New owners take the leash at Tailwaggers

After Chase Pierce moved back home to Whitefish, he was paws-itive he wanted to own his own business. Fur-tunately, the purr-fect opportunity arose at Tailwaggers.

Pierce took over the pet store on East Third Street about a month ago, slowly restocking empty shelves and getting the place ready for its grand re-opening. New products are in and the front of the store has a new paint job. For Pierce and his wife, Abby, and their puppy, Scout, it’s a dream come true.

“Being in Whitefish, I wanted to have a small, local business downtown,” he said. “We really enjoy pets and having a nice, friendly atmosphere with unique stuff you can’t find in other places.”

While he’s not making any big changes to how Tailwaggers has been run in the past, Pierce said his focus is on offering a variety of new and unique selections for every type of product the store sells, like dog food, treats and toys.

Stocking local products is a priority too. Tailwaggers offers Big Sky Bites, grass-fed beef dog treats made in Whitefish and Paws Up Bakery, which operates out of Lakeside.

“We’re just trying to bring in local products that are fun for the community,” he said. “These are products that are higher quality, the ingredient list is really important to us, so just having healthy alternatives for pets is really what interested us in this store specifically.”

Tailwaggers is teaming up with Sweet Peaks for a grand re-opening event on Oct. 1 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Attending canines will receive free doggy ice cream, and their accompanying humans will also get to take advantage of discounted products at Tailwaggers.