People in Woodbury love their pets. It’s a city where dogs, cats and other animals are considered part of the family. In the last few months, new businesses have opened around town to help keep your pets happy, healthy and well-trained. We got the scoop from three local business owners.
Pet Evolution
429 Commerce Drive; 651.788.9998
Pet Evolution may be the only pet store around that is owned by a former cop, but make no mistake, Rian Thiele knows his business. After spending eight years as a police officer, Thiele caught the entrepreneur bug. Along with his co-owner Mike Osborn (who has a veterinary technician degree), he opened Pet Evolution in 2012.
The pair has a passion for animals, and both grew up with dogs that dealt with allergies. They realized many of the health problems in dogs stem from poor diets. Because of this, they make a point to stock only healthy, often local, products. “We think of it as the Trader Joe’s of the pet industry,” Thiele says.
Their food selection consists of limited-ingredient foods, many of which are grain-free, and even raw food options. This past March, Pet Evolution moved into a new location on Commerce Drive so they could expand operations and incorporate a self-serve dog wash and grooming salon.
Natural Pet Grocery and Dog Wash
10150 City Walk Drive, Suite A; 651.731.6347
Like Pet Evolution, Natural Pet Grocery and Dog Wash is all about offering healthy options. Brian Johnson opened his shop in January with the goal of bringing the best possible food to pet owners. “I worked in the corporate world in nutrition for most of my life,” Johnson says. “I always saw the benefit of good nutrition in humans and wanted to bring that to pets.”
Johnson saw how a healthy diet changed his own pets’ lives and behaviors and wanted to bring the same solution to other pet owners. He stocks his shelves with only natural products that offer the core nutritional ingredients such as chicken, lamb, duck and other meats. His favorite part of operating his business is when people come in with problems, and he’s able to use natural products to help solve what is ailing a pet.
Woody’s Pet Deli
1785 Radio Drive, Suite D1; 651.340.8678
Enrique Palma takes pet nutrition even further at Woody’s Pet Deli. His store offers only human grade food, most of which is raw. Nothing on his shelves is canned or dried, and most of his product is stored in freezers because it is raw meat. “Dogs and cats are basically carnivores,” Palma says. That’s the philosophy his store is built around. He serves fresh and frozen meat of all varieties because that is the most natural diet for animals.
When Palma was growing up in the Phillipines, his family would have eight to 10 dogs running around, and they would eat the same foods as the family. None of those dogs had health problems. When he and his wife adopted a dog, Woody (for whom the store is named), he had digestive health issues. They started feeding him a raw diet and he lost weight and regained his health. From there, they opened the first Woody’s in South Minneapolis in 2008. The new Woodbury location opened in March, and is the third Woody’s location in the Twin Cities.
