An indoor dog club allows owners to bring their pets to socialize off-leash.
Margaret Roarty | Times Leader
Green Dog Barkery offers locally sourced and sustainable products for pets
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The treats sold at the barkery are made from scratch, meaning Madison and her team peel and cut their own carrots, puree apple sauce and pumpkins and grind peanuts in order to provide the freshest, healthiest products to pets and their owners.
Margaret Roarty | Times Leader
Green Dog Barkery owner, Michele Pertl, and her daughter and bakery manager, Madision Pertl, stand behind the counter of the shop.
Margaret Roarty | Times Leader
WYOMING — Green Dog Barkery, as its name implies, is all about environmental sustainability, said owner Michele Pertl, who opened the shop six months ago at the Midway Shopping Center alongside her husband, Scott, and daughter, Madison.
“We sell everything from food to toys to treats for both dogs and cats,” Pertl said. “All of the food that we have here is 100% human grade.”
At the shop, you can find everything from dog jackets, leashes and bandanas to a variety of wet and frozen food, bagged treats and pet-related decor, sourced when possible from other local businesses.
“We believe in supporting other small businesses,” said Pertl. “We can really only survive against the Amazons and the Chewys of the world if we band together.”
Even items not sourced locally — like leashes made from recycled climbing rope and bicycle tubes from a business based in Seattle — are ecologically sound.
In an effort to further reduce their carbon footprint, Pertl said all of the fixtures in the store were repurposed from businesses that had closed.
The treats sold at the “barkery” are made from scratch, meaning Madison, who serves as baking manager, and her team peel and cut their own carrots, puree apple sauce and pumpkins and grind peanuts in order to provide the freshest, healthiest products to pets and their owners.
Some dogs have food intolerance, so it was important for Green Dog Barkery to be transparent about what its customers were ordering.
“We have a variety of treats, and we’re very up front with our ingredients. We don’t add sugars,” said Pertl.
That includes the sugar substitute Xylitol, which is found in some human foods and is extremely harmful to dogs.
It’s about the experience
Green Dog Barkery isn’t just a retail shop, though. For Pertl and her family, it was important for them to offer their customers an experience as well.
That’s why they have both an indoor and smaller outdoor area for pets to come with their owners and socialize with other dogs, off leash.
“It’s a need in this community that didn’t exist, but the idea of a dog social exists in big cities,” said Michele, adding that the space can be rented for private parties and it’s BYOB.
The idea for opening Green Dog Barkery came from Pertl’s daughter, Madison, when she was entering her senior year of college at Alvernia University and had to decide what she wanted to do after graduation.
“She said she really wanted to do something where she could work with animals. My husband and I were sort of ready for a career change, and we just took the plunge,” Pertl’s explained.
Madison received a degree in social media marketing and now serves as bakery manager. Pertl’s two other sons are also involved with the business in some way, as one designed the shop’s website and the other, who has a master’s degree in medical cannabis from Thomas Jefferson University, offered some valuable information about the benefits of CBD.
“We drug everyone into the business,” she laughed.
In preparation for opening Green Dog Barkery, Pertl said they took a trip to Seattle and Portland, where there are many dog socials, for inspiration.
“Those folks out there opened their doors to us and gave us so much information about what to do and what not to do,” she said. “We visited probably 10 to 15 businesses, and they were all great. We made a lot of nice connections.”
Spreading the word
Since opening six months ago, the biggest challenge Pertl has faced is finding the most effective way to spread the word about the business.
“We have people come in every day that are like, ‘We didn’t know you were here. We just stumbled across you,” she said.
Although social media has been a helpful tool, the algorithm can be tricky to navigate.
“We’re small and we’re independent; we’re not a franchise. So, it’s just word of mouth and letting people have a good experience so they tell their friends,” she said.
It seems the business is making strides in that department. 90 dogs attended a recent Halloween event, and there are more events in the works, like the upcoming Wellness Wednesdays.
“We’re going to be doing educational things. We’re bringing in an expert on nutrition for a nutrition seminar. We’re going to bring in a groomer to talk about grooming, and we’re going to bring in a dog masseuse to talk about how to massage your dog to reduce their anxiety,” Pertl explained.
For certain events, the shop partners with local nonprofits like Rescue Vets, which will be at Green Dog Barkery from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today with dogs available for adoption. Adoption fees for Veterans will be waived.
The shop is also hosting a donation box for ParaMount Pet Care’s annual Thanksgiving drive, benefiting local rescues.
In the end, it all comes back to the idea of shopping small and supporting organizations and businesses that make an impact in the community.
“It’s the businesses in the community that make the community. No one wants to see empty storefronts,” Pertl said. “It serves all of us if we have a community that’s thriving with local businesses.”
For information on upcoming events at Green Dog Barkery, visit the shop’s Facebook page.