Stephen Biles of Gilbert, owner of Dogs 24/7, grew up in Morenci helping to care for his mentally ill mother even as he suffered from Perthes disease, which affects the hip.
Biles earned three degrees from Arizona State University, including a bachelor’s in business in 1991, which he parlayed into a job with the mining company Freeport-McMoRan until the Great Recession hit in 2007-2008.
Through it all, his devotion to his mother, Shirley Biles, never wavered, and after his father died, he became her full-time care giver until her death in 2022 and later wrote a book about her journey.
No matter how grim things looked, Biles said, it was the family’s dogs that provided constant love, support and humor.
“One of them was Brandy, a yellow lab, who really helped my mother through the toughest times.”
It seemed only a fitting decision in 2009 to open Dogs 24/7, which has become the largest cage-free dog daycare and boarding company in the United States with locations in Chandler, Tempe, Mesa, Phoenix, Glendale, Santa Fe and Seattle.
“I decided to leave corporate America and started doggy daycare in the middle of the Great Recession,” Biles said. “I had no experience other than loving dogs and a knack for coming up with something different.
“We made the big plunge. I worked days and my cousin worked nights. My mother took care of the puppies and older dogs.”
Today, there are more than 150 employees at nine locations, each between 7,000 and 8,000 square feet in size, a capacity for 100 dogs and boasting a one- human- to-15-dog ratio.
Biles’ company was a recent ASU Sun Devil 100 honoree for its fast growth and has been featured in the East Valley Tribune’s Best of the Best section for six consecutive years.
Stephen Biles of Gilbert has built the nation’s largest cage-free dog daycare and boarding company that includes Chandler Dogs 24/7.
One recent weekday, Chandler Dogs 24/7, at 6145 W. Chandler Blvd., had about 63 daycare denizens, dropped off largely by single professional women who simply adore their fur babies, Biles said.
The pups are divided into various air-conditioned areas depending on their size and energy level.
Dave Spenst, manager of operations, was surrounded by a happy pack of smaller dogs in one space as corgis, spaniels, pubs, poodles, doodles and more romped in the cool air and vied for his affection.
One curly brown dog, Theo, was particularly enamored of Spenst and demanded constant cuddles while others stood atop dog houses and barked their opinions and still more dashed about in a gang of white, black and tan.
Spenst is one of many employees who have worked for Dogs 24/7 for over 10 years, Biles said.
“The beauty of my business is that there are a lot of dog lovers in this world, and this business allows dog owners to have a career and not just a job,” he said.
To qualify for Dogs 24/7 cage-free services, canines must pass a four-hour behavioral screening. Prices are $38 a day and $76 for overnight visits.
Earlier this year, Biles’ written account about his mother’s incredible spirit and her ability to to overcome mental illness only to combat metabolic syndrome for her final years, was published as a book: “Like Mother, Like Son: From the Deepest Despair of Mental Illness to the Grittiest End-Of-Life Battle with Metabolic Syndrome.”
Biles said it is filled with many amazing moments and captures the power that the Biles family dogs had on healing, motivation and happiness.
For information about East Valley Dogs 24/7 locations and contacts, go to 247.dog. Information about the book: amazon.com/Like-Mother-Son-End-Life/dp/B0D1YQCF1S.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
