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Lucky 13! Help Us Celebrate 13 Great Years!
We’re having a big Sale!
Reflections on this past year:
Where does the time go? More importantly, how can we ever say thank you enough for your support through the years? It amazes us how many customers that came to support our little business in the beginning have stayed with us through the years! You've watched us expand in our old location and then followed us as we moved up the street, and you and your pets have provided us with friendships and a sense of community that we have valued more than we can tell you. We want so much to let you all know, whether you are just finding us now or have been with us through the whole journey, that we are so honored to have your support.
Though this year has had its challenges with closures due to winter ice and a disturbing spike in shoplifting (why pick on the little guys who already struggle to make ends meet?), our thirteenth year has of course been really fantastic in other ways. The Fremont Fest parade was a blast this year. We won Spot Magazine’s Reader Poll for Best Neighborhood Pet Supply Store, and Best Food Consultant! And we’re especially proud of the amount of good we’ve been able do for pets in need with your help! I think this has been our greatest fundraising year yet! Check out this list of our larger efforts:
- We were able to donate carloads of hats scarves gloves and jackets gathered for our winter coat drive.
- During our annual Holiday food drive, we donated over 3,000 pounds of dog food to the Pongo Fund and over 400 pounds to the Feral Cat Society with your donations matched with our our donations and those of our distributor and pet food companies (thanks First Mate, Nutrisource, and Animal Supply!).
- This was in addition to the approximately 2000lbs of pet food that is returned or damaged that we are able to donate each year to organizations such as Safe Dogs By the River and Meals on Wheels who both do so much to help food-challenged people feed their pets who couldn’t otherwise afford to.
- We had a fun time with our first annual Fun Run, coordinated in partnership with Foot Traffic and we raised $409 for Dove Lewis' Emergency Stray and Wildlife Fund. We're excited to do that run again this coming spring!
- Last month we raised money and donations for hurricane pet rescue in Houston, in partnership with Safe Dogs By The River. We’ve been collecting money at the counter, selling donated treats to benefit these efforts, and gathering heaps of physical supplies donated by you that were transported straight to Houston. We saw many of you at our super fun fundraiser at Bottles, where "Of Roots and Blooms" vegan popup restaurant donated a portion of their proceeds, Bottles donated a portion of theirs, and we had a great raffle. We also donated 10% of our own proceeds that following Saturday. All of this added up to more than $2000 in lifesaving cash that we know has been put to excellent use on the ground in Houston. We want to give special thanks to Melissa, one of our co-managers, for all of the work she put in to help coordinate that event.
Thank you thank you thank you for all of your donations - you made it possible!
The other positive
thing we’re grateful for this year and every year is our amazing
staff. They are hard working, unfailingly dedicated to helping your
pets, clever, creative, and a delight to have in our family. What a
privilege it is to know them. Thank you, inspiring young women of Green
Dog!
Look out this month for ways that you can help with restoration efforts in the Columbia River Gorge. We’re having a kick-ass raffle right now with amazing prizes (read more below about our sale and raffle)! We also signed up at least 20 people who wanted to volunteer with trail restoration efforts.
Green Tip: You too can participate directly in restoration efforts! Volunteer to help Trailkeepers of Oregon to help restore hiking trails in the Gorge as soon as they are ready. Sign up here
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| LUCKY 13!
Big 13th Anniversary Sale and Big Raffle!
We’d love it if you joined us for our Anniversary Celebration on Saturday October 14th from 10-6. To thank you for all of your kind support and friendship , we’d like to give you a good sale! Take 20% off of all regularly priced items that aren’t food! This means that treats, chews, supplements, beds, leashes and collars, toys, etc are all on sale (this includes special orders). There are lots of other items in the store that are marked with even deeper discounts.
Prizes! To add to the fun, with every purchase, you’ll get a spin on the wheel! Free treats, free raffle tickets, and other fun prizes will be given away.
We’ll also have a fantastic raffle to benefit Columbia River Gorge restoration. We’ll be splitting the money between Friends of The Columbia Gorge and Trailkeepers of Oregon, who will each be addressing the situation from different valuable angles. Thanks to Sarah Rae who has been gathering donations from our vendors and local businesses, amazing prizes are rolling in!! Willow Tree is donating a cat tree, Big Shrimpy is donating a dog bed, Lodi and Lewi is donating the most awesome Portland themed leashes and collars, Krebs Recycle is donating recycled climbing rope leashes, we have prizes coming in from local businesses like Foot Traffic, Gazelle, Amenity Shoes, and much more! Of course there will be a great Green Dog gift bag as well.
We’ll also have a giant cake!
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| Green Dog Logo Pins!
How cute are these? We were so excited to find a place right in North Portland who could make our nifty logo into nifty enamel pins! We hope you like them too.
Green Tip: buying things that are locally made means fewer fossil fuels are used in the transport of materials and finished products, and you're supporting your local economy as well.
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Fuzzy Monsters!
We've loved West Paw since our very early days, as both their products and their business practices have so many attributes that we like to support. Their amazing rubbery Zogoflex toys are guaranteed against chewing damage, and if a dog can get pieces off (there is no such thing as an invincible toy), you can bring them back to us, swap them out one time for a more durable toy and we mail the pieces back to them to be melted down and made into new toys. All of their products are manufactured in Montana by employees who are paid fairly, given time off to volunteer, and empowered to innovate. They're B Corp certified, which means they have an above-and-beyond commitment to healthier employees, sustainable practices, transparency, and accountability. They make durable, guaranteed products, often with environmentally friendly materials. In fact, they've been a 4 time winner of the "Best for the World: Environment" award from the nonprofit B Lab. As a Green store, we try hard to find and support companies who believe that business can be a force of positive change in our world.
These super-durable new toys are adorable and of course come with a one time chew guarantee! A chew guarantee is unheard of in a plush toy, and we think they're going to last really well for those tough chewers in your home that aren't normally allowed to have plush toys. The reason: They combine the extreme durability and safety of their Zogoflex® material
in the tough chew zones along with a reinforced mesh-backed fabric they're calling HardyTex™ to create a furry plush toy that lasts!
Green Tip: When shopping, choosing durable items means that fewer materials wind up in landfills. Disposable or cheaply made products are convenient, but may not save you money in the end if you have to keep replacing them. We don't sell disposable plastic flea combs for example, as they're more likely to break or be lost. A good metal flea comb is around forever, and you might even give it to a friend if you no longer need it, instead of throwing it away.
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Amazing Product You Haven't Discovered Yet:
Pet Wellbeing Tinctures
Is your pet itchy? Undergoing cognitive changes as they age? Chronic ear infections? Thyroid Disease? Constipation? Cancer? These are just a few in a new line of amazing tinctures called Pet Wellbeing. We haven’t had them long, but so far results have been impressive! We brought it in because customers were asking for it after they had heard good things from friends or sometimes even vets and oncologists who had seen positive results. Take Pumpkin - an 18 year old kitty with thyroid and kidney issues. Since she started the kidney tincture 4 months ago, he seems to be feeling better, is eating better, has had an easier time keeping weight on and his coat is prettier and healthier looking. We’ve been lucky enough to see him every week after his acupuncture treatments, so we’ve really noticed the difference too.
Check out the testimonials on their website for a lot of different issues in dogs and cats - there are so many good ones:
Itch support “My miniature pinscher was suffering with odors and itchiness. We thought she had mites and used all kinds of homeopathic stuff on her, bathed her frequently and it never worked. Read about this and tried it. Within 2 weeks, less odor, less itchiness. It has now been about 6 months and she doesn't have the odor she used to have. I bathe her once a week and she is doing well, no obsessive scratching. Love this product and will keep using as directed.”
The Throat Gold has already helped one of our customers with a dog’s chronic coughing, but there are also multiple great testimonials on the website about dogs with tracheal collapse being helped by this product! One testimonial says: “My dog has a collapsed trachea and I have to give her medication daily to prevent her from having an attack. The medication is an addictive narcotic in cough medicine. It can also cause constipation and other side effects. Also whenever she would get an attack I would get very scared and afraid her trachea would close down and she would stop breathing. I read the reviews about this product and they sounded too good to be true. I ordered a bottle and after the first dose my dog stopped having the coughing / choking attacks. I was absolutely amazed. I have been giving her throat gold for several weeks and the attacks have stopped completely. This is a miracle product and it is all natural with no side effects. I give her the drops straight into her mouth with no problem. I am so happy I found throat gold.”
There's lots of info on their website for each product and an easy tool to see how long a bottle will last according to the weight of your animal. They have a staff veterinarian you can contact with questions, and an advisory board of 5 additional vets. Most tinctures are for both dogs and cats. Of course, if you try a tincture and you don't see results, you are welcome to return it!
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What's a Great Way To Help Control Invasive Species?
Eat Them!
These new treats by Bare It All are genius! There are three species of Asian Carp that were introduced to the Southeast in the 50s and 60s in the misguided attempt to control weeds and parasites in fish farming operations. They have unfortunately made their way up to just 9 miles from the Great Lakes. These fish can be enormous and voracious, and they crowd out native fish populations. They grow to be too large to be eaten by native predators (over 100lbs). You may have seen funny videos of Asian Carp jumping wildly out of the water and into boats, but there's nothing funny about this when boaters are injured (people have suffered broken noses and jaws), and there's nothing funny about the sheer numbers of carp in these waterways. They pose a very serious danger to the many native species of the Great Lakes, and also to the recreation industry in the area. Ohio GOP Sen. Rob Portman said, "The fishing industry in the Great Lakes is a $7 billion a year
economic engine and it would be severely threatened if Asian Carp are
allowed into the Great Lakes." Efforts are underway to try and prevent them from entering the Lakes, but the White House has proposed deep cuts to the program and is blocking an important study that would help to recommit funding.
That's why Bare It All Pet Food has created this great line of fishy Asian Carp treats for pets, and we hope other pet food and treat manufacturers jump on board. Supporting the market for this and other invasive species could help curb the population. Buying these treats makes you part of the solution!
Green Tip: Are you spreading invasive species? It's easy to do, even if you don't mean to. Here are 5 simple ways you can help prevent the spread of invasive species in our area - if you take hikes in Oregon, don't miss the first one!
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| | Neighborhood News:
- Come Trick Or Treating in Beaumont Village! The Beaumont Business Association is sponsoring a first annual "Fremont Fright Night" on Halloween with Trick or Treating from 4-6pm and a Haunted House in the Courtyard of Fremont Commons (our old building). Any dog in costume that comes to Green Dog that day gets a free locally made cookie!
- New Restaurants at Rose's Ice Cream Building - more here
- Hollywood Theater installed real pipe organ for silent film series
- Unfortunately all non curbside plastic recycling is coming to a end very soon. More here
- Daruma Sushi on NE 42nd and Fremont (owned by Andy from Blackbird Wine) has moved to Killingsworth and will open any day now. We're happy for him - he's been working hard for months on it and it's a big beautiful space. More here
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It's Time To Think About Visibility!
As days get shorter, it becomes less safe and less convenient to exercise your dogs outside after work. It's hard to fetch in the dark! This sale is a great time to think about picking up a light for your dog's collar or leash handle (there's even a strip that attaches with Velcro to your dog's harness). We have collars that light up and reflect, raincoats with big strips of reflective material, incredibly reflective leashes, and we also have light-up and glow-in-the-dark balls and flying discs for low light fun. Get your safety on!
Green Tip: Always look for light up toys and other products that have replaceable batteries. When a battery dies, it's no fun that the toy will never work again but it also becomes a toxic material to throw into a landfill. Batteries are made from a variety of
chemicals to power their reactions. Some of these chemicals, such as
nickel and cadmium, are extremely toxic and can cause damage to humans and the environment. In particular, they can cause soil and water pollution and endanger wildlife. Recycle batteries after use and you cut down on the impact of the products that do so much for our dog's safety and twilight fetching games.
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| | Please Welcome Hillary and Marilyn!
We’re so impressed by the detailed holistic health knowledge that Hilary brings. She was at Meat before she came to us (one of our very favorite stores nearby) and she also makes a line of amazing holistic products for pets called Wildcraeft (some of you already love her StuffIt Kong filling, her Pupcakes in the freezer for special occasions, and her CocoDent natural toothpaste). She has big plans to expand her knowledge of Chinese medicine in grad school so she can have her own business helping both humans and animals live healthier lives. Welcome Hillary! She’s helping us all learn more.
Marilyn comes with a diverse background in customer service, and most recently she was an employee at Hip Hound in NW Portland. She's just joined us this week, and is proving to be an excellent learner and is so enthusiastic and friendly. We're so happy she's joined us - Welcome Marilyn!
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| | Thanks again for your business. In a city filled with so many choices, we thank you for choosing us!
If you have opinions about how we could be doing anything better, we want to hear from you personally. If you’ve had a good experience in our store, please consider writing a review! Also as an aside - do any of you know a fantastic PR person? We might like to work with someone this year who already knows us and what we do.
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| | | | Located in Beaumont Village 4327 NE Fremont Street, Portland, Oregon 97213
Telephone: 503-528-1800
© 2007 - 2015 Green Dog Pet Supply. Green Dog Pet Supply® is a Registered Trademark. |
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