It started with collars. I was thinking of a way to merchandise the studded/spiked collars and I remembered the classic Lou Reed live album "
Rock And Roll Animal". The cover depicts Lou donning spiked cuffs and and a matching dog collar worn around the neck. The image and album title were perfect. On the wall it went. But it wasn't alone. Who can think of Reed in the 70's and not think of his pal David and their infamous escapades? "
Diamond Dogs" was a must for the wall. Now if I can just find a single of "I Wanna Be Your Dog" the
trio will be complete.
The collection grew. Any LP with reference to dogs, cats, or just, as in the Reed album, animal qualifies. Believe me there are many. In addition to searching the bins at local record stores, I have been fortunate to have customers bring in items from their own collections. This has expanded the collection to include a copy of the Animals debut on reel to reel, vintage sheet music, 45's, and even a die cast toy car that celebrates the Beach Boys "Pet Sounds". "Pet Sounds" incidentally was a groove away from being the name of the store 8 years ago.
So what started as a simple idea to display some product has grown to personify the store itself. Does it make sense? I'm not really sure, I just know that I'm as passionate about music as I am about helping people care for their pets.
It started with collars. I was thinking of a way to merchandise the studded/spiked collars and I remembered the classic Lou Reed live album "Rock And Roll Animal". The cover depicts Lou donning spiked cuffs and and a matching dog collar worn around the neck. The image and album title were perfect. On the wall it went. But it wasn't alone. Who can think of Reed in the 70's and not think of his pal David and their infamous escapades? "Diamond Dogs" was a must for the wall. Now if I can just find a single of "I Wanna Be Your Dog" the trio will be complete.
Expanding shelving today. It's a constant battle to keep up with the ever growing food dept. This week I extended the shelving and opened up that back of the store for a new self wash station. The shelving went up without a hitch except Home Depot cut the particle board too long so I'll be trimming it up for a better fit today. I only extended the shelving about a foot but with five shelves we gain some much needed space. I'm really liking the clean lines of this new shelving.
The self wash is a project that I had hoped would be finished last year but found time to be hard to come buy. 2008 was our first year without grooming services and proved to be more busy than expected, a good thing. Yesterday I cleared the space in back. Still need to waterproof and put up a partition so we don't have wet dogs running through the store in their post bath frenzy. Through the back door there is a nice place to hang out while you wait or after your done. I'm anxious to get this finished. It should be the perfect place to clean up and chill out after the dog park or beach.
