Tom and Carolyn Tourville are the new owners of Willow Farm Pet Services in North Springfield. The business itself is approximately 10 years old and moved into its current location eight years ago.
Carolyn Tourville was originally from Anchorage, Alaska but grew up in Maine. She has lived in Baltimore for the past 31 years, before moving to Springfield. “My kids grew up here, got a great education, and went to college. I love the small town, family atmosphere of Springfield.” She has always owned every kind of animal from cats and dogs to a horse and a baby raccoon, so it’s only logical that she and her husband Tom are now the owners of Willow Farm Pet Services in North Springfield. The business itself is approximately 10 years old and moved into its current location eight years ago in July; it was then that Carolyn started there as an employee, and eventually, when the opportunity to take over the business emerged, she jumped at the chance. They now have nine employees including Carolyn. Most are part-time, but two of the kennel staff regularly work close to 40 hours.
Willow Farm Pet Services provides grooming, daycare and boarding of dogs only. Their retail shop sells products for dogs and cats and some small animal supplies. They mostly cover south central Vermont, but they also have customers that are seasonal from other states. “We are the only one of our kind around here! We are blessed to be a service that meets the needs of so many great customers.”
They’ve been doing updates and renovations, and Carolyn loves the enthusiasm and excitement from the customers when they come in and see improvements for the first time. In talking about the most enjoyable aspects of the business, she is enthusiastic, saying “I love seeing the different kinds of dogs every day (especially puppies!) but I really enjoy helping people find the right food or products that they need for their animals.” Most folks who work for a living can name aspects of their jobs that they dread, but Carolyn declares, “None — I can honestly say I love my job!!” Willow Farm is also committed to giving back to the community. They try to donate to as many fundraisers as possible. They also do a food drive for the Family Center at Thanksgiving and collect a large donation for the Humane Society at Christmas.
When asked what it means to be a Springfield Regional Chamber of Commerce member, Carolyn sums it up as being involved with a lot of other really great business owners to make Springfield the best it can be. “We love to have people stop by that have never been in. People are usually shocked by the variety of products and services we offer.”
I hope the new owners follow the conditional use permit as the last ones did not. This was a hot topic for a while until he town said they would not/could not enforce the permit conditions.
ReplyDeletewhat were / are those conditions?
DeleteYou can get a copy at the town hall but the main issue was the barking dogs disturbing the neighbors. The permit states that IF the dogs bark they will be brought inside. This was an unrealistic expectation from the beginning as we all know dogs bark especially when playing outside however, the permit was granted. And the dogs barked. I know one neighbor who spoke directly to the last owners (with copy of permit in hand) and did not receive a positive reply. Myself and others went to the last town manger to discuss and was told there was nothing the town could do to enforce the permit. I have nothing against this type of establishment and feel it is a wonderful opportunity for dogs and their people, however, I take issue with the fact that the permit was not being followed and not enforced (and quite frankly why this type of establishment was allowed to operate in this zone knowing of the barking situation which continues to this day)
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