Hi, I’m Stacey.

(The Full Story)

I’ve spent most of my life being the person you can trust with things that matter.

For more than 30 years, I worked alongside my family in the global explosives demolition industry. It was an unusual way to grow up and an even more unusual career, but it taught me lessons that have followed me everywhere: pay attention to the details, prepare thoroughly, keep your word, and take responsibility for what’s been entrusted to you.

Explosives demolition is as much an art as it is a science. Precision and discipline matter, certainly, but so do careful observation and an appreciation for subtlety. No two structures are exactly alike. You learn to look closely, understand what is in front of you, and never assume that what worked somewhere else will work here.

By my mid-twenties, years of physically demanding work had taken a considerable toll. The surgeries being recommended weren’t realistic options at my age, and the conventional answer being offered in the meantime was to manage the pain with medication.

That wasn’t an answer I was willing to accept, so I went looking for another way. Yoga and massage changed my life.

Years later, float therapy did something remarkably similar for Bob, my life partner, who had lived with chronic back pain since breaking his back in three places at age 19.

Those experiences led us to create Truth Mind & Body, a 6,000-square-foot wellness center in Sparks, Maryland.

And there, I discovered that same principle all over again. No two people are exactly alike.

For nearly a decade, taking care of people meant paying attention to the individual in front of us: their history, circumstances, needs, and reasons for walking through our doors.

As that chapter began drawing to a close, I found myself contemplating the next adventure.

I wanted work that was personal and useful. I wanted to spend less time behind a desk and more time actually doing.

And there was one constant that had followed me through every chapter of my life.

Animals.

I’ve quite literally never known life without one.

Beanie, my father’s quirky little Terrier, was the first animal to greet me when I came home from the hospital. When I was nine, our Border Collie, Lady Annabelle du Bois, came into our lives. To us, she was simply Annie. To me, she was my childhood best friend and fiercely devoted protector.

Childhood also brought mice, snakes, fish, birds, turtles, and myriad other rescued critters into my life. College brought bunnies, two iguanas, and apparently no inclination whatsoever to narrow the field.

Cats entered my life around 18 and never left.

They fit a life that eventually involved a great deal of travel and, more importantly, meant I never had to contemplate life without an animal. A more than colorful succession of felines have shared my adult years, culminating, at least for the moment, with Annie Sue, the current ruler of my household.

I have never thought of myself as a pet owner - I’ve been a mother.

(well, let’s face it...when you live with cats, you’re a servant.)

So, Why Haven?

Because Haven grew out of more than my love of animals.

It grew out of the way I’m wired.

I’m drawn to precision, structure, discipline, and organization. Details matter to me. Systems make sense to me. Order, perhaps more than is strictly necessary, brings me considerable satisfaction.

Some might call that highly organized. People who know me well might employ slightly more colorful language.

Give me a problem, and I want to solve it. Give me a dozen moving parts, and my instinct is to bring order to them. And when I tell someone I’ll take care of something, I take care of it.

That matters when you’re trusting me with an errand.

It matters considerably more when you’re trusting me with your home.

And it matters enormously when you’re trusting me with an animal you love.

That’s the standard behind Haven.

I created Haven for people whose lives don’t always fit neatly into a list of services. Sometimes you need someone to feed the cat. Sometimes you need someone to get the dog to the groomer, check the house while you’re away, stock the refrigerator before you return, or handle the dozen little things conspiring to eat your Tuesday alive.

Sometimes you simply need another capable person you trust.

I wanted Haven to be that, and more.

And I’m extraordinarily selective about the people I invite to do it alongside me.

I’m interested in character: maturity, judgment, resourcefulness, reliability, common sense, and kindness. People who pay attention. People who remain composed when something unexpected happens. People who take the initiative to do what needs to be done.

People I trust.

And now, at Haven, the same principle applies once again. No two households are exactly alike.

Every home has its own rhythms, routines, priorities, people, and animals. Taking care of them well means paying attention to what makes this household different from every other one.

Different chapters. Very different work. But the lesson has remained remarkably consistent throughout my life:

Pay attention. Understand what is in front of you. Respect the details.

They matter.

And whether you entrust Haven with your pets, your home, or simply some part of life that could benefit from another capable pair of hands, I want you to be able to hand it over, continue with your day, and know:

We’ve got it covered.

That’s Haven.