"Do not just be a “dreamer”. If you have a good idea and you believe it can work, be a doer”
Josep M Ribas, Founder Dog Day Camp Cabrils
Josep M Ribas is the founder of Dog Day Camp in Cabrils and (in his own words) the luckiest husband and father. He was raised and has lived in Cabrils for nearly his entire life and says that feels very fortunate and proud about that. Josep is also a former lawyer .
Dog Day Camp takes care of more than 120 dogs along the week. Here’s his story:
The earliest childhood memory growing up in Cabrils would probably be me sitting at the terrace of my parent’s house hugging or playing with one of the many dogs we had.
I think the most misunderstood trait about Catalans is that we are tight-fisted, but we are not like that at all!! 🙂
I love that in Maresme I am close to the sea and the mountains – that is definitely a great bonus. If you add the good climate all year around, voilà!!
I met my wife at school, Escoles Betlem in Premià de Dalt, when we were 3 years old. We became best best friends since we were 14 years old. We spent hours talking on the phone after school every day, with our parents complaining about the phone bills at the time! We have been living together for 19 years now, but dating for 25. I guess the secret for a long partnership is to never stop being best friends and laugh as much as we can, besides of loving each other, obviously. We know each other very, very well and that is also very important.
What I love most about being a dad is seeing our daughter Olivia grow and realizing how much she has inherited from her mom and from me in the way she is, sometimes it is like seeing her mom in her, and sometimes she acts just like me (a little crazy!). It’s amazing and so funny.
I became a lawyer because my great grandfather founded a Real Estate company in Barcelona back in the 40’s. I was meant to be the 4th generation running the business. None of the previous generations had studied Law, but I decided to go for it to be well prepared. Right before taking over the company after my father, things got twisted with the 2008 Real Estate crisis, and I decided to quit.
Being a lawyer meant taking home and worrying about clients’s problems, and the stress of the trials, but I’m not that kind of “battling” person.
After being a lawyer I worked for a logistics and communication agency managing automotive events throughout Europe. One day at the office someone sent me a video of a guy in Oregon, who decided to set up a dog day care service with his tiny little car. In the video you could see how happy he was, and how happy the dogs and their families were. This guy made me feel I was working in something that I probably didn’t love. I felt he had a wonderful job and I thought I could do that too, so I gave it a try.
Dogs have always been special for me. Since I was little there have always been dogs at my parents’ house and they also loved them very much. When I was a baby in a stroller a dog called Black would always walk beside my older sister, my parents and I. As a kid at home, the first dog I can remember was Linda, a german shepherd. My dad loved german shepherds, and we had at least four of them (Tro is in the photo). Then when I moved to live with my wife, we adopted Brownie when she was just 3 weeks old, the sweetest stray dog, she is still the princess of the house at 12 years old!
There are so many good things about running a dog day camp in Cabrils, for example
- having 40 dogs jumping over you trying to kiss you, or coming to you for cuddles is just a GREAT sensation
- knowing that these dogs are having the funnest day of their week along with their friends, and then hearing their parents telling you how nervous they get when the van approaches to pick them up…it’s a great feeling, you realise you are doing something good for them, it’s so rewarding.
Along the way I have learned some imoprtant lessons, and still learn every day.
- do not be afraid to jump out of your comfort zone
- do not just be a “dreamer”. If you have a good idea and you believe it can work, be a “doer”
- don’t give too much importance to what others may say. Step by step and then go for it!
- the path isn’t always easy, trust in yourself and work hard, it will pay off!
If I was 18 years old now, I would tell myself to start studying and working on what I loved as soon as possible. If you don’t like your job, it will consume you slowly. Life is short, give it a try!
Dog Day Camp in Cabrils and is open Monday to Friday. Pick up and drop off from your home.
For more information:
Whatsapp: 633330185
