Who’s a good boy?
EarthWise, a store featuring natural pet foods and holistic care, will celebrate its grand opening on Sept. 30.
Passion matters when you’re starting your own business.
Steve Goss, who just opened his first EarthWise Pet Supply in Oklahoma, understands that well. Goss, a former owner of a heating and air conditioning equipment company, recently decided to follow his passion for pets.
Goss is a franchisee for EarthWise, an environmental-friendly pet supplies and services store that has about 40 locations in California, Oregon, Texas, Florida, New Jersey, Ohio, Kansas, Missouri, Wisconsin, Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina.
The store sells foods and dog and cat pet accessories, including bedding, toys, carriers and other products. It offers grooming and veterinary care.
“I am a big animal person — a dog person, so when I came across this, I got to checking on it and what it was about,” Goss said.
“When I saw what kinds of food it sells, and started getting educated about the differences between the brands EarthWise carries and the ones you see advertised on TV, it really got my attention, because I had been feeding my dog some less-than-desirable brands.
“I can see the difference in my dog now, compared to before,” he said. “He has more energy, his coat is better, and he is a lot perkier.”
“I think this will go over well.”
Open for business
This month, Goss unlocked EarthWise’s door at 1710-G Belle Isle Blvd., in Oklahoma City.
The store will celebrate its grand opening from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sept. 30. The new store is open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays, and 1 to 5 p.m. on Sundays.
Goss said he hopes to open additional stores in Oklahoma soon.
“We’ll see how the first one goes,” he said. “But there are other spots I think would work very well.”
Goss said he was attracted to EarthWise because of its efforts to better the lives of pets and their owners through proper education, exceptional customer service, natural products and green business practices.
It markets the foods for dogs and cats that it carries, which include kibble, canned, freeze-dried and fresh, on the premise that proper nutrition is best understood by looking at the natural eating habits of pets’ ancestors (such as the wolf) and replicating natural diets as much as possible.
Goss and store manager Kyla Patterson said the company’s food products don’t include artificial preservatives and are grainfree, adding they believe that’s essential to helping give pets the best chances for sustained health and long-term well-being.
“Raw and freeze dried are best of the best,” Patterson said.
One of the family
EarthWise also operates on the belief that pets are integral parts of families and deserve kindness, respect and the best possible care. Accordingly, Patterson and her staff routinely bring their pets to work.
Patterson, who talked about her experiences of growing up with animals and working in the veterinarian, zoological and health fields, had her pets Scarlet, a black Great Dane, and Rhett, a blue merle Great Dane, at work with her this week.
Customer Erica Anglin also had her pit bull terrier Tonks along during a store visit.
Patterson said the veterinarian services at EarthWise’s Oklahoma City store will be provided by Oklahoma City veterinarian Kimberly Weiss, who also owns the Healing Hands Veterinary Wellness Center in Oklahoma City.
She said Weiss’ services will not only include examinations, but also vaccinations, microchip implantation and various seminars on animal health topics.
EarthWise also promotes accessories that are made using green practices and recycled materials.
Its salon uses natural, pesticide-free and chemical-free shampoos and products, and the work is performed in an environment designed to reduce stress.
“I love animals,” Alicia, the store’s groomer, said.
“I missed my dog when I was working at a hair salon,” she said, adding that the employees bring their pets on different days. “I have an English mastiff.”
“If we had all of our dogs here, we’d be really full,” she said.