All Your Dog Needs: Catching up with Bubble & Bark’s Julie Andrews

By Jill Hurst

WHAT? Me? Why? Just tell them I love dogs. Dogs are my life.” This was my riend and boss Julie Andrew’s reaction when I told her that Ferndale Friends wanted to interview her. She laughed, and gave in.

Julie, born and raised in the Detroit area, has lived in Ferndale with her spouse and business partner, Kelly McKinstry, since 1996. When they’re not in Ferndale, you can find them in downtown Detroit, often returning from the Eastern Market with produce they share. But they find most of what they want in Ferndale, said Julie.

They opened Bubble & Bark (doggy daycare, grooming, boarding) almost ten years ago. Everyone who walks through the door becomes family. Today, music was playing, Rodney was hanging with the boarders, the groomers were clipping, and Julie and Megan were on the floor playing with a new friend, a 13-year-old beagle.

Beagles are an important fixture at B&B. “Jazz” was Julie and Kelly’s first beagle. Rescued from an abusive owner, they did their best to rehome her. No luck. Jazz was “hell on wheels, she destroyed everything.” Julie used to sit in the driveway and cry before going into the house to deal with her. She was a smartie, who learned how to open the refrigerator and unzip purses.

And yet, when they finally found someone willing to take Jazz, they couldn’t give her up. “She was the smartest dog I’ve ever known. She changed my life.” At home, it’s been beagles ever since.

When Zola had a litter, Julie and Kelly shared puppies with friends and family, including Julie’s sister Jane who also lives in Ferndale and works tirelessly in animal rescue. Julie spoke proudly of her sister
“She’s the real deal. She can’t look away,” when there are animals who need help. The extended family has regular beagle parties at B & B when the pups show up on the same day and, as Julie says, they are so “flippin’cute”.

But when we talk dogs at Bubble & Bark, there are lots of stories about Winston, Milly, Milo, Bailey, Cupid, Cooper and Floyd – to name a few. They come to play, to sleep over, to visit Robin and Terrie for baths, hair and nails. They come in for a self-serve bath in one of the big tubs or to get food and treats.

Bubble & Bark was the first dog care facility to open in Ferndale. Julie and Kelly own a house down the street from the business, but they didn’t see “home” for weeks when they were getting the business on its feet. Julie said, “Don’t write this, but we used to shower in the groom tubs, because we didn’t want to leave the dogs.”

They now employ three daycare workers and two more who work the front of the store, along with the groomers. What’s the best part of running a small business? “Getting close to your staff. They become family. Getting to know the dog families, following them through their lives. My life has been so enriched by the dogs and their owners.” The hardest thing about small business? “Watching employees move on. Losing families who relocate, being present as dogs become ill or reach the end of their lives.”

We talked about Beth, a beagle mix who was the queen mother of Bubble & Bark. “When she died, it changed the energy here. The earth shifted. And I miss her and her owner to this day.” Then there are the dogs like Cooper Simmons, who’ve recovered from serious illness, the dog whose owner left and never came back, and our beloved Ham Haberman, who we all wanted to adopt when her owner Jeremy Haberman passed away. Loving dogs is not on the job application, but I’m betting it’s one of Julie and Kelly’s top requirements when they hire staff.

Ferndale is a dog-friendly town. The dog-care business is expanding. I asked Julie about the competition: our new dog park, other day care facilities. She is glad people are investing in their dog’s care.

“Every business offers something different. I think we all can survive.” She acknowledges the challenge of trying to “remain a small business without losing the edge you need to survive.” Mostly, she talked about the joy of being a part of the dog community. “This business, the dogs and people, saved me (during tough times). They consume 95 per cent of my life and I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Visit Bubble & Bark, celebrating ten years of tender loving care for dogs in Ferndale. Ask for Julie. You and your dogs will love her as much as we do.

Bubble & Bark is located at 686 Livernois, Ferndale 248-544.9244 (WAGG)

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