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9 places to score the sweetest Valentine’s Day gift for your dog or cat
Humans can be so fickle with their affection and attention. But who’s there for you, no matter what, with deep devotion in their eyes and not an ounce of judgment (well, unless we’re talking felines ... )?
I mean, get real. When it comes to Valentine’s Day, who really loves you?
Your pets, of course, and since giving is one of the best parts of any holiday, why not forget the angst of human relationships this year and lavish some attention on your four-legged admirers, who will follow you anywhere — especially if you have treats.
And, boy, can we deliver on the treats. If there’s one thing almost every pet boutique in L.A. offers, it’s luscious, elaborate and even frosted treats, made from ingredients pure enough for humans to enjoy but minus the salt, butter, sugar and chocolate humans adore but are dangerous to doggie tummies.
So here is a sampling of pet shops around Los Angeles where you can pamper your pet, upgrade accessories or just go wild on an Elle Woods-worthy carrier bag, purse or adorable sweater.
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(Jeanette Marantos / Los Angeles Times)
Fur-Kids Boutique
Hawthorne Pet Store
Owner Abril Quiroz got her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice but decided she really wanted to start her own business, and her little Pomeranian pooch, Iris, helped her decide what kind: one that carries clothing and accessories for pets. When she opened in April 2019, she filled her shop with Art Deco décor and music from the 1920s — her favorite era — and sold merchandise made by others. But when the pandemic shut down deliveries, she bought a sewing machine and taught herself how to sew (with instruction from her boyfriend, Alfredo Arenivas), making everything from fur-lined jackets and flapper dresses to a custom wedding gown for a doggie ring bearer. Now her business carries both her custom designs and other labels, as well as toys, bandanas, hats and chichi pet-carrier bags. She’s also created places in her store for pets to model the clothes and get their photos taken. (Bring your own camera.) “I wanted to create something more than the typical retail space,” she said. Quiroz is usually closed on Sundays and Mondays, but she’ll be open for Super Bowl Sunday for those who want to pick up a custom-made L.A. Rams bandanna — or anything else — for their pets.
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(Jeanette Marantos / Los Angeles Times)
Three Dog Bakery
Encino Pet Store
If desserts are your (and your pets’) favorite form of celebration, Three Dog Bakery is a good place to find elaborately decorated cookies, cakes and even frozen canine treats (made from raw goat milk — a cooling probiotic treat for dogs with digestion issues, says sales clerk Laura Roth). They’re all made with human-grade ingredients, but, while they look yummy, they don’t taste as indulgent as made-for-human desserts because they don’t use sugar, butter or salt. (The taste and texture of the cake, for instance, is similar to a cooked meringue without any sweetener — “not so wonderful for humans but dogs love it,” says Roth.) And by buying a heart-shaped canine cake in February (about $30) you are making a $10 donation to the HIT Living Foundation animal rescue. Three Dog Bakery is a locally owned franchise of a national chain based in Missouri, but the mixing and cooking are all done right in the store. (There’s a kitchen store in San Clemente too — at 174 Avenida Del Mar.) Visitors can watch the bakers frost “pupcakes” and cookies while browsing the case of decorated treats or pet toys and accessories (most of the merchandise is dog-oriented). You can even buy refrigerated quarts of raw goat milk to make your own frozen treats at home. And, if you want to spend a day with your dog around Encino, one option is to walk the 1.3-mile trail around Lake Balboa, three miles north of the store, then give your dog a bath at the Bubbles Pet Spa next door to the bakery. The DIY “self wash” is $18 and includes everything from an apron for you to shampoo and a drying station for your pooch. And bonus: If you bring your spa receipt to Three Dog Bakery, your dog gets a free cupcake! (That should hold him or her until you get the big cake home.)
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(Jeanette Marantos / Los Angeles Times)
Just Food for Dogs
West Hollywood Pet Store
If your pet is a picky eater or suffering from allergies or digestive problems, Just Food for Dogs’ flagship kitchen/store in West Hollywood could be the Valentine’s gift they need. Don’t expect any bling or toys here — this store is all about nutrition. You can buy treats, like strips of dehydrated beef brisket or even pumpkin and molasses crackers, but the store’s panel of veterinarians warns that treats should make up only 10% of your pet’s daily calories. The main event here is your pet’s daily nosh. The store specializes in what it calls “real food”— chicken, lamb, beef, even venison — cooked on the premises with ingredients like fish oil, spinach, zucchini, broccoli, whole-wheat macaroni, rice, carrots and apples, then frozen for you to take home and defrost, at a cost of $32 to $40 for 4 cups — roughly three to four days’ worth of meals depending on the size of your pet. (Note that dogs, unlike cats, are not true carnivores — they do fine with veggies. Cats are all about the meat, and JFFD’s cat meals and salmon bark treats have been tailored accordingly,) “We make food for busy people who don’t have time to do it themselves,” said Joe Ovalle, the store’s “brand ambassador.” You can buy smaller 18-ounce packages to see what recipes work best with your pet, then settle on a subscription or start making your own at home — the store even provides DIY kits that make 30 to 39 pounds of food for $22, which includes the recipe, cooking instructions and nutritional supplements. The “real food” ingredients you’ll have to buy yourself — but at least you’ll finally know what your pet is really eating.
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(Jeanette Marantos / Los Angeles Times)
Mr. Speck's
Pico-Robertson Pet Store
For some people — and maybe dogs? — nothing says “love” like a lot of bling. If that’s your vibe, Mr. Speck’s in Beverly Hills is ready to help with everything from a $450 Louis Vuitton leather and metal bow tie dog collar and leash set to a tiny rhinestone tiara ($30), bow tie ($24) and pearl-encrusted sunglasses ($30) that might make Elton John jealous. There are plenty of designer clothes too, if you want a $65 Chanel-inspired sweater or $85 Elvis sequin bomber jacket for your pooch. Alas, the $135 Designer Sparkle Pet Carrier is sold out in all colors (pink, black and white), but the $95 “Purberry” trench-style raincoat, with traditional tartan plaid lining, is still available, in case Southern California ever gets any more rain. In short, if you’ve got the money, Mr. Speck’s has the merchandise, along with a wide assortment of treats and squeaky chew toys (like the $14 “Gucchewi” dog ball and $13 catnip-filled heart toys for cats). Mr. Speck’s also provides grooming and daycare services, but your adorable pooch will likely be too busy trying on sweaters and jewelry to want a bath.
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Top Dog Barkery
Huntington Beach Pet Store
Top Dog Barkery dabbles in a little bit of everything in the canine world. It makes all its own treats on site — including the popular “Top Dog Bar” (a big slice of peanut butter cake with peanut butter frosting), “beef cakes” and turkey/sweet potato “PUP-pies” and even custom bacon-flavored birthday cakes. Canine birthday “pawties” can be organized and hosted in the store. Leashes, toys and other gear are sold. And the store offers grooming and bathing, both professional and a recently opened DIY option. Grooming appointments are scheduled about two weeks out, said employee Bri Viers, but dog owners who want to wash their own pups can walk in when space is available. The store is less than two miles from the popular Huntington Dog Beach, so, said Viers,”we get a lot of sand here, and a lot of vacuuming.” If you want to visit the dog beach and keep sand out of your car, walk to the store for a quick bath — all equipment and shampoos are provided for $19 — and a cupcake for your dog is thrown in when you’re done. You might want to splurge on frosted, heart-shaped cookies too, but be sure to order ahead if you want to take home a custom cake.
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(Jeanette Marantos / Los Angeles Times)
The Dog Bakery
Pasadena Pet Store
The Dog Bakery distributes nationally now, but the business started by pet-rescue advocate Rocky Kanaka is L.A. born and bred, with kitchen boutiques in Pasadena as well as L.A.’s Farmer’s Market (6333 W. 3rd St., No. 710), Belmont Shore (4818 E. 2nd St., Long Beach) and Mar Vista (12112 Venice Blvd.), plus a kiosk at LAX’s Terminal 5 for travelers who want to assuage their guilt over leaving their doggies behind. You and your pooch can drop in to any of these boutiques to buy the typical dog accessories and paraphernalia, or just press your noses against the bakery case to watch the bakers icing cakes or elaborate cookies. A box of six 3.5-inch “puppy love bones” made with wheat flour, rolled oats, rice bran and cinnamon, are frosted in pink, red and white for Valentine’s Day, and cost $15 — enough to share with friends. A note for allergy-prone dogs: The 6-inch, heart-shaped cakes ($35) are grain-free, featuring ingredients like buckwheat flour, pumpkin purée, eggs and honey, with a frosting of dehydrated yogurt and buttermilk mixed with honey and shortening and crusted around the sides with carob chips (chocolate is bad for dogs), crushed peanuts or coconut shreds in pink or white. And if you’re feeling especially festive, the store sells party hats, plates and napkins. If you’d rather avoid the gooey treats, check out the Good Dog Chews, “durable yet pliable” 3.5-inch chews with ingredients like pumpkin, chickpea flour and cinnamon. A bag of 14 costs $15, and the chews can easily be broken into pieces if you want to limit your dog’s calories but still give them a little something special.
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(Jeanette Marantos/Los Angeles Times)
Tailwaggers
Pet Store
We’ve talked a lot about canine gifts here ... and Tailwaggers has plenty of stuff to keep dogs well-accessorized and fed, but the stores (also at 1929 N. Bronson Ave. and 147 N. Larchmont Blvd.) are full of items for your feline valentine too. There are soft-sided, purse-like carriers for cats (or very small dogs) designed to be airplane-carry-on friendly and a wide assortment of cat towers and cat caves. Pets are welcome in the store, says John Waytena, who lists his title as the store keyholder. “They can try on all the clothes and collars and realize it doesn’t work while they’re still in the store, or we can put all the beds on the floor and let them pick the one they really like.” And every animal gets a treat when they come in — even if they’re just visiting as part of their daily walk. “It’s the best part of the day,” says Waytena, the proud parent of three Jack Russell rescue dogs. The store doesn’t get many cat visitors, but they’re welcome too, especially if you’re feeling brave and want to try out a cat tower or carrier. At least they’ll have some place to hide if the canine visitors get overwhelming.
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(Jeanette Marantos / Los Angeles Times)
Pacific Coast Pets
Malibu Pet Store
This may be a Malibu pet store, but its offerings are far more than luxe trinkets and sweaters. This is a store for pet parents who are serious about their responsibilities in choosing food, leashes, carriers and dishes, all the way down to making canine cakes and ice cream at home. The store sells cake mixes for dogs in multiple flavors: red velvet, carob, pumpkin and birthday cake — a kind of white cake with white icing and blue and pink sprinkles ($8.99 each). Manager Nicole Sheehan made one at home for her pug Zoe’s birthday, complete with candles. Zoe seemed mystified by the cake until Sheehan broke off a piece and let her try it. “Then she knew what to do,” Sheehan said. The cake mix is made from rice flour, cane sugar, baking powder, salt and vanilla flavoring, which should be mixed at home with an egg and oil. Doggie birthday parties are a brisk business at the store,and the toy selection is impressive. So if you plan to take your dog to Malibu for a Valentine’s walk around nearby Legacy Park, you can stop in to let your pooch choose a gift. (There’s a second store in Zuma Beach too, at 29575 Pacific Coast Highway.) Or maybe you can get creative, like one young man. “He had just started dating someone he really liked but it was too soon to get her a Valentine’s gift, so he bought her dog a Valentine’s gift instead,” Sheehan said. Now that’s the kind of ingenuity that restores your faith in humanity.
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Naked Dog Bistro
Pet Store
If your sweet fur baby has some special needs — allergies, rashes or just plain anxiety — the organic, gluten-free treats and meals at Naked Dog Bistro in Laguna Beach might provide some relief — or the homemade CBD-infused biscuits and coconut oils. “We make them all in-house,” said Lindsay Poe, who owns the store with her mother, Charlotte Sadek. “The CBD products are always edibles for animals because if it’s topical they’ll just lick it off.” People use CBD products to ease joint pain, Poe said, but one of the biggest pet-related uses is to calm anxious dogs. The CBD products cost between $14 and $88 depending on strength and the dog’s body size. “We figure about 1 milliliter for every 10 pounds of body weight,” she said. But Naked Dog Bistro is much more than a doggie head shop. The store sells all kinds of canine accessories: leashes, harnesses, collars and apparel, gluten-free cookies, like the peanut butter and oat flour valentine cookies (“Woof U” “Furever”), and a variety of gluten-free meals (no wheat or rye) prepared fresh on the premises and then frozen for sale — $7 for 1 pound or two cups of food, $14 for 2 pounds. There’s also a big selection of toys, including mushy Valentines items like ae plush, pink, coffee-drink squeeze toy inscribed with “Love you a latte,” which of course every well-trained dog will totally understand. This is a good time to take your dog to the beach in Laguna because leashed dogs are permitted on the beach anytime during the off-season (before June 15 and after Sept. 10). So grab a treat or a toy and maybe some calming oils, and take your pooch for a meditative stroll along the sand. “Because Laguna is a pretty romantic little town,” Poe said. “It’s great for Valentine’s Day.”
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