All-Natural Pet Products with a Passion in Marlborough

Name of Business: Pets Gone Healthy

Co-Owners: Sandie and Ken Wheeler

How many years have you been in business? 7.5 years

What do your customers like best about your business?

“We hear so many reasons [why our customers like our business],” said Sandie, “[They] like the personal service that they receive as well as the knowledge that we share with them on nutrition and petcare trends."

“When we need assistance with questions, we have excellent follow up," Sandie continues,"When we say ‘we’ll get back to you’, we do! The quality of our products is [also] a big factor and most [customers] like to support the smaller, local ‘Mom and Pop’ shops.”

Do you live in Marlborough?

Yes, Ken and Sandie were both born and raised here.

What do you like best about owning/running
this business?

“Ken and I like the independence of owning our own business and the customer interaction, both human and animal," Sandie explains, "Of course, being able to bring Tori (our golden retriever) to work every day is a huge benefit.”

Are you on Facebook/Twitter?         

"We have a Facebook page, however, we're not totally active with it at this time. It should be open for likes in 2013. We are not on Twitter as of yet,” Sandie shares.

Any advice for someone new to starting this
kind of business?

“Some general advice off the top would be to make sure you do market research of the type of business you want to open,” Sandie recommends, “Next, I'd say that you want to have a business plan in place before you ‘soft’ launch and plan a three to five year financial outlook."

"Specific to the pet industry, know your potential customer base, get to know your distributors and choose your products wisely to accommodate your product niche. Ken and I wanted to focus on all-natural products for dogs and cats, hence, there are no by-product food products sitting next to healthier choice foods as in the big box stores. We carry only 100% all natural and chemical-free products, a huge differentiator from other stores."

Anything else you'd like us to know?

“We are proud to serve the pet-loving community of Marlborough and surrounding towns," Sandie said, "Our customers have voted
us the number one pet store in Marlborough and Regional Favorite according to Readers Choice Awards for the past several years."

"Since our inception in 2005, we have been named Small Business of the Year by our local Chamber of Commerce, named Holistic Retailer of the Year by Pet Product News International and nominated as a finalist for the Massachusetts Family Business Awards. We were also featured on WCVB Channel 5's Chronicle. Our mission is to provide only products and services that will enrich the quality of life of pets and their people.”