About Four Muddy Paws

About Us

Our first dog, Salem, was the inspiration for Four Muddy Paws. We found him on a camping trip in 2002 as a puppy and we knew we wanted to give him the best life possible including holistic and nutritious food and treats but nothing really existed like we saw on our trips to other cities. Plus, we quickly realized that having a self-service dog wash was important after bathing him at home! We wanted to take a holistic approach to our shop so we created our healthy pet market supporting both the physical and mental well-being of our pets.

We opened up our first shop in November 2004. We then had the opportunity to purchase a rather neglected historic building in the business area of our historic Victorian neighborhood, the Lafayette Square National Historic District, about a mile away. We renovated this building and moved our shop in August 2007. We opened our 2nd location in Edwardsville, IL in January 2009 to better serve our Metro East community.

We’ve learned so much from every animal that has chosen us from our pet’s growing up to our first dog, Salem, our cat, Sophie, our tri-paw, Frankie, our loving Foster and our blind dog, Potter. Every animal has a gift to share and our pets truly help to make us better people every day. They’ll live on in our hearts forever and our new puppy we've added to the family in June 2021, George!

Jeff Jensen and Matt Brazelton - Co-Founders

Our Mission Statement

We’re passionate about the health and well-being of our dogs and cats and the people who love them.

Our goal when we opened Four Muddy Paws was to be able to offer a one-stop-shop where you can find what you need for both the physical and emotional well-being of your dogs and cats. We created a shop where you find all-natural and nutritious food and treats, supplies, a dedicated self-service pet wash and professional grooming. Every product we choose for our shops has been hand-selected by us meeting our high-quality standards. We look at every ingredient. We talk about the sourcing and the manufacturing process including quality control with each manufacturer. Every single product at Four Muddy Paws is something we would use for our own pets.

We’re passionate about the health and well-being of our dogs and cats and that includes our continuing education for our entire team.

Our Commitment to You

We’re committed to the health and well-being of your dogs and cats. We’re all about education and helping you find the best options for your pets. We’re continually learning and challenging ourselves and we understand the path to good health is a journey and we can help to start you on your way. We love helping people discover new ways to help to their pets thrive from puppies to our beloved senior pets.

At Four Muddy Paws We Offer:

• A large selection of fresh, whole raw food options for both dogs and cats No food or treats from China
• We offer both grain-free and diets with grains for our dogs and only grain-free options for our obligate carnivore cats.
• We carry food and treats that focus on bio-available nutrients for our dogs and cats and do not include ingredients of poor nutritional quality like meat by-products, artificial flavors, colorings, sugar or preservatives.
• A focus on nutritious and holistic supplements including human-grade and professional-grade options.
• We prioritize brands that give back to their communities and keep our focus on small manufacturers to help support our small business community.
• We believe in positive reinforcement for our animals and we believe that focusing on their mental well-being is as important as their physical well-being. All of our reward-based training aids benefit positive reinforcement with a goal to increase the connection we have with our animals.
• Since we want everyone to enjoy our store – we’ve made both of our buildings 100% handicap-accessible! No stairs to deal with here. You can enjoy every inch of our store; even our self-service wash is handicap accessible! This is also a very important issue for our senior pets.

Giving Back is Part of our DNA

One of the greatest joys of our small business is the opportunity to give back to our communities. This includes giving back to our shelter and rescue partners and offering help around the world. We actively volunteer in our own communities. We feel we have a responsibility to make a difference.

We only have one planet

We offset our carbon footprint preventing over 57,000 pounds of carbon dioxide, a leading greenhouse gas, from entering the atmosphere each year.

We’ve incorporated many earth-friendly designs into both of our shops including energy-efficient HVAC systems, new thermal windows, full clean-air quality insulation, energy-efficient lighting and even eco-friendly flooring. We’re fanatical about recycling and only use all-natural, bio-degradable pet shampoos and conditioners in both our self-service wash and with our professional grooming services.

We’ve even installed solar panels on the roof of our Lafayette Square shop which helps to power our raw food freezers in the shop.

We’re proud of restoring our historic Lafayette Square building for future generations and making our community stronger and more vibrant.

We're Thankful

We’re thankful to our store teams who share our passion for good health and to our amazing customers who have become part of our family and for their support of our local, small business.

Four Muddy Paws is a designated Safe Space for everyone. The Safe Space Alliance is a LGBTQI+ led nonprofit organization that aims to help people identify, navigate, and create safe spaces for LGBTQI+ communities worldwide.

Awards/In the News

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Retailer of the Year 2023/2024 - Pet Product News 
Outstanding LGBTQIA+ Company 2021 - St Louis Business Journal Business of Pride Awards
St Louis Business Journal 2021 - Business of Pride Award
One of America's Coolest Pet Stores 2020 - Pets+ Magazine
Best Dog Groomers 2015 – Riverfront Times Best of St Louis Awards
Best Pet Store 2014 – Riverfront Times Best of St Louis Awards
Best Independent Pet Boutique 2013 – St Louis Magazine’s A-List Awards Reader’s Choice
Best Place for Pet Pampering 2011 – Ladue News Platinum List Awards
Best Dog Wash 2010 – St Louis Magazine’s A-List Awards
Best Pet Boutique 2009 & 2008 – St Louie Pet Tails Reader’s Choice Awards
Best Pet Groomer – Crystal Rolfe, Groomer Lafayette Square – 2009 – 2008 – 2007 – 2006 – St Louie Tails Reader’s Choice Awards
Best Pet Photographer – Crystal Rolfe, Groomer Lafayette Square – 2009 – St Louie Tails Reader’s Choice Awards
Best Dog Wash 2005 – Riverfront Times – Best of St Louis

Articles

Pet Retailer of the Year - Pet Product News 2023-2024
Wellness Warriors - Pets+ Magazine October 2020
Take a Virtual Tour of Four Muddy Paws - Pets+ Magazine October 1, 2020
Four Muddy Paws Spotlight Interview Tour