, she wasn’t great at getting to the groomers anymore. Maddy took it upon herself to learn how to groom for her sake, keeping her fantastic furry friend comfortable, clean, and looking like the princess that she was. Something sparked in her, and she decided to learn how to groom professionally.
Maddy has been grooming dogs professionally for the last five years, and her love for her work is tangible when you meet her.
Right now, Maddy has four dogs of her own: Moose, Cleo, Crazy, and Pretty Girl, and they inspire her every day.
She treats every dog like they’re her own family as soon as they walk through the door. Never will she look at a pup coming in for a grooming as “just another one for the day”. Just like you get to know your hairdresser, Maddy wants to know every dog that she grooms personally. She wants to learn something about their personality, watch them grow, and become friends with them so that they’re excited every time they walk through the door for their grooming.
Every day, Maddy gets up and is excited to go to work. To her, grooming is not just a job, it’s a passion.
Being a part of For the Love of Dogs is great with Maddy around, as her love for her work is quite contagious!
We can’t wait to meet you!
Now that you know a little bit about us, please swing by and let us know about you! We’re so excited to be a part of the community and we can't wait to meet our people.
Stop by the store at 2815 N Loop 1604 E Suite 111 San Antonio, Tx 78232
say ‘hi’ and take a look around the store.
We’re open from 9am-6pm and love to see new—or familiar—faces coming in.
We want to build a family of dog lovers here and would love for you to be a part of it.
You can also take a look at all our stuff online or schedule your grooming appointment here!