Roaming Rovers wasn’t just for breeding — it was a little bit of everything for every kind of dog!
Joanne Pullin founded and established Roaming Rovers in 2005 starting as a small dogsitting business. Over time, Roaming Rovers grew to offer not just doggy daycare, but in-home boarding, grooming, breeding, hikes, pet supplies, and more!
Before Roaming Rovers
Before Roaming Rovers was established in 2005, working with dogs has always been a part of Joanne’s life. Since childhood, Joanne always knew she’d want a career with animals. After high school, she decided to enrol in university to become a veterinarian, but ultimately decided to pursue community development.
In the 1990’s, Joanne and her then-partner co-operated a K-9 security company servicing private contracts within the HRM. From there, she helped breed Golden Retrievers.
Maggi was born to the first Golden Retriever litter in Joanne’s care in 1998. She was energetic, well-behaved, and a true best friend. Together, Maggi and Joanne trained in obedience, flyball and agility, resulting in many awards under Maggi’s name.
Maggi had her first litter of puppies March 7, 2002. One female puppy named Brooks was kept from this litter. Brooks underwent surgery a couple years after and unfortunately crossed the rainbow bridge sooner than anticipated.
While working a full-time job, Joanne often received requests to dog-sit for friends and neighbours. After some time and experience in hosting fur friends at her home, Joanne decided to establish her business alongside her day job, and Roaming Rovers was born!
Breeding
Joanne helped with breeding and birthing Golden Retriever puppies as early as the late 1990’s and is still active to this day.
Maggi was Joanne’s first Golden Retriever. She went on to have three litters. With many successes in flyball and agility competitions, she was very active and put the “retrieve” in “Golden Retriever”! She was Joanne’s best friend, never leaving her side. She passed peacefully in 2014 at the age of 16.
Brooks, Maggi’s daughter, joined the family in 2002. She passed a couple years later due to surgery complications, and did not bear any puppies. Brooks was a beloved and wonderful doggy who is dearly missed.
Sydney and Sadie joined the Roaming Rovers crew in 2007. The two were twins, born to one of Maggi’s sons.
Sydney was very athletic and loved to hike. She had three litters of Golden Retrievers. A couple years after her retirement, she was adopted by a family with children who loved to play with her! She crossed the rainbow bridge in 2022 at the age of 15.
Sadie was extremely gentle and was the best cuddler. She had three litters. In her older age, she was adopted by a farmer. Sadie got to live a relaxing and happy life until she passed away peacefully in 2018.
Moxie, born to Sydney was born in October 2011. She is fun-loving, athletic, and loves to cuddle. She was kept as a family dog in Joanne’s home, and now lives with a beautiful family in Bedford who loves and adores her very much.
Crosby was born in 2012, in Pittsburgh, PA, and is Joanne’s first Golden Retriever born outside of Canada. His lineage is of Scottish decsent as a 4th generation to Skye Bluebrae of Bluebrae’s Kennel in Scotland. He loves to play with toys and is often spotted carrying a ball or stuffy in his mouth. With his amazing temperment and stature, he was entered into many CKC competitions, leading him to become a CKC champion showdog. He has fathered many litters and is still actively breeding.
Reba was born in 2017, in Fruitport, MI. She is small, but mighty! She loves to stay active, play with toys, and give the best cuddles. She recently retired in 2022, and is happily relaxing.
Ruaridith (pronounced “Rory”) is a gorgeous Scottish girl, born in Scotland in 2017. She has a lovely bright golden coat with a distinctive hairline down her nose. Ruaridith is very active, and loves to hike and play!
Lucy is the youngest Golden staying on-site with Joanne, and was born in 2020. She is gentle, kind, and has a fluffy coat just like her dad, Crosby. Lucy is expected to breed soon after she passes her testing and certifications.
Orla is Lucy’s twin sister and lives off-site with Olivia. Olivia and her family give Orla lots of love and a beautiful home to live! She is also expected to breed soon, once her testing and certifications are passed.
Also in 2020, Kelly and Odin were born in Detroit, MI. They are both active and fun-loving, and live off-site with their families.
Mac and Molly were born in 2021 at Roaming Rovers. They are both gorgeous, fluffy, and well-tempered, living off-site with their families.
Daycare & Boarding
Daycare and boarding services were the first pillars to Roaming Rovers’ success. As business picked up, Joanne picked up Roaming Rovers as her primary job, eventually offering grooming and pet supplies.
Roaming Rovers’ staff grew, helping to manage the many tasks that came with the hard work of running a successful doggy daycare! On top of the daily cleanups, feeding, and regular exercising, hiking was a huge aspect to the daily life at Roaming Rovers – and the dogs loved it!
Roaming Rovers became known for accepting all types of dog temperments. With proper safety protocols and Joanne’s many years of training in handling difficult and/or aggressive dogs, Roaming Rovers ensured and prioritized the best enviornment possible for all dogs to enjoy.
Business grew to the point that Roaming Rovers’ in-home facilities weren’t large enough to keep up with the many incoming booking requests. In order to grow, a new garage was built, complete with indoor kennels, air conditioning, and an outdoor run.
In September 2019, Roaming Rovers closed its doors. Having picked up a new career path, Joanne was unable to manage Roaming Rovers to it’s fullest capacity, and decided to pursue her new career in publishing. After many requests from regular clients and friends, it was decided that Roaming Rovers would re-open in December 2019 under a team of three managers; instead of Joanne managing the company by herself, former staff members Olivia and Beth stepped up to become co-managers, as well!
In March 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic landed in North America, affecting people and businesses alike. Roaming Rovers suffered a long-term impact – because people were unable to travel, and work from home was the new norm, there was no longer a demand for daycare or boarding services. As a result, Roaming Rovers had to close its doors once again in April 2021 to everything but breeding.
By the end, Roaming Rovers boasted 27 acres of property where the dogs could exercise and hike with supervision, a large, fenced-in playground at the back of the building, many outdoor runs, and a dedicated, hard-working team of staff that loved and cared for each dog that visited.