Leslie Filippelli-DiManna ’92MBA has gone from being a college dean to a canine chauffeur — a job where every workday is the ‘best day ever.’
Filippelli-DiManna is the owner of The Doggie Bus, which provides pet transportation for daycare stays, grooming appointments, veterinarian visits, and other needs. You can call it an ‘Uber for dogs,’ but it’s more than a side hustle for the Bryant alum and former adjunct professor of Management, whose resume also includes stints as a dean at the Community College of Rhode Island and the American Public University System’s Wallace E. Boston School of Business, a fundraiser, and president of a foundation supporting the work of visiting nurses.
“I used to say to my students all the time that in your lifetime you have seven to eight careers, not jobs,” says Filippelli-DiManna. “I think this is probably my seventh career, and hopefully the last one.”
A pet owner since childhood, Filippelli-DiManna’s Smithfield home is a virtual menagerie filled with dogs, cats, goats, reptiles, and other “exotics.”
“This is my happy place, and I just didn't want to do the corporate and office politics anymore,” she explains. “Life is just too short to not be happy. Animals are adorable, they’re fun, and normally they don't answer back.”
“This is my happy place, and I just didn't want to do the corporate and the office world anymore. Animals are adorable, they’re fun, and normally they don't answer back.”
A recent visit to Bryant by Filippelli-DiManna and three of her passengers — Daisy Mae, a "chorkie," or chihuahua-yorkie mix; the King Charles Spaniel, Clarice; and Opie the "schnoodle" (a schnauzer-poodle hybrid) — affirmed her assertion that the mere sight of the yellow-painted, pawprint-adorned Doggie Bus is a source of joy for anyone passing by, including college students.
“It makes everyone smile,” she says. “I was at a red light and a car pulled up with this little boy who was about four years old. His eyes got really big, and you could tell he was telling his mom that there were dogs in the Doggie Bus, and how cool it is.”
The Doggie Bus is the first of its kind in Rhode Island, although not the country. Filippelli-DiManna first learned of the concept through online videos.
“I jokingly said that has to be the best job ever, and then I thought, why can’t I do that,” she recalls. “There’s a need for it here, and nobody was doing it.”
To launch the Doggie Bus, Filippelli-DiManna bought a used 12-passenger van, did some minor dog-friendly customization, and had it wrapped in eye-catching graphics, including images of dogs (her own and those belonging to family members) peering out the windows.
“In three months, I went from, ‘Hey, this is a good idea’ to, ‘Oh, look, I'm on the road,’” she says.
“In three months, I went from, ‘Hey, this is a good idea’ to, ‘Oh, look, I'm on the road.'"
Customers can book trips using the Doggie Bus mobile app. “Everything is done through a QR code, just like you were booking an Uber ride,” she says. “You load your pet’s information, including vaccination records, and then tell me where to pick up and where they're going. I just show up: you don't have to be home, as long as you tell me how to access the house.”
For all her long and varied work history, The Doggie Bus is Filippelli-DiManna’s first venture into the world of entrepreneurship.
“It’s like jumping off a cliff, but that's okay. I love the idea of creating things,” she says. Thanks in part to her Bryant MBA, however, Filippelli-DiManna is hardly flying blindly. “Strategic planning, marketing, budgeting, finance,” she says, ticking off the elements of her education and experience that she’s been able to pour into her new business. “There's nothing like a Bryant education.”
The launch of The Doggie Bus coincides with the start of the school year, which Filippelli-DiManna, who also holds a doctorate in business administration from Walden University, expects to be good for business.
“Families can use this service so that it eases things a bit. It's crazy when the kids are back to school. You're trying to get to work. The dog needs to get to daycare. You don't want them sitting in the house for 10 hours.”
For some customers, the transportation service is a nice alternative to breaking up a day for an errand like bringing the dog to the groomer. Some customers book The Doggie Bus when they’re on vacation. The service also can serve as emergency backup, “for example if your flight is delayed and you need to get the dog out of the kennel,” Filippelli-DiManna says.
Equipped with restraints and harnesses, The Doggie Bus is capable of transporting up to a dozen pets at a time. Filippelli-DiManna queries owners about their pet’s disposition, and the bus carries booster seats and other gear to allow pets to be separated from each other, when necessary.
“I know other companies will crate them to transport them. I do not,” says Filippelli-DiManna. “They have freedom as if they are with their family. They are family when they come on the bus.”
There’s an initial adjustment period for pet passengers on The Doggie Bus, but Filippelli-DiManna says the animals tend to adapt quickly. “They soon learn that they're going to a happy place, and they get to see their friends on the bus,” she says.
Filippelli-DiManna is leaning heavily on social media, word of mouth, and outreach to veterinarians, groomers, pet daycares, and assisted living facilities to promote her business. And, of course, The Doggie Bus itself is a rolling advertisement.
“To me, this is perfect: freedom plus responsibility. It’s what I want to do,” she says. “It’s been a lot of stress getting started, but the feedback I've gotten so far has been very positive.
“Everybody loves to see The Doggie Bus come down the road. People are excited, and they want to know what it is. I think there's a real need out there, and we're going to be busy.”