When it comes to feeding your fur baby, Paul and John of Morrison Brothers Raw Food believe pure and simple is the way to go.
Just looking over the menus on the bright coloured walls of their new Belleville store, that sits nestled in the Reid’s Dairy Plaza, it’s easy to see the brothers have a real waste not want not approach to feeding dogs and cats.
Energy efficient freezers line the grocery store style shop filled with everything from complete meals to 2lb-5lb bags of beef brisket, duck feet, boneless chicken and turkey, pork belly and leafy green vegetable blocks. The meat product comes from local government inspected facilities.
John, who proudly beams he is the younger brother of the two, prepares the complete meals in-store and provides customers with meal planning suggestions. Looking up at the many wall photos of pets happily playing, John said when they started planning to open the store (Sept. 2016) they saw a niche opportunity to offer a pet food service that wasn’t being provided in Belleville.
Pure beef liver treats sit on display at Morrison Brothers Raw Food in Belleville.
“We use the whole animal,” John explained. “Nothing goes to waste. Typically a lot of this stuff like chicken necks or organs get thrown out by farmers or processors if no one is buying it. We are taking that and reinserting it back into the marketplace to be consumed rather then wasted. We are taking it fresh, throwing it into the freezer and nothing gets wasted.”
Another appealing feature to this environmentally conscious duo’s business practice is how their complete meals come in a reusable plastic container.
“As long as they bring them back clean and intact we will wash them, sanitize them and reuse them,” John smiled. “We really encourage that. Also our larger plastic resealable food bags can be washed out and used for anything they have at home. We don’t have paper labels on those bags either because we don’t want the waste. So we label them with magic marker.”
Paul Morrison wholeheartedly stands behind the business motto ‘It’s what we feed our pets.’
Knowing what you are feeding your pet offers peace of mind said Paul who also prepares and packages the meals.
“When I’m giving my dog a turkey neck or foot, I know he’s getting turkey,” Paul said. “I know that he’s not getting preservatives. There are no fillers that might be causing a rash, upset stomach or any ailment that you might see present in a lot of dogs. Chronic conditions that may or may not be debilitating to a dog.”
He admitted many of their customers initially state their dog(s) are having issues from a dietary perspective where their dog is not eating their food anymore or having some sort of reaction like a rash and/or digestion troubles.
“What we are doing is giving another option where it is not necessarily a cure for what the problem is but it is removing that ingredient that is exacerbating the situation,” Paul explained. “With raw you are able to control what your dog is actually consuming in their diet. There are no surprises in terms of ingredients that you may have not known were in there.”
“In a raw fed dog you will see an increased energy level, oils in their skin, whiter and stronger teeth,” John chimed in.
“100 percent of what we feed our pets comes from this store,” said Paul. “In terms of quality control and product selection, it is first and foremost to us because our animals are eating everything first. We want to make sure it’s the right products that are healthy for your animals and we want to make sure it’s prepared in a manner that’s safe. So we are extra cautious about what we are doing because our pets are our children. We want to make sure we are doing what’s best for everyone’s pet.”
John and Paul stand outside their store at 222 Bell Blvd. in Belleville.
For more on Morrison Brothers Raw Food check out their website http://www.morrisonbrothersraw.com/