About Us

Dog Gone Walking is the leader of the pack with pets in our community. We are committed to enriching the lives of people and animals through compassionate and professional care, exercise, and education. We offer reliable, trusted, and quality pet care for our busy clients in and around the Main Line and continue to educate pet parents and future potential pet-owners of all ages about the importance of being kind, caring and respectful.

Meet Ilene

Ilene Wellner’s Dog Gone Walking was created out of a natural extension of her activities and a desire to fill a need for pet owners, future pet owners, and companion animals in her own community and beyond. Dog Gone Walking strives to remove the stress and worry from pet parenting and inspire you and your pets to reach your greatest potential and live a happy, joy-filled life together.

Ilene is a lifelong animal lover with strong compassion and empathy for other people and animals. She resides in Wynnewood, PA with her husband, two children and three rescued dogs. Ilene understands the valuable role that companion animals play in our lives; they are important members of our families who bring us love, laughter, security, companionship and joy. This is why she took things further with her two rescued dogs, and is proud that Luna and Murray both passed tests to be certified therapy dogs. Over the years they have visited many schools and libraries, educating children and helping to build their confidence. Visits with dogs shine like a ray of sunshine and brighten the days of many individuals. Her third dog, George, is a puppy mill rescue adopted from 1 Love 4 Animals during the covid-19 quarantine and he is adjusting nicely. We look forward to him following in his canine siblings footsteps to be an ambassador for rescue dogs.

Ilene grew up on the Main Line in Wynnewood with her parents, two sisters, dogs and other pets including guinea pigs, fish, and hermit crabs in the household. After attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison she returned to the Philadelphia area to work in the travel and marketing industries for many years. Throughout the years of “work” Ilene logged countless miles walking daily with dogs – consistently for more than 15 years. Early mornings prior to work and then again in the evening was time spent walking with her own dogs, helping friends, neighbors, and the homeless with local rescues and shelters. After the death of her own very special canine companion, Mickey, she began volunteering with Main Line Animal Rescue, PAWS (Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society), lending her voice to the ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), studying dog behavior, and creating events in the community to raise badly needed shelter supplies, funds, and awareness for the plight of homeless animals.

My Pack

Our Philosophy

It is our philosophy that each and every animal under our care and family we work with is unique and special. We will define your needs and tailor a plan to achieve your goals and objectives. We will get to know you, your pets and their habits very well. Some will thrive on individual attention, others may benefit from walking with a buddy, while others may appreciate and benefit from extra romping and playtime. All of our companion animals appreciate a calm, assertive leader who provides them with consistent exercise, discipline, and lots of TLC. Your dog’s happiness, safety and comfort are our top priority.

Giving Back– Volunteering and inspiring others to do the same is a part of the Dog Gone Walking culture. When Ilene is not with her own family or your pets you will most likely find her creating opportunities and events in the community to raise awareness, funds and supplies for those in need and empowering young people with the knowledge, guidance and confidence to use their voice and individual talents to affect positive change.

Please contact Ilene and Dog Gone Walking if you, your school, your club or your business are interested in participating in future events, hosting a supplies drive, would like to schedule a humane education lesson or you would like to discuss volunteering your time for an event or on an ongoing basis with a local shelter or rescue group.

Areas Served

Serving the Main Line and Havertown.

We are currently serving families in:

Wynnewood
Ardmore
Haverford
Narberth
Penn Valley
Bala Cynwyd
Bryn Mawr
Gladwyne
Merion
Belmont Hills
Havertown

If your city is not listed please call us to check availability.

Educational programs are available in Montgomery County, Delaware County, and Philadelphia.

Reasons To Choose A Professional

Why Choose Dog Gone Walking?

It’s our style and commitment that sets us apart. Meet us and you will see. There’s Always Something To Wag About, that’s our motto and we encourage you to adopt it too. Go ahead – start today, it just makes you feel good. We believe that we and our clients are fortunate to live in a wonderful community with the opportunity to share our lives with these amazing companion animals, and we are dedicated to preserving this very special human/animal bond.

We love what we do, that’s why we’re doing it, and it shows. We are caring, capable, kind, compassionate, respectful and there when you need us. We are pet parents ourselves, have a lot of stamina, and years of positive dog handling experience with various breeds. We are professionals committed to acting as calm, assertive pack leaders; we consistently welcome opportunities to continue our training and education to benefit you and your pets. We will not disappoint you. Don’t just take our word for it, hear what some of our clients are saying about us.

Giving your dog daily exercise is a must. Walking and running allow your dog to get the exercise he or she needs to stay healthy, fit and live a longer, higher quality life. Additional benefits include weight control, relief of boredom and anxiety, and increasing mental stimulation. Veterinarians agree that regular exercise and play is one of the most important things you can do for your dog.

You may not realize it, but teaching and reinforcing obedient commands like “sit,” “stay,” “heel” and “come” can actually help to build a dog’s self confidence and reduce stress. By reinforcing the training during the walk, Dog Gone Walking adds more personal attention and mental stimulation that will help your dog adapt better in social situations.

With all things considered, it’s clear that a regular dog walking program can improve the overall well being of your dog.

Benefits to your pet include:

Staying at home in his/her safe, secure environment is where dogs feel most comfortable.
Being surrounded by familiar sights, smells and sounds keeps most dogs happy.
Following his/her regular diet and exercise routine is best.
Having playtime and receiving love and personal attention from an individual dedicated to his health, happiness and well being is beneficial.
Maintaining medical treatment, when required, by an individual dedicated to the care of your pet.
Having a familiar professional responsible in case of an emergency.
Eliminating the trauma of travel or an unfamiliar environment.
Ensuring good health (no exposure to other animals’ illness or parasites.)

Benefits to you include:

Knowing that your pet is in caring, loving hands.
Having the confidence that we can deal with other issues – such as grooming, vet visits, training, and having the ability to notice anything out of the ordinary.
Eliminating the trauma of transporting and leaving your pet.
Not having to impose on family, friends or neighbors.
Home security. Your home is more secure with someone going in and out, looking lived in.
Schedule your service anywhere with our app.
Easy communication through our portal/app with notes and photos at the completion of every visit.
We are insured, bonded and qualified to care for your home and your pets.