SPRINGFIELD, Vt. – A business inspired by a ridiculously cute fur baby hopes to open a bricks-and-mortar store that will offer healthy, affordable pet supplies, enliven Springfield, Vt.’s Main Street, and contribute to the local humane society.
Peanuts Dog Treats, owned by Charlestown, N.H., resident Samantha O’Gara, recently launched a crowdfunding campaign on The Local Crowd Upper Valley to grow from pop-up shop to permanent Springfield store. The Local Crowd Upper Valley is run by Vital Communities, a White River Junction-based nonprofit dedicated to creating equitable solutions to our region’s challenges.
This spring, O’Gara offered a pop-up shop for her pet treat-making business. The immediate positive response motivated her to pursue expanding from a pop-up to a permanent pet store. The funds raised will help capitalize this start-up, allowing the business to more fully contribute to Springfield’s locally owned retail sector.
“We are looking to turn our pop-up into a permanent pet store,” said O’Gara. “Our vision is to provide a store that not only offers high-quality pet products for all types of animals, but also supports the local community shelters through monthly donations.”
Peanuts Dog Treats is a start-up business that creates affordable, preservative-free dog treats. The business was inspired by Peanut, O’Gara’s adorable pug. She writes on her campaign web page, “Peanut stole our hearts the moment she was plopped into my arms on pick-up day. My fiancé and I treat her like gold and want the best of everything for her to ensure she lives a long, happy life. It was my fiancé’s idea to begin making my own dog treats, and I quickly fell in love with it! Now, I am sure most of you know this, but pugs can get pretty chunky fast if they are not on a healthy diet. By making my own treats, I had complete control over what was going into her body and it gave me peace of mind that I wasn’t filling her up with harmful ingredients. I want other dog owners to feel that peace of mind as well – and that is what sparked turning this into a business!”
This crowdfunding campaign continues through July at www.bit.ly/peanutdogtreats.
For more information, contact Jen Risley at 603-400-9157 or at jen@vitalcommunities.org.