Woody’s Pet Food Deli

Our store is named after Woody, our German shepherd mix. We adopted Woody from St. Francis of Assisi Animal Rescue of Forest Lake (SFAAR) , MN in November 2006 at the senior age of 9.  Two months later, we adopted Fred, an 11 year-old Beagle to keep Woody company.  Both dogs had serious health issues.  Woody was undernourished, had inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and was losing hair on his head and legs.  Fred was 46 lbs, almost twice as much than he should weigh, had pollen allergies, heart murmur, severe chronic ear infection, arthritis, multiple cysts, anal sac problems, hot spots, and excessive shedding. Both led us to this journey of discovering that real pet food is whole foods.

The changes to both Woody and Fred have been dramatic since moving them to a whole foods diet.  Both have soft, shiny, and full-bodied coats.  Woody has maintained a healthy weight, and is now seldom beset by diarrhea.  Fred is now “buff” at 26 lbs.  There are barely signs of his heart murmur and his arthritis and anal sac problems have disappeared.  His chronic ear infection has been more of a challenge, a result of years of poor nutrition, and constant antibiotic and steroid administration.  We are now working with our holistic vet to address Fred’s pollen allergies and keep his ears clear and comfortable.

But our story didn’t end with Woody and Fred.  For more than a year, we assisted SFAAR help dogs with ailments.  In this effort, we saw how majority of these dogs’ health problems go away by simply giving them whole foods, be they raw or cooked.  Together with St Francis Animal Rescue, we were able to bring these dogs back to relatively good health and find them forever homes.  

Woody’s Pet Food Deli, therefore, is our grassroots effort to educate pet owners of proper pet nutrition.  There is nothing more elemental in optimal and preventive pet healthcare than the simple act of feeding our pets real food.

"Woody’s Pet Food Deli is our grassroots effort to educate pet owners of proper pet nutrition.  There is nothing more elemental in optimal and preventive pet healthcare than the simple act of feeding our pets real food."

-Michelle Palma, Owner, Woody's

Puffy Fred...

...is now Buffy Fred.

"I lost 20 lbs... hoowlll... and the best thing about it is...hoowll... I ate the best tasting food...real food....hoowll! How wicked is that! Hoooowwlll!!

- Fred, Kitchen Cheerleader