We had a great visit with Any Bunn, owner of Star Dog Charlotte.  Andy moved to Charlotte in 1991.  He went to UNC Charlotte as a computer science major.  In 1996 when he was at UNCC, he “started working with dogs”.  He had a dog that he did Frisbee shows with and his veterinarian asked him if he could help a young lady out with her dog.  Andy went over and worked with her. She wrote him a check and referred her neighbors.  He got the bug for dog training and the rest is history.

Andy said the most rewarding part of his career is connecting owners and their dog,  “We help dogs with people problems.  Dogs are willing companions with unconditional love and the ultimate team players and they just need a job, an outlet, to have a purpose in life.  We connect people to their dogs with training and all kinds of classes.  We do therapy at the hospital; we do agility training and all types of stuff depending on the breed and the owner.  It’s a broad spectrum so it’s hard to focus in on one specific characteristic of training.  It really covers a lot and that just comes with years of experience.  I’ve probably trained about 3000 dogs in my career.  This year will be my 25h.”

Andy shared that he grew up in Surry County where his family had a 10,00 acre tobacco farm.  Dogs were a big part of their lives.  His parents and all his aunts were schoolteachers.  He has combined the skills of teaching with his love for dogs and it kind of evolved for him.  He calls it the “evolution of a dog trainer”.

Questions we asked Andy:

Q.  Who would you say is the most interesting person you’ve met in Charlotte?

A.  I know thousands of people through my career so it may be hard to pinpoint but Edwin Peacock, who ran for mayor twice, is one of my mentors.  He’s a person that means a lot to me and he cares a lot for Charlotte.

Q. If you could travel any where in the world right now, where would it be and why?

A.  Probably west of the Mississippi.  I’m really  a home body.  I love the mountains of NC and I like going to the beach.  I’ve been to Europe a few times.  Maybe New Zealand.

Q. What is your favorite movie or what was the first movie you saw in a theatre?

A.  Unfortunately my parents took me to see Jaws when I was in the 3rd grade and I had to sit separate from my parents because it was a packed theater.  That was a little traumatizing!  Forest Gump has to be my favorite movie.   I probably cried like a baby during that movie.  It kind of brings out the best in me and the best in humanity when you really think about it.   And of course Star Wars.  I grew up in the 80’s.

Q.  What is something on your bucket list?

A.  My ultimate goal would be probably a cross country trip.

Q.  What’s your favorite kind of music or a band you’d like to see, alive or dead?

A.  I hate that I missed the Rolling Stones.   I would like to have seen David Bouie.

Q.  What current or former local business makes you the most nostalgic about Charlotte?

A.  Gerrard Tires, maybe because I married into the family.  That business started in the 50’s and I was able to see that company grow.

Q.  What’s your favorite restaurant in Charlotte?

A.  The Open Kitchen.  That’s another family that’s run a great family business.  It’s an Italian restaurant off Morehead St and it’s been there since 1958 and still has the original menu up.  I love the family that runs it.  They have great spaghetti and bread; it’s a classic place.  They still have the original scenery in their facility.

Q.  Choosing anyone to have lunch with, who would you choose and where would you take them?

A.  My grandfather died when I was 2 months old and he made a big impact on me, even in his death.  It would be him.

Q.  What is your favorite thing or something unique about Charlotte?

I love Trade and Tryon and I love Freedom Park.  I think Charlotte’s got some rich culture and history.  It’s a great growing, trending city.  I’ve lived in Charlotte long enough and I still love living here.

Q.  Including friends and family, what is something interesting most people don’t know about you.

A.  I’m a fairly open book but I think I’m searching for truth.  I do wear my emotions on my sleeve and when you work with people and dogs you have to be pretty transparent, you have to be flexible, you have to be open to new ideas.  I have a big curiosity of where we came from.  Not on a religious standpoint but more the universe and planetary movement, stuff like that.  I do research and listen to a lot of podcasts on space and science and I’m interested in how the human body works.  If we can gather ourselves and maybe help our bodies heal and overcome disease through searching inside ourselves instead of searching inside a pill box.   I try to get attached to myself everyday more.  I do a lot of meditation and I’m always fighting for alone time.

Q.  If you were cast into a major motion picture and you had your choice of anyone to be your co-star, whom would you choose?

A.  It’d probably have to be a war movie, maybe Private Ryan.  I don’t watch a lot of movies but Risky Business would be a good one to star in.

Q.  If you had a staff member that was fully paid for whom would you choose?

A.  It would have to be a motivational coach for sure.

Q.  What do you feel is an essential part of your daily routine that contributes to a healthier life style or overall wellness?

Probably the most import thing to me would be a group I’m involved with called F3. It stands for Fitness, Fellowship and Faith.  It’s a men’s leadership group based on early morning workouts at 5:30am.  I start my day every morning about 4:30am with ½ cup of coffee and a little bit of mediation.  Then I go work out with my men group and we have Bible study after.  Then I’m able to accomplish whatever I need to.  I started working out with this group in 2012 and it’s absolutely changed my life.  It helped me be more creative; helped me be able to handle the stress of running the business; helped me be a better father to my two beautiful daughters and be strong and healthy.  I think that’s a great foundation for any business owner or person in general.  You know the way we are so busy today.  We can’t slow down and we’re attached to our phones.  We don’t take time to think or open doors for people or start conversations.  F3 has been a major influence in my life.  It’s really helped me reconnect with myself.  You know, turning 50 you really reflect on a lot about what you could have done in your 30’s and 40’s.  I’ve missed out on some opportunities, just from unknowing myself and probably not committing to some hard stuff like getting up, working out and taking the road less travelled.  Sometimes I had opted out earlier in my youth.  Now I feel myself buckling down more and choosing to work harder, not just in my job but in all aspects of my life.  Reflection is a big part of that in my F3 group.

Q.  Where do you see yourself in 5-10 years?

A.  I see myself continuing to run the dog club, being a successful business owner, an outstanding father, a role model for my team, a good strong leader for all the people I’m in involved with – just continued success.  I really feel like Charlotte’s given me a huge opportunity to create a great life for myself and for my family. Helping others through dog training is probably the best thing that could ever happen to me.

Q.  What advice would you give to a group of people

A. Find common ground, search for truth, have open discussions, do team work together, take a personality test (haha).  It could be as simple as being kind. I think once we tear down all our distractions in the world, that’s really what’s most important.

Q. What 3 words of phrases come to mind when you think of the word HOME?

Contentment, Safety, Relaxation.

Thank you, Andy, for being a Face Of Charlotte!