Although many people wouldn’t normally give it a second thought while pouring out some kibble for their dog, Carol Brown thinks twice about what they’re about to eat.
After losing more than one dog to cancer, Carol decided there must be something she can do to help improve the quality of her pets’ life. She started mixing together various healthy and organic ingredients until she came up with her own homemade dog food reports The Patriot Ledger.
Brown refinanced her house and opened her 500-square-foot store in August 2003 with only one brand of dog food and some homeopathic flea and tick powders.
These days, she has a broader array of products, as well as lots of helpful advice for her customers.
“I like to give them the information so they can understand, they can ask questions, we can tweak things around if something doesn’t work,” she said.
Brown has been able to grow her business despite its out-of-the-way location in Scituate’s Humarock section, partly because of the level of support she offers her customers. She now offers food and supplies for dogs, cats, birds and a variety of other small furry creatures.
Brown gets to know her regular customers’ dogs and their children. She has customers coming from as far away as Lowell to purchase frozen dog food that most other stores don’t carry.
“I tell people, you are the caretaker, you have to be informed,” Brown said. “You have to know what questions to ask and be knowledgeable enough to say, these ingredients don’t look right to me.”
Photo by MShades