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Winter Finally Arrived!
Don't Miss This Secret Sale!
Well I suppose our dogs were far happier about snow days than we were, to be frank. We hated closing the store, as not only is it very painful to our bottom line, we know you need stuff and we hate not being available to you for your questions and supply needs. It's especially painful to us to tell staff there's been a closure, but we don't want them to risk their safety traveling on roads that aren't cleared or well sanded yet, and our neighborhood seems to be challenged in that way.
The good news is that our winter coat drive was just in time! The PAW Team came with a giant van that we filled to the brim with coats for dogs and people, hats, gloves, boots and other winter gear as well as a pile of food. Thanks again to all of you that made that possible!
It's been a little quiet for us since the storm as it's still pretty unpleaseant weather, and our distributors were challenged to get products to us from Washington long after our snow was gone. So, it seems to us like a good time for a Secret Sale! On Saturday Feb 23rd, join us from 10-6 and take 15% off of any regularly priced item in the store that's not Food! This means treats, chews, toys, supplements, beds, coats, sweaters, etc are all on sale!
Come on out to support your independent stores this month and help us recoup our weather and winter-blues-related losses!
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| Champion Foods Discontinued at Green Dog
If you got our last newsletter you know that we were seriously considering discontinuing Champion brand foods (Orijen and Acana) from our shelves, and we recently made the announcement on social media that this is happening for sure.
This is simply not the same company that we have known since we started carrying them in ~ 2006. Issues closest to home for us include lack of communication over vital safety questions and support issues. As they’ve grown, their connection and communication with their stores has dwindled, leaving us with little support. It used to be a company that listened and even once responded with widespread formula changes when we diligently advocated for eliminating all salmon for sustainability reasons. Those days seem to be gone. Second, their recent announcement of selling at Petco and Amazon has made us feel that their production has expanded to a level that makes it seem very unlikely to us that they would ever be able to live up to the sourcing standards and commitment to sustainability on which they originally based their company.
Worst of all, the past few years have seen changes in formulation resulting in much higher levels of plant proteins from legumes - cheaper for the company but yet they continue to raise their prices. Just last week we saw a whole new round of painful price increases - we haven't passed those along to you, and we're a little relieved that we don't have to. You know we’ve always wanted to be a place that only carries food that we love and can stand behind. We feel that there are other brands that are making products that more closely align with our values, and that it’s time for a change. Rest assured: there are no pressing safety or availability issues, so we can take a little time to accomplish the switch. We already carry several amazing alternatives. We’ve already switched a fair number of you to one our favorite kibbles - Stella and Chewy’s baked formulas coated with freeze dried raw foods, and to Open Farm which was the first in the industry to have certified humanely raised meats in every recyclable bag. Nature’s Logic (with no synthetic vitamins and minerals) and First Mate (simple formulas that are easy to digest) are long time favorites that are also great low glycemic replacements for many of the Champion formulas. Neither are made with legumes, which make them worth rotating through. And we have a few fantastic new brands in our sights that we can’t wait to tell you about. Come talk to us about your options and we’ll do our best to help you through this transition. We’re here for you!
All regularly priced Champion Foods (Acana and Orijen) are 10% off. A few are marked with even deeper discounts! Please take advantage of these savings and help us clear space for exciting new foods! |
| | Introducing Farmina!
We’re very excited to bring Farmina N&D (Natural & Delicious) pet food into the store! We chose their “Prime” line for its exceptional attributes. One of our employees was actually a demo rep for Farmina before she came to us, and the good folks at The Filling Station up on Alberta have been raving about it, as they have been switching most of their Champion food customers over to it and say that it has been an amazing food. The big bonus is that Filling Station told us that the cat foods are incredibly palatable and the pickiest cats have switched easily from Orijen foods to these. These are people we trust, and so we had to check it out. We were really pleased with what we found!
The sourcing is really great, using grass fed meats, pastured chickens,and avoiding fish like tuna. The food is GMO free, cruelty free, and it’s really low carb and a low glycemic. 96% of the protein in the food comes from meat proteins instead of plant proteins (something that Champion products have fallen far short of in the last few years, and yet their prices continue to rise). They use fresh meats and gently dehydrated meats - no meals. (Meat meal is a complicated topic that's worth explaining: some companies that we don’t carry might use poor quality meat meals (not USDA inspected, or perhaps even expired/spoiled), or simply consisting of bones and skin without any meat at all - what’s legally allowed in pet food is atrocious, which is why we opened the store to begin with. Note: the meals in our foods are of the same quality as the fresh meats. Do we love meals? Well, what we don’t like is that it’s another layer of heat processing that can damage nutrients. However, if we have to make a choice, we’d rather have a food with good quality meat meals backing up the protein content in a food as opposed to having only fresh meals paired with loads of plant proteins to bolster the protein content, which don't contain the important amino acids our carnivorous buddies need, the lack of which may be contributing to heart problems for many dogs. So, we're excited to have this food that only uses fresh meats and minimally processed dehydrated meats to make a high protein food with no meals at all! They also have a unique system to keep important vitamins and antioxidants in tact: after cooking, they put the meaty kibble into a vacuum-coater system that drives the whole foods and nutraceutical supplements into the pores of the kibble, protecting them from thermal stress and maintaining bioavailability. The down side is that it comes from far away - it’s manufactured in Italy, but this does mean that their EU safety standards are fantastic. We’re very excited to introduce you to Farmina foods! Look for samples during our sale!
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| | New Flavors of Stella and Chewy's Baked Kibbles!
Clearing a little space allows us to bring in some new flavors of the very popular Stella and Chewy's Raw Coated and Raw Blend dry foods! First in this week and already on the shelves is the Raw Blend Free Range Formula! Soon the Raw Blend Fish Recipe will come in and perhaps more! Stay tuned!
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sK-9 Natural and Feline Natural!
We're excited to tell you about these incredibly palatable freeze dried foods and treats. All of the other 12 stores in our Independent Pet Supply Store Coalition carry this brand, and they were raving about it in our last meeting! We've long wanted to bring it in, and recently our very picky cat Otis convinced us that it was worth doing. They're made a little far away in New Zealand, but their sourcing and company values are based on high standards of sustainability, safety and transparency. They're incredibly meaty, and include important ingredients like blood, tripe and green mussels. Sounds delicious, right? Well you can bet our pets will think so! These are amazing ingredients for our pets. We have their food, treats, and toppers (with lots of fabulous tripe!) They're a little higher in price than our other freeze dried meals, butthey have a Buy-12-get-one frequent buyer card on every one of their products including the treats. The foods are higher in calories and Healthy fats which means the portion sizes can be smaller which saves money too. We highly encourage kibble feeders to pick up a small bag to sprinkle on your dog or cat's meal as a whole food nutrient supplement. It's important to supplement some whole food proteins when you're feeding a highly processed diet like kibble - we believe it can make a BIG difference to their long term health! If your cat says no to the taste of raw food, these delicious soft treats are easily crushed and sprinkled on top for delicious encouragement! Come see what customers at other stores are raving about. We have samples!
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| | CBD Treats for Cats!
We've been on the hunt for CBD treats for cats forever. Cats can be picky, so having options is important. We do love the Select Pet unflavored tincture for its excellent price point and zero flavor making it easy to hide in soft foods. But not all people feed moisture-rich foods, and a treat sure would be handy for cats who need pain or anxiety relief. Otis has benefited greatly from CBDs to prevent his occasional painful stiffness after naps (he'll be 18 in May) and we like to use it daily for his early stage IBD as it helps to control inflammation. He's picky but says these fishy treats taste OK and he likes that they can be broken into smaller pieces.
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| | The Original Hide and Sneak Tunnel!
We kind of laughed at this at first but now know this is honestly a fantastic toy for cats! Cats need enrichment to keep them behaviorally healthy, so having a tunnel to explore that suddenly appears in the living room will really make their day! We all know how much our cats love paper, especially paper bags. This thick strong paper tunnel makes a good noise when they're in it, providing such a fun play space and also a nice hiding spot. It can take a beating - when Otis launches himself onto it and it crunches under him, we're able to pop it back open. It also folds easily back into its original flat easy-to-store shape. Pro Tip: It's a smart idea to rotate all toy and enrichment items for cats to rekindle the novelty of a once favorite toy instead of leaving them laying around when they get bored with them. Try a fun tunnel for a day or two, then a catnip or silvervine toy the next day, and maybe a big cardboard box with small and larger holes cut into it another day with some interactive wand play through the holes. A busy cat is a happy cat!
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| | Neighborhood News!
New Juice Bar: The space next to Love Hive Yoga has been rented by Truly Juicery. Beaumont Business Association says, “The new juice bar will boast cold-pressed juices, smoothies (with delightful names like Cutie Patootie and Pudding Pop,) acai bowls and more. Everything will be locally sourced; vegan, gluten free and soy free; and, wait for it - nothing will come with a plastic straw! And move over Gwyneth Paltrow, they'll offer 1, 3, 5 or 6-day juice cleanses! Coming in May”.
The Old Salt Space on 42nd will become a beer hall called Oakshire.
Wonderly is open next to Bang Bang! Hand crafted cocktails and small plates in a lovely (loverly?) space. Look for $6 happy hour specials.
Tacovore is open and packed! They did a great job renovating that space at NE 37th and Fremont.
Anchor End is open on 47th and Fremont and cranking out the baked goods and pierogies.
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Each newsletter features a different photo contest entry - they were all so fabulous! This is Hugo.
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Thank You All For Your Continued Support of Independently Owned Local Stores! (especially ours!) |
| | | | Located in Beaumont Village 4327 NE Fremont Street, Portland, Oregon 97213
Telephone: 503-528-1800
© 2007 - 2015 Green Dog Pet Supply. Green Dog Pet Supply® is a Registered Trademark. |
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