Today we’d like to introduce you to Pattie Zeller.
Pattie, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Animal Connection was inspired by a Chesapeake Bay Retriever Ernie. When I found he had been diagnosed with cancer at age 8, the traditional vets told me to enjoy six months. That wasn’t good enough, so I tried a holistic vet who changed his diet from a mainstream dry food to a raw food diet supplemented with Chinese herbs. After minor surgery for the tumors, the cancer was eliminated and he became a strong dog again who lived to be 18-1/2 years!
Following that health scare, my dog basically “told” me I needed to use my advertising agency skills to tell people there was a better way to feed pets. After some research, I opened a “store” with three freezers in my farm garage in 2000. By 2003, we were selling enough to like minded people that I was able to leave my advertising career and open a brick and mortar store.
Animal Connection began with an 800 sf footprint… We have weathered two (almost three) recessions, 2-1/2 years of unexpected road construction, copycat competition, big box and online giants, a covid pandemic, and now tariffs… but we have grown each year and now have 8 employees in 4500 sf and a beautiful location with a storefront patio, wet bar, grill, fountain and a perfect place for our pet community to gather and network. We use the indoor space not only for retail, grooming, self service dog wash and a treat bakery… but now our outdoor space is heavily used for adoption events, store promotions and most recently, we have started catering birthday parties for dogs.
We are very involved with our community and participate in fund raising events for regional pet rescue groups and non-pet related groups, like Meals On Wheels, Cystic Fibrosis, and Do Good Cville’s coats and clothing collection drive for the housing challenged.
Animal Connection is also a national multi-award winning business. We were awarded the Pets+ Business Magazine’s “America’s Coolest Pet Store, Pets Product News “Retailer of the Year,” and Pet Age Magazine’s “Retailer Excellence Awards.”
Although these awards mean a lot to our store, what means most are the original customers who are still with us since day one (with different pets of course) and the many generations of pet owners we’ve known throughout the years.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Define “smooth…”
Anyone in retail has made changes to keep up with online sales competition. We made a conscious choice to focus on “experiential” retail. Our store has events, some large – some small, just about every weekend. We focus on the things we do best and do the things the big box or online stores can’t or won’t do. Our team is trained as much in hospitality as they are in retail sales and product knowledge. Even our grooming is different, as our team focuses on a calm environment and a much less stressful experience than other salons.
Many retailers had employee retention issues post-covid. When we didn’t have enough help, we created a “party squad” of friends and volunteers who would help us with in store and off site events, This became a training ground for potential store employees. We got to know them better, they got to see what real life pet retail would be like. It’s a great way to do what would become working interviews without the pressure.
I was lucky enough to be accepted in a nationally renowned retailer Mastermind group, which met online once a month and off site three times a year in selected US cities. Having the opportunity to network with 24 retailers selling all kinds of products, not just pet products, was great for learning better ways of doing things and getting new promotion ideas. Those years were a fantastic experience, helped me grow as a business woman, and inspired me to always look for fresh ways to do business better.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Before I was in the pet business, I owned an advertising/marketing agency with clients that ranged from furniture design, NASCAR, automotive and industrial battery manufacturing, restaurant groups and a musical instruments manufacturer. My claim to fame was the initial designs for the Krispy Kreme “hot donuts now” neon sign that is still in use today. I think the creative aspect and being flexible with the types of accounts I worked with helped me promote my pet business but also to “think on paper” to work out creative promotional ideas for store events.
Animal Connection’s tag line is “Charlottesville’s Most Fun Store For Pets” – we really try to live by that and create an experience like no other pet store. We have people who don’t even have pets come to visit us on busy Saturdays to talk NFL , College or English Premiere League football, listen to the Grateful Dead three hour dance party on the local radio. We do crazy things like combine Valentine’s Day with the Super Bowl and had a “Taylor Bowl” party with all the Swifties to celebrate her new boyfriend. Check us out on our social and you’ll see our lineup of fun for the whole family all year long.
Also, we truly treat our customers like family, celebrate when they bring in new pets to see us and take care of them when they lose their aged companions. That’s why we still have some of the same customers from our first year in business.
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
What I learned most about business came from years on a ranch riding with Montana cowboys. I spent a lot of time at Shayne Jackson’s McGinnis Meadows Ranch in Libby, Montana leaning about the fine art of vaquero horsemanship and cattle stockmanship. Our inspiration and teacher was the legendary horseman, Buck Brannaman, who was the cowboy Robert Redford played in The Horse Whisperer.
What I learned from this style of horsemanship centers around doing less to get the response you wanted, rewarding the slightest try, do as little as it takes but don’t over do, keeping your life in balance both at the barn and away from the barn, in your mind and body, patience, awareness, physical fitness and flexibility. I could go on and on with the lessons learned from the horses and from these amazing teachers of fine horsemanship.
In my “spare” time, I enjoy paddling kayaks in the Chesapeake Bay and central Virginia rivers, salt and fresh water fly fishing, trap shooting and sporting clays, enjoying live music and trying regional culinary specialties wherever we travel (especially our beloved blue crabs and oysters!)
My grandparents ran a country store in Arcola, NC. They lived above the store and carried everything you’d think a general store in a small eastern NC crossroads might have. I think that’s where I learned the basics of retail, how to tell good stories, how to remember your customer’s names and how to make an awesome Brunswick Stew.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://AnimalConnectionVA.com
- Instagram: @AnimalConnectionVA
- Facebook: @AnimalConnectionVA
