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| PET GAZETTE | PETQUIP AWARDS
THE SHORTLIST
COMPANY:
THE WANDERING DOG COMPANY
FOUNDER: JOANNE MILLER
LOCATION: SHOPS IN CULLERCOATS AND BLYTH,
AND A BLYTH DISTRIBUTION DEPO
ESTABLISHED: THREE YEARS AGO
UNIQUE SELLING POINT: THE NORTH EAST’S
LARGEST INDEPENDENT RETAILER OF RAW FOOD,
NATURAL TREATS AND PRODUCTS FOR DOGS.
The Wandering Dog Company was established
three years ago by Joanne Miller. One of Joanne’s
dogs, Poppy (the wandering dog) suffered from skin
problems. After not getting very far with veterinary
conventional medicines Joanne began to investigate
natural foods and supplements. Locally there was
nowhere for her to buy these products so she set up a
little stall on a weekend market in Tynemouth station.
“After eight months of spending every Saturday
standing in the freezing cold, I realised my business could only grow if
I opened a shop,” said Joanne. “In November 2014 after finding a small
unit on Cullercoats station, we opened the doors to one room of our
very small unit. We had no phones, no heating, no windows and no
internet and had a very small selection of treats and supplements.”
“By this time we had switched Poppy onto a raw food diet and
after seeing the difference in her I purchased my first two freezers
and became the area’s first dedicated raw food retailer, albeit a very
small one. We stocked Nutriment and a company called Dogs Butcher.
Our customer base grew through word
of mouth, as did my freezer count. Within
a year we had bought seven commercial
freezers that were crammed in every
available nook and cranny. We took over
another couple of units on the station
and installed a further eight commercial
freezers.”
DELIVERY SERVICE
Joanne launched a delivery service
covering the North East. In addition, the
company became the North of England
trade contact for Manifold Valley Meats,
supplying food to eight small independent
retailers throughout Scotland and the
North East.
Now, in 2017, the company has six staff,
two Ford Transit freezer vans, one shop in
Cullercoats, one distribution depot in Blyth
and a second shop in Blyth. Joanne says.
“We are the North East’s largest raw food
retailer. We deliver weekly throughout the
North East and Edinburgh, fortnightly to
www.petgazette.biz
Glasgow and monthly to Cumbria and South West Scotland. Our van
provides a door to door service for those customers unable to come
to our shops. Our drivers not only deliver on a timed schedule so
customers know when they will be arriving but have been known to
take the service one step further by packing food away for people.”
PAY IT FORWARD
In 2016 the company launched a pay it forward scheme to enable it to
help people who, for whatever reason, were struggling to feed their
dog. Joanne says: “We contacted all the
manufacturers we stocked at that time,
both raw and dry, to ask if they would be
interested in donating food that they were
unable to sell (for example, miss-weights
or damaged goods). Nutriment and
Manifold Valley Meats both loved our idea
and agreed to donate food to our scheme
alongside donations from our customers.”
The food The Wandering Dog Company
received has enabled it to help families
in the North East and to make significant
donations of food to various rescues
within its delivery areas. Joanne says: “In
2016 we were approached by some of
our customers who knew of a local rescue
centre that had been devastated by an
arson attack.” After learning that some
of the dogs were raw fed, the company
dispatched a freezer van of food within
24 hours, followed by weekly deliveries to
keep them stocked up.
July 2017