Our Story & Our Team

Our Story

Welcome to Toby Town RVA!

Nestled within the vibrant city of Richmond, Virginia lies a town where dogs feel safe to be themselves and dog parents find peace of mind. It’s a colorful town meant to evoke smiles from the moment you drop your dog off at our town to the joyous moment you reunite. But don’t be fooled by the whimsical design, because it’s pawtrolled by professionals dedicated to providing a safe, stimulating, fear-free environment to each furry visitor who chooses to spend time within our borders.
Toby Town was founded on the ideals of a fur kid and his dog parent: Toby and Gloria. Smart, funny, loyal, loving, and brave, Toby was a delightful dapple Dachshund who Gloria felt could’ve been the star of his own series of storybooks. He captured his mom’s heart and soul, but he passed over the Rainbow Bridge far too soon. Turns out Toby inspired something larger than a storybook — he inspired an entire dog town.

“Toby Town was founded on the belief that every dog that comes through our
doors is somebody’s Toby. That’s the start of every story at Toby Town.
Each day, our team members strive to be the hero of your dog’s Toby Town story. “

The setting of our story is our building, remodeled from the ground up to ensure the brightest, safest, most accommodating, dog-centric facility we could create for our furry guests. Our mascot, Little T McWeen, who you see in our logo, reminds us that the happiness of our canine guests must be at the heart of everything we do. Little T welcomes you from the outside as well as throughout our building. Try to find him in every room.

Within the walls of Toby Town, we work with these common themes from our story:

Respect Yourself
Respect Each Other
Respect Our Town
Respect Our Guests (Dogs and Humans)

The story of our town is being written daily by those of us who flourish within its borders. We would love for you to become part of our story. We will meet you at the Hound Town Square and let you know how to become a part of our ‘tail’.

More About Us

Dog Gurus

The owners of Toby Town RVA are proud to have completed The Dog Gurus business consulting and training course. This course, which is hosted by fellow pet care business owners, provided our team with the tools needed to help us succeed and provide the quality standard of care and service that RVA pet owners deserve. Learn more about this training program at thedoggurus.com.

Our Facility

Our newly reimagined and renovated 6,700 square-foot space has been planned specifically to welcome dogs of all ages and stages. The talented team at Evans Construction collaborated with us since the days when Toby Town was just a dream. Through hard work, ingenuity, and creativity, they’ve transformed an office building into a premier dog facility.
The paint is barely dry on Phase One of our construction project and we are already planning Phase Two. When you come and take a tour, look for these pawsome features:

Our pet-friendly floors throughout the facility are sturdy, safe, and designed with eco-friendly material to keep the rooms bacteria-free. Combined with our carefully-placed floor drainage system, we will be able to keep our facility clean, shiny and slip-resistant for your pets.
The walls of our facility and those inside our accommodations are made of a material called FRP. FRP is scratch, stain, moisture, and chew resistant. The antimicrobial surface is easy-to-clean and sanitize — plus inhibits the spread of germs or bacteria.
The FRP inside our enclosures utilize the Fear-Free coloring system. Besides looking great, the softer, lighter colors can be soothing to animals and lessen their fear and stress levels. Read more about the research behind Fear-Free colors at fearfreepets.com
Our accommodations have been designed and custom-built by the Mason Company, the industry–leading designer of animal enclosures.
When you have a chance, look through their website and learn about all the ways Mason Enclosures are designed with your pets in mind. Mason President Greg Taylor produces webinars and speaks at seminars to advocate for better standards in the pet care industry. Mason Company is proud to be a RACE Approved Provider.
We are proud to use Kinn Kleanbowls at feeding time. These bowls are germ free and biodegradable, keeping both our pets and our environment safe. Kinn is an IBPSA-endorsed company (as is Toby Town).
Our colorful play equipment was built specifically for Toby Town by the great folks at puppyplayground.com. This durable dog-centric equipment promotes physical exercise, mental stimulation and social interaction. The rainbow colors also brighten up our town.
The fabulous murals that adorn our building were created for us by local artists from the Painted Garden. These nice, smart, creative, professional folks were willing to work with us collaboratively to create a vision of what the face of our town should look like. Learn more at paintedgarden.com.
ForeverLawn by the Bay has installed new, high-tech K-9 Grass in all our play yards.
And check out our wonderfully smooth parking lot and driveway thanks to Edward Smith Paving!

Our Team

Toby Town RVA All The Way!
The folks at Toby Town RVA are a Team in every sense of the word. Team Toby Town is made up of smart, hard-working, self-managing people who share a common love for dogs. We are always training and bettering ourselves so we can anticipate and meet the needs of our pet parents and fur kids. We strive to make your visit to Toby Town the best it can be. Our Team recognizes that everyone walking through our doors is part of the Story of Toby. They have a Toby of their own, deserving of respect, care, and love. Our clients trust us to be the Hero of their story. It is this trust and our commitment to honorable service that makes us so proud of what we do here.

Meet Our Team

Gloria

Owner/Operator
The “top dog” and Mayor McWeen of Toby Town,
Gloria is always picking up strays (both four-legged
and two-legged). Originally from Brooklyn, she now
calls RVA her home and is best described as a pack
leader, den mother, and most of all, cheerleader
for all things related to fur babies!

Kelly

Manager
Kelly has never met a dog she didn’t love. Not only
does she bake the world’s best brownies, she is
also a rock star mom to her pup, Ziggy Wiggles. Last
but not least, she’s the design guru behind Toby Town!

Tom

Manager
When he’s not playing with his three adopted fur
babies – Darla, Luna and Opie – Tom loves to play video games and
build Star Wars ships out of Legos. A former New Yorker,
he remains a die-hard Yankees fan, but he also loves
exploring his new hometown of Richmond.

Merlyn

Pet Care Coordinator
Merlyn has dedicated her life to rescuing greyhounds
(and sometimes non-greyhounds) and is a true dog
lover. Sometimes referred to as “the little red engine
that could,” she’s also an American Ninja Warrior
Super Fan and will work for food (good thing we
provide our team with snacks!).