Business & Tech

Lifelong Love of Animals Becomes a New Business

Local woman started bow Wow! dog walking service earlier this year. Serves Wakefield, Lynnfield, Melrose and Stoneham.

Local resident Nancy Dow has turned a lifelong love of animals into a new business serving area pet owners - The bow Wow! dog walking service, serving residents of Wakefield, Lynnfield, Melrose and Stoneham.

Dow and her husband Alexander are Wakefield residents who own two dogs, one of them a recently rescued labrador retriever, she told Patch.com in a recent phone conversation. "I was the kid that would always play with all the dogs in the neighborhood," said Dow, adding that she got her first dog at age 10 when a cousin went away to college.

Dow reports that she has taken a small pet CPR/First Aid course, and her one-person business is bonded and insured. Along with dog walking, she also offers overnight pet sitting services.

The pet industry has grown considerably in recent years, and combined with people working longer hours, this has helped fuel the need for dog walkers, said Dow. She added that some of her clients are even people who work from home but who are still too busy to regularly bring their dogs out.

For inquiries about dog-walking or pet sitting, contact Nancy at this link or email her here.

Along with running a local business, Dow is also consistently involved with the community. She volunteers at the New England Center for Homeless Veterans and as a Girl Scout Gold Advisor and earned her gallon pin for blood donations for Boston Children's Hospital. "My parents were really big on being part of your community," said Dow.

Raising Money for Kids With Cancer

Looking ahead to June 9th, Dow and hundreds of others will be at Gillette Stadium raising money for the BCH pediatric cancer unit by shaving their heads at the Kid's Cancer Buzz-Off. For more information about the event and the One Mission organization, click here.

Dow reported that thanks to the generosity of friends and others, she's been able to increase her fundraising goal for June 9th. As of Sunday, she had raised $3,200 on the way to a goal of $3,500. To check out her fundraising page, click here.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here