Former
New Yorker Paula Harris, who was Assistant Development Director for the
Names Project/AIDS Memorial Quilt for six years, decided to follow her passion
for animals and take over her dog-walker's business when he moved away in
1997. As the business grew, Paula was joined by Celia Sack, a former rare
book specialist, and soon they began to seek out a space expressly dedicated
to the four-legged.
In 1999, after months of self-contracting, building, buying, and studying
retail, they settled into a storefront on Church Street in San Francisco's
quaint Noe Valley. That spring, they opened Noe Valley Pet Company and Dog
Walking Service, extending to dogs and cats a dazzling array of merchandise
just for them. Celia and Paula live 10 minutes away from the store with
their Labrador/Dalmatian mix, Tessa, and pleasantly plump black cat, August. |