From the wiener dog races to the visiting greyhounds, the 10th anniversary Celebration of Sam's Cats-áand Dogs, Naturally (20016 Old Owen Rd.) in Monroe-áwas a dog-lover's dream come true.
Owned by Monroe residents Sam and Megan Wirsching,-áSam's Cats and Dogs, Naturally offers natural-ápet solutions for dogs, cats, caged and wild birds,-áchickens, small animals, hamsters, gerbils and other-árodents. The anniversary celebration was held on Saturday, Aug. 1 and Sunday Aug. 2, in Sam's private-áoff-leash dog park area located next to the store.
Jerry "Big DogGÇ¥ Dixon, who owns and operates Big Dog's mobile hotdog vending service, facilitated the-ásecond annual wiener dog races, which took place on-áSaturday. This year's top dog was Neuman, who-átook first place in the racing competition. Neuman-áwas cheered on by his human companions Kelli and-áPaul Bowers.
Dixon situated his hotdog business near Sam's over-áa year ago, and since then, the two have-ácollaborated on several business opportunities including a Christmas tree stand last winter and the-ákayak rentals at the Lake Tye concession stand this-ásummer.
The anniversary celebration included numerous natural pet food vendors, including Wellness TruFood,-áWet Noses, Porter's Pride, NutriSource and several-áothers.-áGreyhound Pets, Inc., a nonprofit-áorganization dedicated to the rescue and adoption of greyhounds, brought several greyhounds to-ácelebrate the day. The sweet-natured dogs enjoyed perusing the crowd and acquiring treats.
History of Sam's
Sam started Sam's Cats and Dogs, Naturally in 2005,-ábecause he wanted to enhance the lives of his-ácustomers by helping to facilitate positive relationships with their pets.
"I'm passionate about people and helping people live better lives,GÇ¥ Sam said. "The whole idea of having-áa pet is to make your life more enjoyable.GÇ¥
A University of Washington theater major, Sam's career aspirations didn't start out entrepreneurial.-áInitially interested in pursuing a career in education, he eventually shifted his focus to business.-áHe-áended up seeking a graduate degree in organizational leadership, attending graduate school at Gonzaga University in Spokane. Eventually, he returned to this side of the mountains, and went to work for a-ánatural pet foods store called All the Best.
Working at All the Best for over two years immersed-áhim in the natural pet food industry. All the Best focused on fresh, raw foods and holistic, natural solutions.
"I really liked what I was doing,GÇ¥ Sam said. "I finally had found a passion.GÇ¥
At the time, Sam and Megan were married and expecting their daughter Grace, who was born in-áNovember of 2004. Shortly after that, Sam ended up-áseparated from All the Best, and began to consider-áopening his own natural pet foods business. Sam and-áMegan had purchased their first home in Monroe,-áso locating a business close to his family made sense.
When it first opened on August 1, 2005, Sam's Cats-áand Dogs, Naturally was located next to the Monroe-á7-11 on East Main Street. After three years, he moved to a location near NAPA Auto Parts on N. Lewis-áStreet, staying for four years, until it seemed that business had flattened out.
"We were not struggling, but there was no growth,GÇ¥-áSam said. "I did the same amount every month for seven years downtown.GÇ¥
He decided to take a look at the Chinook Lumber building, after noticing that it had sat vacant for over a-áyear.
"It was a big jump. It was almost as big as opening-áthe store the first time. We tripled our space; we significantly expanded our selection and our inventory,GÇ¥ Sam said. "Without the partnering of Eric Fritch-áand Chinook Lumber to give me the opportunity to fill this space up, this never would have happened.GÇ¥
Since moving into the new location, Sam has greatly-áenhanced both his pet food selection and his pet-grooming department. He now offers a full selection-áof grooming services, with two full-time groomers-áand two full-time bathers. The grooming salon is open seven days a week, and serves both cats and-ádogs. The salon offers $10 walk-in nail trims seven-ádays of the week.
Sam's Cats and Dogs, Naturally offers home-made natural products including chicken-jerky, turkey-jerky-áand sweet potato dog treats that are made on-site.-áHe is currently offering chicken dog treats made-áfrom chickens raised at Orange Star Farm, a brand new farm owned by Monroe Librarian Phil Spirito and-áhis wife, Libby Reed.
Sam's employees are highly trained and well-versed-áin animal care. Questions are welcome, and if an-áemployee doesn't know the answer to a question they-áwill do their best to find the answer. Often times,-áSam explained, customers come to them with some sort of an issue. Sometimes the issue is that their-ádog won't stop barking or scratching, other times the issue is with a cat refusing to use the litter box.
They strive to make each customer experience a positive and productive one.
"We take what I call the guest approach to customer-áservice,GÇ¥ Sam said. "Everybody that comes into the-ástore is a guest.GÇ¥
Sam's approach to customer service includes catering to the wants and needs of his customers, who are-ánot limited by what is stocked on store shelves.
"If you need something for your pet we will order it in,GÇ¥ Sam said. "We will match any in-store price-áin-áthe state for it, non-sale. I won't match Internet-ápricing, but I'll match any store in the state. So,-áwhatever you're paying for your product now, I will-ácharge you the same amount and I will stock it for-áyou going forward.GÇ¥
Sam loves being a part of the Monroe community, and-áis involved in numerous local organizations-áincluding the Monroe Rotary Club, The Sky Valley Food Bank, the Monroe Public Schools Foundation and Take the Next Step.
For more information on Sam's Cats and Dogs, Naturally, please visit the website and Facebook page.
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