by Bridgid Bender

I hate to think that my husband and I are one of those couples who don’t have kids and thus treats their dogs (and cats) like kids, but I fear that we are. My dogs (Luna and Brody) go to day care (once a week), I check the labels on their food, and they have seatbelts for our cars (I don’t dress them in costumes, only bandanas. I promise!). Given my extreme level of pet-love, I feel qualified to tell you about Healthy Pet (healthypetaustin.com), in the Arbor Trails shopping center on William Cannon.

The first thing that you see when you walk through the door is a dog fountain, endlessly splashing its fresh-water welcome to the four-legged customers. The store is moderately sized and well stocked with healthy and sometimes unusual dog treats, premium foods, toys and accessories. My two pampered pups particularly like the Sam’s Yams dried sweet potatoes and the Plato Turkey and Pumpkin treats. They’ve also tried a variety of treats as a result of my personal curiosity, like Bully Sticks, and Texas Toothpicks. This past weekend, at the recommendation of a friendly and interested fellow customer, they got some deer antlers to chew on. I have a feeling they’ll be eyeing the occasional deer in the yard with more interest now they’ve had a taste.

It’s not only the customers at Healthy Pet that are friendly and interested, but the staff as well. The owners, Trevor and Chris, are nearly always in the store and graciously answer my questions. I bought a harness for one of my dogs and liked it so well that I went back to the store to buy another. The harnesses weren’t on the shelves, so I described it to Chris in hopes they still carried them. He not only knew exactly which harness I meant, but also that they just received a shipment that morning and hadn’t yet put them out on the floor. He got the box for me and helped me dig through it to find the right fit and color to match my girl.

I can’t forget to mention Luna and Brody’s favorite reason for a trip to Healthy Pet: Biggie the house dog. Biggie is a most entertaining French bulldog who personally greets any four legged customer (and some of the two-legged kind as well) when they enter the store. He’s charming and cute, everything a Frenchie should be, and you have to love a dog with his own blog. Healthy Pet also has a self-serve dog wash, adoption events, and discounts with your GoLocal card. So if you’re like me and can’t really help indulging your pets, Healthy Pet is a great resource for spoiling them right.