Meet the HP Crew

Healthy Pet is a local, independently owned pet supply store founded by Mike and Deborah Seitz. The dream of Healthy Pet and other endeavors started with Tanya - Mike and Deb's Irish Wolfhound puppy. Deb wanted to know everything about grooming Tanya properly, so she went to a pet grooming school in Eugene, Oregon. Mike and Deb opened their first pet-related business in California in 1977. It was a little grooming shop called The Plush Puppy. It was there they first started selling the best, and most natural grooming products for pets. This idea then flourished into opening full-line pet stores, specializing in healthy and holistic pet foods and supplies.

After opening a few stores in California they took a family trip to Oregon. While driving down Boones Ferry Road, on their way to see friends, Deb noticed a "for lease" sign on a building. Mike pulled into the parking lot, peeked in all the windows while Deb jotted down the phone number. That was in August of 1986. Two weeks later they moved to Lake Oswego where Mike began building Healthy Pet, (originally Pet City), fixture by fixture.

40 years and 11 stores since The Plush Puppy opened, Mike & Deb retired due to Mike's ill-health. They have kept their favorite store though - Healthy Pet in Lake Oswego, thanks to their outstanding crew!! In August of 2018 Mike's difficult battle with ALS came to an end when he passed. Over the last few years Deb has taken the reins of ownership and she feels very fortunate to have such a caring & competent staff. This year Healthy Pet will celebrate its 37th anniversary and continues to provide "The best for your pet - naturally!" Mike & Deb always enjoyed being a small part of the ever-growing pet industry. It has been an especially fun, happy & often hilarious business in Lake Oswego - a wonderful community.

For several decades now we've prided ourselves on having a passionate, knowledgeable, dedicated, and friendly staff. We care about all of our two and four legged customers greatly and we are always here to help in any way we can. Here's a little more about the familiar faces you'll see every time you stop by Healthy Pet, still in it's original location.

Sadie - Manager

I have worked at Healthy Pet since 2002 and I became manager in 2007. I am married and we have 3 kids. I have always had at least one pet throughout my life. I have had many fish tanks, rats (and bred them), hamsters, mice (included a tiny baby field mouse a customer rescued and I hand raised), cats and dogs. At the moment I have 2 fish tanks, 2 cats and a dog, Scarlet. Throughout the years I have had a dog (plot hound mix) with an autoimmune disorder that affected his eyes and inherited an elderly incontinent Bichon who lived for 1 confused, anxiety ridden year (she missed her person very much). I love working at Healthy Pet because I go home every night not feeling stressed after work. It's rewarding to help people keep their pets happy and healthy.

Kate - Assistant Manager

I can’t remember a time where pets weren’t one of the most important things in my life. I grew up with Labrador Retrievers - the smart, stubborn, garbage disposals of the dog world. They taught me patience, humor and the importance of exercising your pets… Healthy Pet became my third job out of high school in 2007 and I’ve never wanted to leave. It only took me about six months to bring an adoptable kitten home from work with me. Stoli, my orca whale, was my second cat. You may see her around the store, she has retired at Healthy Pet away from the pesky other cats at our house. I now have two more rescue kitties: Yuna (dilute torti), and Stanley Beaumont (grey and white tabby) who came to me all the way from Texas. Stan has his fair share of tummy issues, but is still the best cat I could have possibly asked for.

If you've been in the store recently you've probably met Snickers (the blond on the right). I'm pretty sure she is the sweetest, mellowest creature that has ever existed. Another rescue, she's a compact little adult Boxer/Pittie mix. I can't possibly say enough about her, I'd run out of space, but she loves everyone and everything (except the car lol). Bringing her to work brightens my (and hopefully everyone's) day! Look for her snoozing behind the counter, snacking on treats that "fell out of customers hands", or rolling around on the floor, belly up. She prides herself on being a very discerning product tester - Whimzees, Gold Paw Fleeces, and basically any treat are some of her favorite things in the world! We now also have a rescue French Bulldog named Trout. He has forced us to learn every last thing there is to know about allergies in dogs. Just in case our house wasn't already a zoo we now have chickens and ducks as well! Our backyard flock has made our dream of having a mini farm come true. One of the many reasons I’ve never been able to leave my job here at Healthy Pet (besides being able to bring Snickers to work) is my desire to have a positive impact on the lives of other people and animals. So regardless of your problem, we’re here to listen and try our best to come up with solutions. Trust me, we’ve heard it all, and I love a good challenge.

Carly

Since I was a child, having a pet around has always made me a happier person. We always had at least one cat in the house growing up. My handsome Maine Coone (Percy) still lives with my mom in Salem, but I visit him frequently. I have also parented a couple hermit crabs (Artemis, Apollo and Athena) and betta fish (Sparkles, Zeus, and Icarus). I now have a beautiful Siberian Husky named Siren: she enjoys tiny toys, long adventuresome walks, and belly rubs. My aunt has a 10 year old dachshund named Maxx, who has allergy problems galore that I’ve been helping her manage. I have quite a bit of customer service and retail experience, but this is my first time working in a pet store. Since starting at Healthy Pet in August 2019 I have learned a lot about pet nutrition and how to find the longest lasting dog chews for my super chewer dog. Working for a small business has been such a wonderful experience, my coworkers have become a second family.

Shelby

Shelby might be the baby of the Healthy Pet family, only 20 years old when they started working for us in the Summer of 2021, but that didn't stop them from packing in a lifetime of experience with animals before they even came through our door. Shelby grew up in a family that always had lots of pets: Dogs, cats, rabbits, reptiles, rodents... you name it. But their love of animals didn't stop with more "traditional" pets. Shelby has always had a unique love of bugs as well! You may see them taking care of the crickets behind the counter or observing weird bug bahvior.

Starting with a zoology internship when they were younger and continuing all the way up til now, Shelby has always had animal related jobs, whether at a doggy daycare or at a dog wash training to become a groomer.

Currently Shelby has their obnoxious teenage son to keep them busy (Also known as the one-year-old Shiba Inu named Arthur), along with her cat Luna (Siamese mix) and her mom's cats Hera (black kitty) and Marley. Shelby misses her bun bun Beans (also below) and can't wait for the day they can have a rabbit again!

Katie

I've always had lots of pets. I grew up with many cats rescued from dumpsters and saved from other various places. I also got experience fostering 2 bunnies and temporarily housing tarantulas, raccoons, and a scorpion. I started at Healthy Pet in 2022 and although it is my first animal related job, I've been in customer service for over 10 years. I'm always excited to learn more about taking care of all of our non-human family members. There are, let's just say, more than a few...

Let's start with the oldest! Tortuga is the Russian tortoise (obviously) and we think he is about 9. He was rescued from kids that got bored of him doing what turtles do best - nothing. He's also our only reptile... for now. The rest of the crew are of the canine variety.

Bean is our only boy, and he is very spoiled. He's 7 and a full size Pomeranian. Next is Luna. She's a 6 year old Pomsky. She's a pretty chill girl but also loves to try and run away any chance she gets! Winter, also a Pomsky, is 2. She is Bean and Luna's baby. She is a tough chewer and a bit of a trouble maker so she is the one that goes through all the hard toys and ropes.

Casey, my little one, is a 9 pound Yorkie poodle mix. She’s super picky about food and changes her mind like the weather. She also prefers to be held at all times.

Our big baby is Elka (Alchemy). She's a German Shepherd, Husky, and Wolf Hybrid. She's the youngest, born in 2022, but is almost as big as all the other dogs combined!

Saving the best dog for last we have Millie! She's a 3 year old mini Aussie and my best friend. She's my dog that needs all the distractions, licky mats and chews to keep her busy. But most of the time she just prefers to be my personal shadow.