Bakery offers howlsome food for customers’ four-legged friends
Woof Gang Bakery — equal parts health food store, spa, bakery and grooming location for pets — is the sum total of everything Adrienne Breen said she couldn’t find at her local PetSmart.
That’s not least among the reasons Breen, whose five dogs eat only raw, unprocessed dog food, opened a specialty pet store in June at 7080 N. Durango Drive in Centennial Hills.
Breen, who co-owns the bakery, hopes the carrier of organic pet foods encourages greater awareness of alternatives to the store-brand pet food she said nearly killed one of her pets.
“I told my husband, if I’m going to sell something, I need to have a connection with it,” the 41-year-old said. “(Raw food) saved my dog’s life, and I’m positive of that. … That’s why (Woof Gang) is doing so well.”
Breen has never owned a business, but she spent decades rescuing injured and neglected pets and returning them to small, area nonprofit foster homes.
Long a familiar face in the Las Vegas Valley animal rescue community, she hopes to call in a few favors and build a customer base through those she has helped around town.
“I have connections to a lot of rescues,” she said. “We’re going to donate damaged dog food to (rescue shelters). We’re going to have adoption events here, and people can put out the donation jars.
“We’re actually hooking up with UNLV to put on an IP touch (pet massage) class, and we’re going to use the proceeds and buy pet respirators for (Las Vegas Fire & Rescue) Fire Station 41 up the street.”
Breen and 39 other Woof Gang franchisees are after a dedicated sliver of America’s 73 million pet-owning households — those who seek everything from carob bean dog treats and coconut oil-infused dog food to postoperative pet lift harnesses and “nuclear bomb-proof” chew toys.
Specialty pet products represent a bigger fraction of U.S. pet supplies than one might expect, according to husband and co-owner Jim Breen.
A former electrician, Jim Breen was skeptical of helping his wife open the Woof Gang franchise, but eventually he came around to the idea that the store could help fill in gaps left by big-box pet retailers.
He recently said he’s looking to bring on an in-house groomer beginning next month and add another employee within a few weeks. Soon enough, he hopes to grow the business.
“We want to expand our inventory, especially for cats,” the 41-year-old Las Vegas native said. “We’re going to be baking treats here. We’re hoping to have that set up within the next few weeks.
“If the store gets rolling, then we want to move another location into Summerlin and eventually Green Valley somewhere.”
Diana England, president of area nonprofit pet foster agency A Home 4 Spot Animal Rescue, can attest to Adrienne Breen’s dedication, recalling when she donned desert camouflage in the 12-hour pursuit of a stray dog.
England also vouched for the couple’s focus on customers’ spending limitations.
“I like what they represent, that they support the (animal) rescue community,” England said. “They work more in higher-end, healthier foods, but I buy my own dog’s food there, and I like that their prices are competitive.”
Woof Gang Bakery is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. For more information, call 702-462-9663 or visit woofgangbakery.com.
Contact Centennial and North Las Vegas View reporter James DeHaven at jdehaven@viewnews.com or 702-477-3839.
