Meet Amanda Rodriguez: Dog Lover, Seamstress & Chiropractor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Amanda Rodriguez and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Amanda, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
Since I was a little girl I felt like I always had that itch of becoming an entrepreneur. I was in a continuous search for businesses. Every other year I came up to my parents and asked permission to do this or that- baby sitting, baking, selling women cosmetics and/or products, walking dogs, I even learned how to make jewelry to sell at some point. This time around, my inspiration with The Loving Dog bow tie business was our rescued girl Georgia, my lifelong love for dogs and my ongoing spirit to become an entrepreneur.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
The Loving Dog Co is a small business with big plans for the future. We started small with 1-3 single products so we could specialized and make them the best products out there. We also take a lot of pride in looking for materials and styles that wouldn’t be harmful to dogs or other pets in the family. I’m mindful of how aesthetically I want the bow ties to look but also their functionality, durability and low maintenance for the owners.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
We will probably start our day with a good and quick breakfast at Le Petit Paris. No bad morning starts with freshly brew coffee and croissants. Then, definitely we will head out for the beach and spend most of our afternoon there. We will have couple of ice cold beers and delicious coxinhas from the Brazil Deli Market to snack at the beach. Later that night we will either go for a strut by the pier and beach restaurants to have some great sea food. The following days we will do a combination of activities between walking at the Jacksonville Arboretum & Gardens, Hanna Park, visit Springfield District or race some go karts at Autobahn Indoor Speedway.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
The Loving Dog Co has been a collective effort and it wouldn’t have been possible without my tribe. The out pouring of love and support from my entire family: grandparents, aunts, sister, hubby and both of my parents its been overwhelming. This adventure wouldn’t have been possible without my husband Peter that has stayed late and participates not only in the sales of the bow ties, but in the creations of them as well. However, if someone deserves a gold star that would be my mom. She is creative, hard working and always ready to jump in, she has lend me a hand in times of need, but most importantly, she taught me how to sew.

Website: www.thelovingdogco.com
Instagram: the_loving_dog_co
Facebook: The Loving Dog Co

Image Credits
Celeste Burns Photography