Almost a decade ago, Animal House was founded by Dawn Brittain. Before Animal House, Dawn was an outside pet sitter in Sarasota. Her customers kept asking her if she would take their dogs home with her for overnight sitting. Eventually, Dawn purchased a lovely home with an acre of land. With that much room, there was definitely space for Animal House to be born.

Animal House's mission then and now is to provide a socialized and safe environment with lots of love and attention for your dogs. Our four-legged clients think of us as a home away from home. In January 2003, Dawn bought a 5-acre parcel of land and turned an existing horse barn into our beautiful Doggie Bed and Breakfast with A/C and heat. Dawn acquires about 80% of her business through word of mouth and many of the veterinarians in the Sarasota area recommend us. Many of our clients have followed us from our two previous locations and have been our inspiration in keeping our business on track. It has been a seven-days-a-week, 24-hours-a-day business for Animal House. Dawn and her husband live on the property where the dogs are housed. We have five other employees, and three of those employees have been with Animal House for a long time. Cindy is the manager Monday through Friday. Rachel and Jennifer are well loved by our doggie clients; they are the smiling faces that meet you at the door.

For everyone at Animal House, the favorite part of the job is when we get a dog that is not comfortable with strangers or other dogs and is scared and then get to see a 180-degree turn around of that dog’s personality when it realizes that it is in a safe environment and no one is going to hurt it. Then the play begins! We really enjoy what we do for a living and that makes every day brighter!

Articles that have mentioned Dawn Brittain or Animal House:
Sarasota Magazine's November 1998 issue: an article about Dawn’s Pet Sitting Company.

Sarasota Magazine's January 2006 issue: Mentioned in an article about upscale places to board your pet.


Sarasota Herald Tribune, St. Petersburg Times, and Longboat Key Observer: Articles about Dawn and her Newfoundland Dog (Thunder) and his Therapy dog duties.