By LEAH LEWIS
I may have been projecting, but they just looked so sad. I was sad, too.
Blue sky, a few white clouds, warmth cutting through the morning frost on my lawn and windshield. I really shouldn’t have had to sit in my windowless production studio all morning. Daisy and Marley totally agreed. Daisy is our five-year-old black lab mix and Marley is our five-year-old hot mess of a Shih-Tzu.
They looked at me with the saddest eyes ever as I grabbed my purse and keys and hurried out the back door. I think I’m over the guilt trips my manipulative children try to give me. I’m impervious to their impish smiles and freckles. (Okay, maybe not 100% of the time. Honestly, I will pretty much fall prey to anyone’s nudging, if it suits my personal agenda!) So I decided this weekend would be the perfect time to take the kids, both Furry and Human, on an overdue walk for a treat.
My game plan? Tasty homemade, natural dog treats at the old-school Go Fetch on Woody (just blocks from my house) for the pups and a stop at the Kettlehouse on the way home for a tasty root beer for young Mila and an Eddy Out for the Maiden! Win, Win!
What a gorgeous weekend to take a stroll across the train tracks to the cozy Go Fetch store, tucked neatly on the north end of Woody Street downtown. It is quiet enough that even if you drive you can always find a parking spot, but we love to take the furry kids on a walk there and use the genius hitching posts out front while we shop for treats, toys, and supplies.
Many of your favorite national brands of food and treats are available at Go Fetch, and it is much easier to stop in there for a quick pick up over a huge box store. Go Fetch is always pretty generous with the samples if you are trying to find a suitable food for a newly adopted dog or if your pet’s dietary needs have changed from age, weight gain, pregnancy, what have you. My human kids love to find treats, toys, collars, even booties for the pups. It is a close second to the toy store for them!
What really keeps us popping into Go Fetch over and over again are the favorite homemade, natural dog treats. The dog “cookies” come in football shapes for Griz season, gingerbread shaped for the holidays, and they smell good enough I have been tempted to nibble. Even though I have never actually taken a bite (yet), an unnamed source said she has actually snacked on them from time to time.
The first time I found these yummy treats as a new dog owner, I was told that they are made from all human-friendly ingredients, natural and organic when available, and they simply omit extra salt and sugar from what is essentially a normal human cookie or cracker recipe. (I just might try one with hummus one of these days.)
What really sets them apart is how much my dogs LOVE them! Daisy will turn up her nose at a box of Milk Bones, wouldn’t even try my homemade attempts at baking dog biscuits, and eschews most people food (aside from pizza crusts and chicken nuggets). But both of my dogs scarf their Go Fetch bakery treats as soon as I pull them out of the bag in front of the store. It keeps them happy enough on the walk home to wait patiently for a refreshment break at the Kettlehouse!
If you live in town, there is a Go Fetch in your neighborhood, too: Woody Street, North Reserve, and the newest store and doggy gym in Russell Square. Each location is unique, and they’re all equally fabulous. If you haven’t been lately, or at all, please check one out!
They also carry cat toys and treats for the feline folks in the crowd, and you’ll be supporting one of the coolest businesses in Missoula.
And just to really get you going, I will draw a name from all the comments left on this post to win a $25 gift certificate to Go Fetch – how’s that for motivation? Get your comment in before Monday, March 21 and I will announce the winner on my next post.
Your pet will thank you!
Watch for Leah’s weekly Maiden Missoula reviews. Feel free to comment below, or drop her a line at leah@montanaradio.com and let her know what YOU make in Missoula! Back to Maiden Missoula home blog page.
Click here to see all of Maiden Missoula’s product reviews.
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Leah Lewis is living the dream on Missoula’s Northside with her handsome and handy husband Mark, daughters Zoe and Mila, two dogs and a cat. She enjoys making things on her sewing machine, with her knitting needles and in her kitchen. You can listen to her play today’s pop music every day on Fresh 104.5 FM, or listen to her podcast about hundred or more year old pop music on her classical music podcast at www.downbeatdownlow.com with Darko Butorac from the Missoula Symphony. You might catch Leah and her family relaxing in their backyard, cheering on the Missoula Osprey or rooting for the Lady Griz on any given weekend.