After toying with various business ideas, we opened a Pet Sitting Service out of our home and named it Tucker’s Doggie Retreat—an insured, bonded, and first aid-certified business. As we attempted to grow this business, two things happened that changed our direction and led to our store. The first was the nationwide pet food recall of 2007, and the second was Tucker’s decision to stop eating his food.
The recall of 2007 made consumers think, maybe for the first time, about what their pets were eating. It seemed all of the popular name brand foods were part of the recall; leaving us to desperately search for answers about proper pet nutrition.
During the summer of 2007 Tucker decided eating was overrated. Since there’s not a dog in this world (especially a puppy) that can go without food, we knew there had to be something wrong. We initially attributed his loss of appetite to the hot weather but after the recall we started researching pet foods. Our research led us to change his diet. Tucker was being fed Science Diet and not interested in eating. Once we switched his food (our initial choice was Solid Gold Millennia), Tucker resumed eating at a normal schedule. Maybe it was fate, but Tucker’s decision to boycott his food acted as a spark that ignited our interest in the natural pet food market.
That Fall, we needed to help everybody find foods that were not part of the recall and that would allow their cats and dogs to live their lives in the healthiest, fullest way possible. The concept for our store was born! It would focus on all-natural food and treats for dogs and cats and be named Tucker’s Doggie Delights. All we needed was a location…
Once we found a spot in Calistoga Plaza we knew it was the start of something special.