About Us

Pasadena Canine Cottage was born out of a wonderful friendship between Vanessa Chekroun and Marina Baktis and their incredible drive for creating a better life for dogs.

It all started inside the rescue world when Marina founded the Mutts &Moms organization. Vanessa soon became very interested in this project and they joined their efforts to save dogs from their destiny to die in shelters. This organization provides necessary care, attention and a loving place until dogs can be adopted. Vanessa and Marina welcomed many dogs who had extreme health conditions and with their passion, time and dedication managed to save and place over six hundred dogs in loving families. Through their work within Mutt&Moms they both gained incredible experience about dogs’ needs.

In 2005, they realized that they needed to take their action a step further. They opened a pet supply store in Pasadena called Paw Boutique in order to provide a space for their adoption events as well as the necessary items needed for dogs and cats to be healthy. Paw Boutique carries products that have been carefully selected for the well-being of our four-legged friends. They are passionate about improving the health of their client’s pet through better nutrition. Paw Boutique offers organic and natural pet food, healthy treats, premium dog and cat food, holistic supplements, chemical free grooming products and pet supplies.
The store quickly became part of the lives of so many pet-friendly people in the community because of its customized service and advice focused on the well-being of the animals.

As part of their bigger plans, Pasadena Canine Cottage, daycare and Boarding kennel was created in 2010. They have designed the facility with their clients and their best friends in mind. In doing so, they have three main criteria – The cleanliness of the facility, the health of your dog, and of course, your dog's happiness. This allows them to give their customers complete peace of mind while they are away. Their kennel offers dogs an opportunity to continually develop and instill great social skills, build confidence and tolerances, and gives your dog a wonderful outlet to exercise and interact. They both treat each dog like their own, making the daycare or boarding experience a positive one. 

Marina and Vanessa have dedicated their whole lives to improving the lives of dogs, and have accomplished to work in the different parts of this field. For them, their cause is not simply a business it is personal! They work every day to help their customers exceed their pets’ basic needs- behavioral, environmental, and nutritional. They both truly believe that happy pets make happy people.