When we talk about running a business, we usually talk about revenue models, staffing, square footage, and growth plans. We talk about work. What we don’t always talk about is emotional work. The phone calls you don’t charge for. The time spent listening instead of billing. The moments when you’re not really running a business so much as helping someone through a rough chapter.

Running a business can be really hard. But — hey — life is hard. If you need something to help you cope: Why not a furry friend. You might meet your next pet at Meow Woof Animal Collective. 

Alex Pitre is the executive director and co-founder of Meow Woof. It’s a café and adoption center designed specifically for animals who have lost their people due to hospice care, medical emergencies, death, or relocation. These are animals who often struggle in traditional shelter environments and need time, calm, and consistency to reconnect.

Alex is originally from Opelousas and spent a decade living in New York City, where she built a career working remotely in tech. In 2019, she came back to Louisiana to help her parents relocate — and discovered that returning home didn’t feel temporary.

Alex has always done animal rescue work, but after coming back to Acadiana, she began feeling disconnected from her local community. Brainstorming with friends led her to an idea that combined two long-standing passions: animals and hospitality.

Self-care is health care. And that’s true for dogs too. If your pup needs a glam-up, Traci Pecot can help. She’s the owner and founder of Paws and PawPaws, a pet daycare and grooming center here in Lafayette. 

Traci moved to Lafayette in 2005 after graduating from the University of Holy Cross with a degree in marketing. Her early career was spent in healthcare and hospice-adjacent work, followed by corporate sales. The idea for Paws and PawPaws had been in Traci’s mind for years, but it wasn’t until a restructuring at her company that she decided to act on it. Traci traveled the country visiting dog daycare and boarding facilities, earned industry certifications, and opened Paws and PawPaws in 2017.

Today, the business employs more than twenty people and serves thousands of clients through boarding, grooming, and daycare. But one of its quieter roles has become something else entirely: a place where seniors who can no longer own pets can still spend time with animals. You can hear the background to those early years in this 2019 conversation with Traci.

Out to Lunch is recorded live over lunch at Tsunami Sushi in downtown Lafayette.You can find photos from this show by Alisha Zachery Lazard at itsacadiana.com.

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