Urban Life: PET

This week we drew the name Nobel Beast from our Local First Arizona members hat. A short drive to 10th Street & Camelback and I was at this specialty pet shop.

I was greeted by Alison Chandler, one of the proprietor of this distinctive pet food and supplies store. Alison and her business partner Marsha Mardock, have quite a shop here. Pet owners are treated to a rich variety of natural foods, eco-friendly toys and supplies for their cats and dogs.

Alison says the idea for the shop was born out of the fact she had to drive miles to Scottsdale to get natural foods for her pets. She recognized a void in the central Phoenix market and started dreaming of her own pet food store. She approached her long time fiend Marsha who had a background in marketing and the Noble Beast was born. They opened their doors this last November and already have a large pack of happy customers...humans love the place too.

I asked Alison how she choose her products. She said that she looks for foods that use human grade meats, pesticide/chemical/hormone free and yummy to the the dogs and cats. They offer a number of products aimed at helping pets with allergies and itching problems too. I found they carried Solid Gold dog food, a food holistic veterinarian Judy Stolz liked to recommend, so I got some for Fred the dog.

The Noble Beast is more than just a place to buy natural foods, grooming supplies, remedies and toys... it's a hang out. Last month they held their first Doggie Ice Creme Social. One of their vendors brought in Yougund doggie yogurt, Cold Stone Creamery supplied the humans with ice creme and they raised several hundred bucks for AZ Rescue. Other events include their Saturday Dog Behavior classes put on by Carol Mitchell and AZ Rescue drops by on Saturday's as well with a few of their cats and dogs looking for a home.

The Noble Beast is a classic example of why we need locally owned businesses. Box stores can't provide the intimacy, pride, and distinctiveness a place like Alison's & Marsha's. After just one visit I found myself saying... YEAH, I found my pet store. No wonder Phoenix Magazine calls it the Valley's Coolest Pet Store. I think you will too.