Stella's Spotlight: Mud Bay

Stella & Chewy's is proud to support neighborhood pet stores. We believe that shopping local and supporting small business is important and we're highlighting one of our retailers below: Mud Bay!

About Mud Bay

Mud Bay began in 1988 as a small feed store located in Olympia, Washington, owned by the Wulff family. As the store's mission evolved, Mud Bay began pioneering a focus on healthy foods for dogs and cats and owner education and now has 59 locations from Bellingham, Washington, to Bend, Oregon, along the western side of the Pacific Northwest. Mud Bay remains a family-owned company and became partially employee-owned in 2015.

Mud Bay’s mission is to contribute to the health of dogs and cats and the happiness of those who care for them as they build a family- and employee-owned company that they can be proud of. Dogs and cats often need help to communicate their needs to their owners. They love partnering with dog and cat owners to find solutions to nutrition, health, and behavioral questions. Whether a pet owner needs free food samples, a solution sheet written by an on-staff vet, or just an experienced Muddy (employee) to offer suggestions, they're committed to doing whatever they can to help that dog or cat while strengthening the bond between pet and owner. Their goal is for every Muddy and every store to embody the Mud Bay Experience (MBX). The MBX lists the nine things that are essential to Mud Bay, ranging from gracious, solutions-based conversations to fair pricing to the quality of our products (and return policy). Essentially, every Muddy is empowered to do anything within reason to help you and your pet.

In 2018, Mud Bay realized they could better serve their mission by providing services to pet owners beyond what they offer in their stores. They're currently developing their Mud Room lifestyle-grooming services, as well as local Mud Bay Delivery and their Green Pet waste composting business.

Muddies love to recommend Stella & Chewy’s Raw Coated and Raw Blend Kibble to pet owners who want to explore feeding raw to their dog or cat. It’s a good first step towards raw because it offers single-bag convenience and a familiar food form. Stella & Chewy’s kibble can also be an excellent solution for people who want a highly palatable and digestible option for their pet in baked kibble form.

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Why Shop Local?

Shopping local helps keep jobs and tax dollars in our communities while ensuring businesses that understand and can respond to each community’s unique concerns flourish. Supporting small businesses also ensures that new products and services can thrive.

While Mud Bay is no longer a small business, they stock products from businesses as small as a one-person enterprise that makes cat toys by hand. These products help make their stores special, and they work with these small businesses to help them grow.

Last year, Mud Bay donated over $224,000 in food, supplies and cash to more than 100 different Pacific Northwest shelters and animal welfare organizations in need. Many of this type of community support happens at individual stores and all Muddies can participate. They believe that becoming part of the local community is so important that we also have a team of Muddies who coordinate donations to local organizations, attend events on behalf of Mud Bay, and support the institutions that make each community unique. This community outreach team also supports their shelter partner program that has 30 members in the PNW who receive regular support, cash and supply donations from Mud Bay.

Learn more about Mud Bay or find a neighborhood pet store near you!