All Friends Pet Care, the Reston-area pet sitting company run by lifelong friends Beth Greenberg Cotell and Pam Ahart-Steward, is testing a new service called "Hangout Buddy" that provides extended daytime pet care of three hours or longer.

The expansion comes as the business marks 28 years of operation. Cotell and Ahart-Steward are both 1988 South Lakes High School graduates who met in January 1973, when they were about 3 years old. They spent their childhoods hiking Reston's wooded trails together.

"We would go for nature hikes in the woods and look for signs of tadpoles, squirrels or baby rabbits," Cotell told The Reston Letter. "We thrived in nature, and there was so much around us."

The pair worked together at the Washington Speakers Bureau in Alexandria before launching the pet care business in April 1998. Ahart-Steward had told Cotell about a dream she'd had about pet sitting; they researched the idea and started the company that same month while keeping their day jobs. By Jan. 1, 1999, pet care had become their full-time occupation. The business hit six figures in revenue in its first year, according to the Pet Sitter Confessional podcast.

All Friends Pet Care offers midday dog walks, vacation visits, and overnight stays. Both owners still field client calls and booking requests directly.

The business weathered the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 with help from Small Business Administration loans and future-use gift cards sold to clients. Regular dog-walking customers kept paying their biweekly rates to support the company and its pet sitters. "We wouldn't have made it without them," Ahart-Steward said.

The company has earned Northern Virginia Magazine's Best Pet Care award four consecutive years from 2020 through 2023 and was named a Nextdoor Neighborhood Favorite three years running. Washingtonian magazine recognized the business six times between 2000 and 2019.

Beyond client work, Cotell and Ahart-Steward support Friends of the Fairfax County Animal Shelter, Homeless Animals Rescue Team, Friends of Homeless Animals, and Husky Education and Rescue Team. They participate in events with Reston Town Center and Reston Association.

The Reston Letter profile was written by Chuck Cascio, a former South Lakes teacher and regular contributor to the publication. More information about All Friends Pet Care is available at allfriendspetcare.com.