3 minute read
You Can Do WHAT With a Biology Degree?
DC-Based Alumnus Publishes “The Ultimate Guide to Running With Your Dog”
By Aaron Claycomb
With just $40 worth of flyers and a single pair of tennis shoes, Bryan Barrera, BA ’09, embarked on his canine running venture. In 2013, after competing in the Dallas Marathon and reading about a dog runner in Chicago, he launched Dallas Dog Runner. “I thought, hey, if I could get paid to run, that’s definitely what I want to do,” he recalled. “And obviously, I love dogs.”
Later that year, his family moved to Washington, D.C., where he held a part-time bookkeeping gig and renamed the company, appropriately, D.C. Dog Runner. Within three months, the former Wells Fargo mortgage officer doubled his income. “And after six months, I didn’t look back, and I’ve been running with dogs full time in some capacity ever since,” he said.
Overwhelmed with the exhausting routine of daily appointments and too few dog runners aboard, Barrera convinced his wife, Suzanne Marie, BA ’07, to help with the business. “Once she stepped in,” he continued, “that allowed me to really focus on the operations and other facets.”
Waggin’ Success
In surveying and researching the niche dog running market, Barrera explained, “Everybody has a yard in Texas, so there’s not this big, robust market for dog running. But in D.C., it’s so much a part of the culture because people live closer together in smaller spaces, and they still need to get their dogs out.”
The Ultimate Guide to Running With Your Dog: Tips and Techniques for Understanding Your Canine’s Fitness and Running Temperament was released in mid-March and is available from Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Target and more. A comprehensive how-to guide for outdoor companion runners, the book weaves together personal experience with practical assessment and instruction, with topics ranging from the best terrains and running with multiple dogs to the best collars and leashes for active dogs, and what to do if your dog gets injured.
Bryan Barrera, BA '09, graduated with a biology degree but is now a successful entrepreneur and author in Washington, D.C.
This marks the seventh year of D.C. Dog Runner. As of today, more than a dozen dog runners and about 60 dogs help make up the company's roster. “As far as running and operating a dog-running business, in some instances I definitely get that I’m like a glorified dog walker,” said Barrera. “But my entrepreneurial success is proof you can do great things from humble beginnings.
Barrera recalled of his time as a UD student, “All the writing I had to do was just like pulling teeth, but I definitely came out well-rounded.” A biology major who envisioned himself one day working in the health care field, he said, “I knew pretty early on that wasn’t me.
Unwilling to forgo his family obligations, he said, “I wasn’t going to stop being Dad because I was writing a book. My goal was always to understand that my career is subordinate and subservient to my family. … I have a business to build,” added the father of five, “but I also have a family that needs Cheerios.”
Beyond Biology
“I was the first in my family to graduate from college,” added Barrera, who is particularly grateful to his mother for inspiring his intended pursuit of medicine and decision to ultimately attend UD. “My mom was a nurse and was super influential, because without her I wouldn’t even know about the University of Dallas,” he said.
Although Barerra pursued a career outside of health care, he completed his biology degree at UD. He continued: “I still have my liberal arts degree. I still took the Core. I still learned a lot of different things that other biology majors don’t have.”
Crediting his wife foremost, Barrera paused briefly, sharing acknowledgments from the book. “Thank you to the University of Dallas,” he said. “You turned me into a writer after all.”
Do you have an alumni-owned business? Like D.C. Dog Runner, register your business on our nationwide Alumni Business Directory at udallas.edu/alumni-portal.
