The Bark-itect

Issue #44

February 20th, 2024

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Quick Hits:

🐱 Most popular pet names, breeds, and claims according to Embrace Pet Insurance

🐶 The complete Farmers Dog marketing playbook

 💵 Can your service dog be a tax write-off?

❄️ Why are dogs obsessed with snow?

💦 Is micro bubbling the next big thing in pet grooming?

• Leading the charge - Pet Supplies Plus and Wag N’ Wash embark on a new year with double-digit signed franchise agreements and openings in 2023.

• Triple capacity - Petsource by Scoular has completed a $75 million expansion.

• Supertails - The Indian pet care start-up just raised $15 million led by RPSG Capital Ventures.

• GLP1 - Better Choice Company has acquired Aimia Pet Healthco Inc.

• PetWise and Naturvet - Both companies have appointed new CEOs.

• Follow the process - Bioriginal Food & Science has successfully acquired POS Biosciences Corp.

• HUF & Puff - Nestle invest HUF 55 billion (around $152m) in its pet food plant in Hungary.

• Changing hands - Simmons Pet Food Inc. of Siloam Springs sold the facility for $16.3 million.

Bjarke Ingels for pets?

Introducing: Starin Butler, the founder of Bark Landscape Architecture – a studio specializing in animal-centered design.

On an average day, Starin visits work sites, meets with clients, designs, sketches, builds 3D digital models, creates renderings, works on CAD drawings, attends community events, and meets with vendors. She also loves taking art classes (e.g. acrylic paint pours, ice-dyeing, Zentangle drawing) to keep the creative juices flowing.

Starin didn’t always want to be a “pet architect”, but, sometimes, life throws a curveball your way and you have to adjust on the fly.

Not so long ago, she was at a crossroads in her life. Amidst a divorce, she was keenly aware that her life was about to undergo a significant transformation. She decided to look at the moment as an opportunity for growth - to pursue things she had always wanted to do.

After years in the education sector - encompassing roles such as teaching, writing, and consulting for renowned entities like National Geographic School Publishing—she decided to make the bold decision to chase a lifelong aspiration: becoming a landscape architect. She graduated from design school and started working at a prestigious landscape architecture studio in Phoenix. While being a full-time landscape architect and project manager, she spent her weekends donating her design skills to animal shelters and sanctuaries. She started to realize that this might be something she wanted to pursue full-time.

“I have always been an animal lover and wanted to help in any way that I could. I got so much joy and fulfillment from these part-time experiences; I knew that’s what I wanted to do full-time. I decided I wanted to design happy, healing, and enriching spaces for animals and the people who care for them.”

There was only one tiny problem - the type of studio that she wanted to be a part of, well, didn’t exist, as no architecture studio was focusing solely on animal-centered design. This presented an interesting challenge for Starin - either she stays and works for a studio where she feels unfulfilled - or she forges her own path and creates something out of nothing.

So she did what every passionate entrepreneur does, she followed her passion and launched Bark Landscape Architecture, the first architecture studio that specializes in animal-centered design.

She took classes, read a ton of books, joined business groups, and interviewed a ton of people. She wanted to have a foundational understanding of animal behavior to inform her designs. So, she took an animal behavior class at Oxford, an animal behavior and welfare class at the University of Edinburgh, and completed a Certificate of Applied Animal Behavior through the University of Washington.

So what is animal-centered design you might ask?

Animal-centered design is a relatively new field. It focuses on creating spaces for captive animals based on their natural behaviors, temperament, and needs. Even though our pets are part of the family, they are still considered “captive” because they’re not living in the wild.

Currently, 70% of the population has at least one pet, and 85% of owners consider their pets family. Yet we are still not designing housing with pets as a priority but rather as an afterthought. After all, tenants with pets bring in more revenue than tenants without pets due to pet fees. So not only do developers raise their revenue by catering to pet parents, but they are also doing a good deed. The number two reason people surrender their pets to shelters is because of housing. Starin wants to make housing more pet-friendly and in the process keep families and their beloved animals together.

Her first gig was designing dog-centered amenities for an upscale multifamily project. She designed 3 different pet zones that provide different experiences for different activity levels, the three zones are:

The Pocket Park - an area for people to take time out with their dogs. It is meant to be a low-activity zone. The park provides leash hitches attached to lounge chairs and cabanas that have low fencing so that people can bring their dogs outdoors, relax, and bond. The park was designed with calm and/or senior dogs in mind who just want to be with their owners and don’t play in the rough and tumble style anymore.

The Dog Sensory Garden - a linear walk with different elements for dogs to sniff and explore. The garden includes a splash pad, digging pits, boulders to climb on, grasses that move in the wind, and seasonal plants that provide different scents at dog level. The Dog Sensory Garden is a medium-activity level area. The Sensory Garden was based on the “Sniffy Walk” concept (also called a “Nature Walk” or “Decompression Walk”). Dogs explore their world primarily through their noses. When a dog smells the outdoors, he/she is taking in all kinds of information. All of this input creates mental stimulation in a dog. And mental stimulation can be fatiguing. As a result, that 15-minute Sniffy Walk has the same tiring effect as an hour-long power walk.

The Fetch Zone is an area for high-energy activities. The concept is to provide a secure, private “backyard” area for apartment dwellers to spend time with their pets. The Fetch Zone includes six fenced-in areas where individuals can throw a tennis ball or twirl a flirt pole. The area is not meant to be an off-leash area with multiple dogs in one small space. Instead, it was designed for a private space where owners can take their dogs (and maybe a trusted dog friend) to a safe space to play. Imagine coming home from a long day of work, picking up your dog at your apartment, and then going downstairs to throw a frisbee. High-energy dogs living in urban apartments need this type of space more than ever.

As with any new product or service that seemingly emerges out of nowhere - it seems crazy in the beginning, then after a while, everyone starts to ask the question, “how did we do things before this came around?”

Carving out a niche for oneself and pursuing a dream is not just a luxury but a strategic imperative. By identifying a unique space in the market, individuals and businesses can differentiate themselves from competitors, establishing a distinct identity and value proposition. This specialization not only allows for a more focused approach but also enables deeper connections with target audiences who resonate with the specialized offering.

If you want to work with Bark Landscape Architecture email [email protected] to schedule a phone call.

• Stop it! - Annoyed parrot tells his barking dog friend to stop barking.

• Army Dog - The Department of Defense has approved a new policy to cover pet travel expenses, like pet transportation or quarantine fees.

• New grant - The ASPCA has announced more than $400,000 in grant funding to companies that systemically benefit animals.

• Forever and ever - Scientists have found a 2200-year-old burial ground in northern Italy where people were buried with their dogs and horses.

• Free food - Pet Meds is giving away a year’s worth of free Hill’s Science Diet pet nutrition to three lucky winners.

• Tougher penalties - Some US states are considering tougher penalties for killing police dogs.

• W - Petdoc, the pet health company was recently awarded awards at an award show.

• Over the rainbow bridge - Christina Ricci mourns the loss of her beloved dog, Karen.

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How to carve a niche for yourself by Starin Butler.

I believe there are 3 steps in finding and growing your niche:

1. Identify your passion.

2. Match your skills to your passion to create a niche.

3. Build a business based on becoming an expert in your niche.

Step 1: Identify your passion.

The first step in finding your niche is figuring out what you love to do. Although this seems simple, many people still struggle with identifying their passions.  My advice is to look back at your childhood. What brought you joy? What were you drawn to? What did you have a knack for?

If going down memory lane doesn’t bring you answers, I would recommend bypassing your brain altogether. Instead, pay attention to your body’s reactions and look for times when you physically feel a surge of dopamine. It’s that burst of energy you get when you’re doing something you love. Try to pay attention to when that happens to you. Your body may give you the answers you’re looking for. 

Step 2: Match your skills to your passions to create a niche.

Once you figure out your passion, there are many directions you could go to create a niche. Take a look at your existing skills/abilities and see if there is a natural way to marry your passions to your skills. For example, let’s say you are passionate about dogs (I wonder where that example came from??). If you are a great cook, your niche could be baking dog treats. If you are a fantastic photographer, your niche could be to create pet portraits. If you are a natural teacher, your niche could be training dogs. Look for that connection between your strengths and your passions. That will be your niche.

If you don’t have a skill that blends easily with your passion, don't worry. Sit down and write out the skills you need for your new position. Then take that class, read that book, and/or talk to that mentor to get the knowledge that you need. 

Step 3. Build a business based on becoming an expert in your niche.

Finally, the dream is to make a good living within your niche. I would highly recommend reading the book The Business of Expertise by David Baker. A mentor suggested the book to me, and I have found it extremely helpful. The book discusses the value of becoming specialized and the benefits of being an expert in your field.

Making a change and doing something unique can be overwhelming. But life is short, and regret is painful. Find what you love. Create a niche. And just go for it! Good luck, Brave Entrepreneur!

We don’t want to hound you, but we think it’s time you subscribe. If you’ve already subscribed, well, round of ap-paws for you.

• Human grade Pet food - Why pet owners are spending thousands of dollars on it.

• Dog treat of the year - Yummy Combs has been named the 2024 Product of the Year in the treat category.

• Rachel Ray Nutrish - The brand recently announced 3 new wet dog food formulas.

• Viva Listeria - Viva Raw Dog Food recalled.

• Buggin’ - Mr. Bug, the insect protein pet food manufacturer has launched its first dog food.

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Finally, the owner couldn’t work out why his dog was so hungry. It was mind-beagle-ing!

See you next week!

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