It all started with a dog.
Hounds Town – Pittsburgh owner Joe Allbaugh’s beloved dog passed away in July of 2019, and the loss hit him hard. “Life was a bit lonely after he passed. He was like my shadow,” says Allbaugh. But that wasn’t the only change in his life. After a long accounting career for a company that built Navy ships, Allbaugh decided to find a completely different path. “With my accounting job, it was always very long days, lots of meetings, and a to-do list that was never really ‘to-done,’” he says.
He wanted a business he could run on his own, and that’s how he found the popular dog daycare franchise Hounds Town USA. “I love pets,” he said. “This is something I can do.” He quit his job and opened his Hounds Town franchise in Pittsburgh’s Strip District on October 5, 2019. “It’s nice knowing that I am working for the benefit of myself and not a room of shareholders.”
It was just a few weeks after opening day at Hounds Town – Pittsburgh that Allbaugh met Tank through the Butler County Humane Society. “I knew this dog was going to be mine from the minute I saw him,” says Allbaugh. “The face on this dog just makes you want to melt.” A 68-pound boxer/pitbull mix, Tank had been discovered tied to a tree, starving. By the time he was found, most of his fur had fallen off. Allbaugh fostered Tank for three weeks before finally adopting him. “Life now with Tank has been great. He goes on walks with me, we go camping together…sometimes he thinks he’s the boss,” Allbaugh says, smiling.
Tank is now Hounds Town – Pittsburgh’s mascot, and he goes to work every day with Allbaugh. “Tank is so excited to go to daycare every day, and that makes me really feel positive about Hounds Town. I know now why they call it a home for ‘the happiest dogs on earth.’”
To find a location near you, visit Hounds Town USA. Or to follow Tank and the dogs of Hounds Town – Pittsburgh, connect with them on Facebook and Instagram.