Dewey (front) and Dally (lying in her chair), Australian shepherds, spend part of their days at Nuance, a women's specialty shop on Main Street in Los Gatos.

Pet Shops

Animals find a home in the workplace

By Sandy Sims

Photographs by Paul Myers

'Everyone seems happier when the dogs are around," says Sue Farwell, owner of Mountain Charley's nightclub in Los Gatos. Farwell shepherds her three large Rhodesian ridgebacks--Razor, Ajax and Brody--into her bar. It's early afternoon, before the place opens, and the dogs roam around empty tables, checking out the smells. It's not unusual to find them at the bar when customers start rolling in. "Only in the first part of the evening," Farwell says. "I don't keep them here very late." Farwell loves to have her pooches with her in the morning when she's doing the bookkeeping at the bar.

Farwell's isn't the only business in town with dogs hanging around. In fact, Los Gatos could be called Los Perros because downtown is mostly dog country and just a little bit cat.

Weave in and out of businesses along Main Street and N. Santa Cruz Avenue, and canines of all sizes and breeds will be lying on floors, sitting in chairs or couches and snuggling under desks. At least 12 shops have tail-waggers, some as many as three, and two stores have actually been named after dogs.

"I think it's Los Gatos," Greg Agnelli, owner of Sprockets, a sportswear and volleyball gear store, says. "It's a laid-back, small town."

Maybe it's the dogs that make the town laid back, a kind of tail that wags the town thing.

But there is something about dogs--scratching their ears, rubbing their tummies. There's that unconditional love--that complete acceptance. Give them a treat and they will go crazy with excitement the next time you come around. Agnelli says there are studies that show having a dog around actually lowers a person's blood pressure.

Agnelli says his 8-year-old golden lab, Sprocket, for whom Agnelli's store is named, is a stress releaser. On a busy day, Sprocket nudges him or puts her head on his lap. "It reminds me to take time," Agnelli says. He notices that when his college-age clerks come in from a tough test at school, they cruise over to see the dog and their morale goes right up.


Noodle, a rescued cat, lives at Purrsnickety/Bow Wowzer, a pet store in Los Gatos. Her bed is on a shelf in the Bow Wowzer section, which caters to dogs.




It's not that the dogs do much of anything other than hang out. They mostly lie around. Most of us have stepped over or around 3-year-old Bella, a golden retriever after which the store Bella Rosa, a women's clothing boutique, is named. Bella loves to sprawl in the sun right in front of the door. If she's not at the door, Bella cuddles up on "her own" couch just inside the window. "She's is part of the ambiance of the store," says Karen Giordano, the owner of Bella Rosa.

If that's so, then Lizzie, the 5-year-old Dalmatian at Trent Pottery, could be considered live art. Gracie Thompson, who helps run the store and gallery, says she often hears, "Oh my gosh that dog is real."

Dogs do more than add ambiance or art or therapy. Diane Disbrow, co-owner of the Yellow Brick Road jewelry store on N. Santa Cruz Avenue, claims customers don't feel the usual jewelry-store intimidation with Crosby, her 18-month-old golden retriever, around. Crosby's basket of toys sits next to the counter so customers or their children can play with him while parents peruse glittering showcases of jewels.

Customers grow fond of these dogs. Many remember Bosco, a Bernese Mountain dog that looks like a big bear, at the recently closed Bears in the Woods store on N. Santa Cruz Avenue. Janee McKinney, the store's owner, said she remembers one customer calling ahead to make sure Bosco would be around when she came to the store.

Holly Ilse, owner of Nuance, which sells specialty women's wear on Main Street, says customers and youngsters come into her store to visit her Australian shepherds, Dewey and Dally. Ilse gets repeat customers from places as far away as China, Japan and Australia who even take pictures of themselves with the dogs. "It's crazy," she says. But then she points to her rows of Dewey and Dally pictures on a shelf behind the counter. "I guess I'm crazy too," she says laughing. Ilse says she feels safe with her dogs around.

But strange things still happen, and dogs can get as spooked as people.

One morning about two years ago a deer came running down Main Street, dashed right into Ilse's store and laid down. He had been hit by a car and was bleeding. "Dewey ran and hid and Dally barked," Ilse says. When the police came and shooed "Bambi" out of the store, Ilse watched it run back down the street and up into the hills. "I was upset," Ilse says, "because the deer was hurt and needed help."


Noodle the cat lives at Purrsnickety/Bow Wowzer, a pet store in Los Gatos.




These dog owners are compassionate people. Many have gotten their dogs from an animal shelter. That's how Tom Teifer, owner of Tom Teifer Women's Wear, got his 60-pound dog, Barney. But his is a Hollywood kind of story.

While in a dog shelter in Ann Arbor, Mich., where Teifer was living 10 years ago, he spied the kind of dog--with the right face and temperament--he'd been searching for.

"That's the dog I want. That's Barney," Teifer told the attendant. It was too late to process the 4-month-old dog's release on a Friday. When Teifer telephoned the following Monday, he was told that the dog was scheduled to be euthanized that day.

"Do not put that dog down," Teifer told the voice on the phone. "I'll be there in three hours." Teifer, who'd been skiing, sped through snowy Northern Michigan. Then his car slid into a ditch. "I had no cell phone back then," Teifer says, but someone helped him tow his car back on the road.

At the shelter, Teifer was told he was too late; the dog was being put down. "The doctor is in there now," the attendant said and pointed to the veterinarian's office.

"I busted that door open," Teifer says.

There was Barney, lying on the table and the veterinarian standing with a hypodermic in his hand, talking on the phone.

"That's my dog, Barney," Teifer yelled. Barney looked up at Teifer. Teifer hugged Barney. "But this dog is Heidi," the vet said. Teifer took the dog and kept the name Barney anyway.

A few years later, Teifer acquired Spanky, a 5-year-old, 20-pound pug from a neighbor who had five dogs and 16 or so cats. "Spanky needed attention," Teifer says. Spanky is a very friendly little pug who likes to greet customers. Teifer takes his dogs everywhere. "They even sleep in my bed under the covers. These are my kids," Teifer says.

Choca, the lab-springer spaniel mix at the Wild Bird Store, was rescued, too, and found her way to store owners Freddie and John Howell through doggie foster homes. When the UPS man comes to the store, Choca barks and runs around because he brings Choca treats.

Give Los Gatos tail-waggers a treat, scratch them behind the ears, and they will be your friends forever. That's the way things are at TBW, a lapel-pin business, on Victory Lane. Bob Rogers, the owner doesn't have a store dog, but he keeps salami on hand for visiting canines and an occasional feline. Recently, a stray pooch that Rogers and his manager, Jim Birtola, dubbed Sandy, has been a regular visitor. Sandy's gotten so casual about her visits that Rogers and Birtola don't know she's visiting until they stumble over her.


Spanky, a 20-pound pug, sits under the table at Tom Teifer Women's wear, She is tethered because she loves to run outside when dogs pass the store.




Al Jaca, a retired grocer and Los Gatos resident for 40 years, and his little white dog, Kipper, have been making daily treks to TBW for three years, Jaca to shoot the breeze and Kipper for the snacks and scratches.

When a broken hip put Jaca into the hospital, 11-year-old Kipper, moved into TBW full time and, after a brief spate of depression, made his little white furry self quite comfortable. With Jaca home now recovering, Kipper has jumped the fence and found his way back to TBW a few times.

"It's the food that brings the animals here," Rogers says. "We give them everything from leftover T-bones to barbecued ribs," Rogers says. These guys even put seed out for the birds.

And then there's Buzz, the little dog that belongs to photographer Rod Johnson at RJ FOTO, a shop adjoining TBW on Victory Lane. Buzz looks like Eddy, the Jack Russell terrier on the television show Frasier, but with lots of personality. When the dog isn't riding around with owner-photographer Rod Johnson, he sleeps under Rod's desk until the dog decides to visit TBW. Then the little guy runs and throws his body against the door that connects to TBW until someone lets him in.

"The other day a huge, gorgeous cat walked in here and laid down on the floor," Rogers says. Now they feed the cat, too.

Yes, there are cats in Los Gatos stores, but the story is a little different. The few cats are rescued cats and actually live in the shops full time. Noodle a big, friendly, long-haired cat lives at Purrsnickety/Bow Wowzer on N. Santa Cruz Avenue. Noodle's bed is in the dog section of the pet store. Libby, a small, sleek black cat lives at Pet People on N. Santa Cruz Avenue. And BB and Binkie live at Petco on the same street. The felines are more independent and not inclined to wiggle and wag when customers come in. In fact, sometimes they are hard to find, hiding in little nooks and crannies in the stores.

Gerry Allen says Purrsnickety had another cat--Peekaboo--when the store was on University Avenue. "People still come looking for Peekaboo and get tears in their eyes when they find out she's dead," Allen says. Two paintings of Peekaboo still hang on Purrsnickety's walls.

Steve Askin brings Maggie, his 12-year-old Irish setter, to Pet People only occasionally because Maggie has been getting into the doggie snack bins and gaining weight.


Bella, a 3-year-old golden retriever, loves to nap on her couch at the Los Gatos store, Bella Rosa. The store was named after the dog.




If a Los Gatos business is pooch-less or cat-less, it's probably animal-friendly.

Shirley Henderson and Denise Harr at the Antiquarium on Main Street keep doggie biscuits too. Pluto, 4, and Sheppie, 14, who belong to Los Gatos artist Vic Sakaller, stop by the Antiquarium for a nibble now and then. The tiny store even hosts, Lucy, a large St. Bernard, a couple of times a week. Lucy takes up at least an eighth of the floor space. "She comes right in and plops down," Henderson says. "We all step around her."

Any Mountain Ltd. actually has a sign out front that says, "We're dog friendly." And sometimes there's a bowl of water for thirsty pups. Once in a while, manager Ann Wimmer brings her Australian shepherd, Boogie, to work. Laws keep dogs out of restaurants, but that hasn't stopped Gilley's coffee shop from putting out water and dog treats. Andrew Berman, son of the owners, actually created a bone-shaped box for dog biscuits that he hangs outside day and night.

Even the banks get into the act. Suzy Ferree, senior financial service consultant at Bank of the West, says they give dog treats out at the drive-thru window. Ferree says, "Dogs start jumping around and barking in the car before they get to the window." They know the teller will slip a little treat in the drawer along with the money.

Dan Shell, 53, and a Los Gatos resident for 30 years, knows about dog friendly places downtown. His Rottweiler-Doberman mix, Serena, accompanies Shell when he pays a visit to the local bars--the Black Watch, Carry Nations and Mountain Charley's--after work. "They won't let me in without Serena," Shell says.

Serena does tricks for her treats. She will face the corner when Shell plays hide-and-seek with her until she's told to go find something. When Shell sticks his finger out and pretends to shoot Serena, she falls down and plays dead. "I'm not sure I could take Serena around other towns," Shell says.

But then how many bars in other towns would have three Rhodesian ridgebacks?

Like Sue Farwell says, "Everyone seems happier when the dogs are around." At least those who like dogs, and it seems a lot of Los Gatans do.

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