Hi. I’m here with Sherry Clingan of K9 Kitchen. And we’re just going to talk a little bit about K9 Kitchen. So, what was the impetus of this store?

Well, the original impetus, was my dog there, I don't know if you can see that picture, but that’s Katie. She was a rescue, and she had some challenges with eating regular dog food, so, I started with that. And then, after moving to San Diego and seeing a store, very similar to this, I got really inspired, and just knew one day I would do it. So, 15 years later, here I am!

So, you just opened, right?

Just opened in July, yes.

Nice, and so, I’m sure you’ve had a lot of ups and downs. What would you do differently?

Differently? Probably get more help. I do not recommend doing absolutely 100% of everything by yourself.

Because you work full-time, don’t you?

Right, I did. I was working full-time while the store was being built out. And, still doing everything myself. Everything literally from the ground up. Starting with the business plan. Getting funding. And, going to trade shows, and learning about the types of foods I didn’t know as much about, and finding out how you actually get it all into the store.

And as you well know, the challenges of bringing in pallets full of items, requires a tremendous amount of time to unload and put on shelves and into the computer, it is a lot of work.

So, how are you different from the big box stores?

Well, the main difference is, and what I hear a lot from customers, is that it feels very personal. And, with that being said, the main difference is customer service. I am here 100% of the time. I have a conversation with every single customer that comes in, and I have my own pets here. There’s Dylan today. We don’t have Parker here today.

He has a cute sweater on too.

The other big difference is being able to offer brands that big box stores cannot because certain manufacturers and distributors cater to the independent retailers. And the other thing is the focus being on natural food, treats and supplements. That’s a big focus.

And you have an event coming up? I do! I’m so excited.
Let’s hear about it!

So for anybody that has ever thought about can I do anything differently with my pet, in terms of, especially for things like fear, anxiety, flea and tick control. Sometimes simple things, like older dogs, they start to leak urine, especially females, not males so much, but females it happens a lot. There are natural remedies for all of those things that don’t require a trip to a vet, the cost of a vet, the cost of medications that taxes a pet’s system. There’s a company out of Canada that started a Natural Healing Tour of California and Nevada. They’ll be here Saturday, the 18th, to do an education session. They’ll be here, there’s an herbalist, a

nutritionist. Any question that you want to ask about your pet’s health, wellness, diet, anxiety, any of those things and one of the emphasis is teaching about CBD for pets. Because now it’s really big on the market and it’s important to understand, what it is, how it works, and how dosing works and it’s the one thing you actually can’t talk to your vet about because they’re not allowed to discuss it in California. Although CBD is legal here, it’s just not legal for vets to support or prescribe or even talk about it.

So that’s why it’s important that this tour is happening to get the information out there. because there’s tons of misinformation and it’s easy to..
And there’s tons of grades of CBD oil too.
Yes, they’re here to teach about exactly what it is, how it is sourced. Information you need to know when choosing a brand.