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.
********************
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.
Was back in Missoula this fall and stumbled across Go Fetch – took some treats home for the puppy dog
Like
1
Love this blog… I love trying new things but don’t know where to start sometimes and being new to Missoula, you are a big help. I can’t wait to bring Belle into Go Fetch for a treat.
Like
0
I think you’ll love it…plus the owner has a dog named Bella! You’ll get along great!
Like
0
We use the Go Fetch up on North Reserve to buy our dog food, and indestructible chew toys. I’ve always wanted to try out their doggy day care thing, but am not sure how my smaller dog would do. I guess I need to ask.
Like
1
So my two dogs LOVE milk bone treats, so I’m pretty sure they’d be over the top for Go Fetch cookies. More importantly, however, pretty sure they’d be over the top for a meet and sniff with Daisy and Marley! We should arrange that!
Like
0
We’d love it!
Like
0
We’ll have to check it out the next time we are in town. Sounds like it will be a hit for my family, especially since my dog Dottie doesn’t think she’s a dog so the treats that look like cookies will make her tail wag, and my 4 yr old wants to be a dog so the store will make her inner puppy happy.
Like
0
We would LOVE to take Hannah next time she comes to visit!
Like
0
A few years ago my cocker spaniel was having digestion issues. After switching to a specialty dog food there was improvement, but the digestion issues persisted. After further questioning from our vet, we suspected that her love for doggie treats (and my indulgence to please her) may be the culprit. We were buying a well known national brand that had all kinds of not-so-great things added to them and they were not setting well. That’s when we first tried natural dog treats and we’ve been hooked ever since! So much better for the dogs . . . and apparently they taste great too — the dogs absolutely devour them!
Like
0
We love cockers! My inlaws have had several over the years and my parents had one as well…and it seems they (like our Shih Tzu) have delicate little systems!
Like
0
My faithful companion, ranch alarm system, rough and ready trail scout, and large pit/lab cross dog who insists on lap snuggling, Jewel, simply would not forgive me if I did not comment and thereby have a chance of winning some of Go Fetch’s incredible, delectable treats. I have to stay on Jewel’s good side. She rules this place with an iron paw and a deadly tail. Now that I think it through, maybe I had better just go on over to Go Fetch and get my own supply. Merely contemplating the consequences of not indulging Jewel fills me with dread. I’m on my way right now.
Like
1
I hear ya, SuzAnne! My furry kiddos rule the roost! Our Lab cross is convinced she is a lap dog as well, and I hardly put up a fight!
Like
0
[...] Made In Missoula products such as Zoo Town Cutie Booties, or the Clay Studio of Missoula, or even Missoula-made Doggy Treats. Speaking of dogs, checkout why Missoula is so [...]
Like
0