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AUGUST 19, 2011
W W W .JUSTOUT.CO M
M ARTY DAVIS
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Friends Fur-ever
Canine Utopia brings healthy pet food to Vancouver
BY RYAN J. PRADO
While it’s been said that all dogs go to
heaven, these days pampered pooches and
frisky felines alike are pawing it to Canine
Utopia, a new urban pet store and health
food boutique in Vancouver, Wash.
Alter Evan Smith and his partner Jason
Pickering discovered that their dogs Dunkin
and Hera were allergic to the foods they’d
been eating, the couple sought out alterna
tives lor the itchy canines. The problem was
that the Vancouver area didn’t have any
quality pet food stores to shop in, and cross
ing the bridge to Portland became a tire
some trek.
“We decided we couldn’t be the only peo
ple in town that have pets with allergies,”
Smith explains.
On June 4, Smith and Pickering took the
plunge and opened Canine Utopia in Van
couver’s revamped Uptown Village. The store
carries grain-free, holistic foods, treats, bed
ding and other healthy pet options. Thus far,
Canine Utopia’s attention to not only prod
uct details, but also its focus on sustaining
the local economy, has resulted in steady
business since opening just two months ago.
“People are realizing we don’t carry the
loods produced by the big names,” Smith
says. “Our dog treats are produced out of
Portland, all of our flea and tick medication
comes from Vancouver. We source from Eu
gene, Springfield... Anywhere locally we
could get it is where we went first.”
Smith and Pickering toured regional dog
and cat food manufacturers, as well as toy
manufacturers, to ensure they’d be selling
top-of-the-line of holistic products.
“We saw them make the food, and Tactu
ally watched one of the employees eat it,”
Smith says. “I realized that if he ate it, then
my dog would be fine eating it.”
The store does not, however, sell canines.
Smith refers those who would like to own a
pet to their local humane shelter. But for
folks looking for a safer chew toy alterna
tive, for instance, Canine Utopia carries dog
toys made from boiled wool, rather than
cotton, so that it can be digested, and save
you from a barking big vet bill.
Add in the shop’s fancy digs—rebuilt en
tirely by Smith, that it features over 95
percent recycled store fixtures and that its
website is run entirely on wind power, and
there’s plenty to love about this new addi
tion to Vancouver.
“The best compliment that we’ve had was
people asking if we were a chain,” says
Smith. “Although I have to tell you, I never
picked up a hammer until April.”
one employee. Today, Barreto employs two
optometrists and a staff of 16. What started
out as a small community practice is now
bursting at the seams, pushing Barreto to raise
the bar and consider expanding.
“I started out as a small community office
Canine Utopia is located at 2 3 0 9 M a in St.,
serving the Irvington, Laurelhurst and
Vancouver, Wash. For more information, call
Alameda areas,” Barreto says. But he soon
3 6 0 -7 3 7 -7 S S I or v isit k9utopia.com.
realized people were coming from farther
and farther away to visit him. So he adjusted
his mission. “I wanted to be the
place to go in Oregon,” he ex
plains.“! wanted to be the Nord
strom of opticals, where people
went to get good quality eye care
and service.”
Barreto attributes much of the
business’s growth to old-fash
ioned face-to-face networking
Gay-owned optometry practice
and the support of the gay and
celebrates 20 years
lesbian population.
“We couldn’t have made it this
BY ERIN ROOK
far without everybody,” Barreto
In a time when many businesses are strug says. “The gay and lesbian community is so
gling against an uncertain economy, one gay- loyal and everyone talks among themselves.
owned optometry practice is thriving. Eyes! We just want to give back to that and thank
on Broadway just celebrated 20 years of pro everybody for that.”
viding vision care in Northeast Portland,
But those relationships don’t exist by default.
thanks to the support of the gay and lesbian Barreto is involved in the community, regularly
community.
attending functions and fundraisers for organi
When Tom Barreto, 50, opened Eyes! on zations such as Basic Rights Oregon, Equity
Broadway in August 1991, his practice had only Foundation and Cascade AIDS Project.
Community
Vision
“People tease me that I know so many
people in Portland,” Barreto says. “But I’m
out there. People remember that next time
they need their eyes checked.”
As a result, his business grew steadily
through referrals—so much so, he says, that
he had to cut back on advertising for a while
and hire more doctors.
Still, Barreto is always looking for ways to
provide eye care to more people, whether by
expanding his own business or through his
yearly trips to developing countries with Vol
unteer Optométrie Services to Humanity.
Barreto has volunteered with the organiza
tion since 1995, bringing much-needed eye
care to places such as Nicaragua, the Philip
pines and Peru, where it often impacts peo
ple’s ability to earn a living.
“A lot of people are farsighted, so reading
glasses make a huge difference,” Barreto says,
noting the generosity of Portland patients
who donate their old glasses. “A lot of these
people are illiterate, they don’t really read but
they do a lot of handwork, making blankets
and crafts to sell at market.... It’s a huge, huge
difference for them." J0]
Eyes! on Broadway (2300 N E Broadway) is
celebrating its 20th anniversary by g iv in g aw ay
weekly p rize packages throughout September. To
enter, "like” the business on Facebook. For more
information, v isit eyesonbroadway.com.
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