{"id":1269,"date":"2025-10-14T10:52:10","date_gmt":"2025-10-14T10:52:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/1269\/"},"modified":"2025-10-14T10:52:10","modified_gmt":"2025-10-14T10:52:10","slug":"from-childhood-dreams-to-business-reality-how-this-staten-islander-is-creating-a-community-for-dogs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/1269\/","title":{"rendered":"From childhood dreams to business reality: How this Staten Islander is creating a community for dogs"},"content":{"rendered":"

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Jj Forlenza wants to make her credo clear: \u201cI\u2019m not in this for the money. I\u2019m in this for the dogs,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

Forlenza recently launched her own business, blackdog doghaus, a dog daycare center in Tottenville that celebrated its grand opening on Sept. 27. <\/p>\n

Born in 1991, in Medillin, Colombia, she was adopted from an orphanage at the age of six months. Her parents raised her in Annadale, where Forlenza has resided for most of her life. <\/p>\n

As an only child, Forlenza was very close with her parents, Darlene, a homemaker, and Steve, who worked in the tech industry before retiring. <\/p>\n

Forlenza discovered her love of animals at the age of five when she attended summer camp at the Staten Island Zoo, West Brighton. \u201cIt was the greatest thing ever. They would show us the animals and we would do activities. I went until eighth grade, then I became a junior docent of the education program,\u201d Forlenza said. <\/p>\n

As a child, Forlenza loved to draw. \u201cI drew superheroes, cars, people, dogs,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

\"JjJj Forlenza loved dogs since she was a child.family archive<\/p>\n

She dreamed of becoming a veterinarian, a video game designer, and a race car driver. <\/p>\n

After graduating from Tottenville High School, she enrolled at the Fashion Institute of Technology, where she obtained an associate degree in illustration. <\/p>\n

She went on to earn a bachelor\u2019s degree in graphic design at SUNY Empire State University. <\/p>\n

After college, Forlenza struggled with anxiety and depression. \u201cI kind of took a break on everything. I wasn\u2019t ready for a job yet,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

\"JjPictured is Jj Forlenza.family archive<\/p>\n

In 2012, Forlenza adopted a pit bull she named Poopah, fulfilling a childhood dream. \u201cI never had a dog growing up. I always asked my parents for one, but they always gave me an excuse: they had allergies; there was no room, the typical excuses,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

Tragically, Poopah died after getting hit by a car. \u201cShe died in my arms. It was wildly traumatizing,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

In 2014, Forlenza got a job at a Staten Island dog daycare center, Woof and Tails Lodge in Charleston.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"Jj Forlenza recently launched her own business, blackdog doghaus, a dog daycare center in Tottenville that celebrated its grand opening on Sept. 27. family archive<\/p>\n

On the side, Forlenza started two ventures, a pet servicing business that offered dog walking, dog training and pet sitting, and a dog portrait studio, for which she combined her artistic talent and love of dogs. <\/p>\n

Woof and Tails Lodge closed in 2023. \u201cI was pretty devastated when we closed and I lost all of my clients and my dogs, people who were friends and family,\u201d Forlenza said. \u201cAnd I wanted to get that back for us, because we made a community.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI immediately started searching for places to lease and do my own doggy daycare. It took about a year and a half to find a place. I would say I saw 15 places until I found the one that I have now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"JjJj Forlenza recently launched her own business, blackdog doghaus, a dog daycare center in Tottenville that celebrated its grand opening on Sept. 27. family archive<\/p>\n

She named her business \u201cblackdog doghaus\u201d because all three of her own dogs are black. They are: Hachiko, a mutt; Udon, a Brussels Griffon; and Daruk, a Great Dane. But she doesn\u2019t play favorites when it comes to breeds. \u201cI like all kinds of dogs, every breed, every shape, every size,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

\"blackdogInside blackdog doghouse.family archive<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of people think working with dogs is just easy, that you get to play with them all day,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s not the case. It\u2019s a very, very, very hard job.\u201d<\/p>\n

Forlenza has her own philosophy when it comes to being in charge. \u201cI don\u2019t want to be a boss. I want to be a leader, and I want to make sure that I do right by my people,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

\"blackdogPictured is blackdog doghouse.family archive<\/p>\n

What advice does Forlenza have for dog owners? \u201cSocialization is key,\u201d she said. \u201cFor a well-behaved dog, socialize them as soon as you get them. Just do whatever you can to make sure that they experience anything and everything so they\u2019re not afraid of anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Staten Island dogs now have a new place to socialize at blackdog doghaus, where Forlenza and her staff conduct a three-hour interview before accepting a new furry client. \u201cWe want to make sure that the dog is somewhat comfortable with other dogs in a play environment,\u201d she said. \u201cIf they show any aggression, they\u2019re not allowed here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"JjBorn in 1991, in Medillin, Colombia, Jj Forlenza was adopted from an orphanage at the age of six months. Her parents raised her in Annadale, where Forlenza has resided for most of her life. family archive<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t believe that there is any competition in the dog world, whether that\u2019s other dog daycares, whether that\u2019s trainers, whether that\u2019s small businesses for pet supplies, whatever the case is, there are enough dogs to go around,\u201d Forlenza said. \u201cSo I don\u2019t believe that there\u2019s any competition at all. We\u2019re a community. We should just all be helping each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement<\/a> and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and\/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Jj Forlenza wants to make her credo clear: \u201cI\u2019m not in this for the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1270,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[9,24,63,134,136,135],"class_list":["post-1269","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-staten-island","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-staten-island","tag-staten-island-headlines","tag-staten-island-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1269","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1269"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1269\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1270"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}