At 6-foot-1 and 230 pounds, Michael “Scooby” Silva is hard to miss.
When he’s walking 12 dogs, he’s a spectacle.
The affable dog walker is a fixture on the streets of downtown Everett, where he escorts a motley crew of canines about six times a day. Teacup poodles prance alongside hulking Rottweilers in Silva’s furry troupe of a dozen dogs.
“I get a little emotional to see how happy they are,” Silva said. “You see their eyes light up. You see it when they walk in a pack for the first time. It’s like they’ve always wanted to do this.”
Silva, 36, started Scooby’s Dogwalkin in 2012. He welcomes dogs of every kind, including pit bulls, a breed that gets a bad rep for its temperament.
“I don’t think any dog is a bad dog,” Silva said. “They just have a hard time trusting people.”
His intuition is palpable to dog owners, too.
“He’s one of the kindest, sweetest souls ever,” said Gina Coslett, one of Silva’s first clients in 2012.
Coslett initially hesitated to allow her miniature pinscher mix, Duca, to join a pack walk. Her anxiety dispersed after watching Silva with the dogs.
“He’s so gentle, yet he’s in such great control of them,” she said.
Coslett named her newest petite pinscher adoptee Taser Michael, in honor of Silva.
Growing up in Minnesota, Silva’s dream was playing center field for a Major League baseball team. That changed when his arm was severely injured in a car crash at age 18.
Silva job-hopped for years, never landing on the right fit. He was a musician, car salesman, burger flipper, security guard and a call center manager, where a co-worker nicknamed him “Scooby.”
That was the last office job Silva had before being diagnosed with Lyme disease in 2011, a chronic illness from a tick bite that causes joint pain and fatigue.
After the diagnosis, Silva sank into a depression. It’s an almost inconceivable side to a jovial man who answers phone calls in a sing-songy, “Scooby Dooby Doo!” But illness and unemployment took a toll on his mental state.
“Emotionally, it’s difficult. Physically, it’s difficult,” he said.
To pass the time, he began taking a friend’s dogs for walks. The exercise and fresh air relieved the anguish that came with the disease.
“I had an epiphany,” Silva said.
He started Scooby’s Dogwalkin, spreading the word through Facebook and word-of-mouth referrals. He marketed his services to people around his apartment complex, Library Place.
“When I started my business, I had 100 bucks to my name,” Silva said. “There’s always naysayers, but I believed in myself.”
He’s harnessed more than 50 regular clients. He adapted his hours to suit clients’ schedules, such as midnight walks to accommodate nurses and police officers.
“I always tell people the dogs saved my life,” he said.
Amy Willoughby was referred to Silva in 2014. Her Chihuahua, Mieshka, was selective about people, but the tiny dog bonded quickly with Silva.
“When Mike would pick her up, he would say he’s coming to get her for a date,” Willoughby said. “We started referring to it as ‘Mieshka’s dates.’ ”
Despite her skittish nature, the Chihuahua loved walking in packs.
“Of course, I was nervous at first,” Willoughby said. “But she just got right in there with the rest of them.”
Mieshka passed away in November 2016. Silva was there during her last hours.
“He sat on the couch and cried with me,” Willoughby said. “He’s the only person who we saw that day besides my husband. He was the person that we wanted to see in our saddest moment.”
She now has two dogs, Phoenix, a Rottweiler, and Mr. Chunky Chowder, a Chihuahua. Willoughby, a field biologist, is often away on research trips. She credits Silva for being able to make those trips.
“There’s points in our lives where we get so busy that it wouldn’t be fair to a pet if we didn’t have Mike,” Willoughby said. “He’s never called in sick. He’s never left me hanging.”
She and other dog owners receive cellphone pictures of the pets from Silva during every walk.
Silva isn’t a fair-weather dog walker. He bundles up himself — and the pack — in cold weather. The dogs wear sweaters. This month he can be seen in a Santa hat and a faux white beard.
He’s much happier juggling leashes than phone calls. His girlfriend, Alexis Prudnick, is his business partner.
The couple met in 2015. Prudnick approached Silva during one of his walks. When she asked for his business card, Silva assumed that she was interested in his services.
“I’m pretty much oblivious when people are flirting with me,” Silva said.
She called the following day and asked him out to lunch.
Prudnick, 25, a graphic design graduate, created a line of Scooby T-shirts that Silva wears on walks. She manages the business from their apartment with the help of 5-year-old daughter, Rose.
“I’m convinced that Rose thought that she was a dog before she started kindergarten,” Silva said.
Their furry playmates won’t be within paw’s length for much longer. Silva plans to open a full-fledged doggy daycare facility.
Silva said he keeps his prices low to be fair to every class of dog owners. The cost for a 30-minute walk is $14, daycare is $25 and overnight care is $35.
“Everyone should be able to have a dog,” he said.
Silva and Prudnick are a notable exception. They don’t have any pets of their own.
“I’m too busy taking care of everybody else’s,” he said.
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