Ma’s Pet Pantry is bougie, beneficial and fun

By Kathy Feist

Ingredients matter to someone like Jacob Jeffrey.

“It’s a huge decider,” says the owner of the new pet food boutique Ma’s Pet Pantry in downtown Belton.

For years Jeffrey has been selling high-quality dog and cat food online at competitive prices, “at Chewy prices or below.”

In May, he opened a brick-and-mortar business that caters to pet owners who require the best for their fur babies.

Jeffrey says he sells only pet food that has real meat, less filler, few recalls and nearby sourcing.

“A lot of pet food comes from countries like China or Taiwan,” he says. “You can’t always be too comfortable about the sourcing of the meat.”

Most of the brands at Ma’s Pet Pantry won’t be found on the typical grocery store shelves.

What is found are small but highly respected name brands such as Fromm, Nutri Source, Acana, and Earth Born. The store purposely avoids pet food manufactured by large corporate conglomerates that rely on by-product meats, artificial flavors, preservatives, and filler. Studies have shown that switching to higher quality pet food has many benefits. It improves digestion, immune function, and healthier skin and coat for the pet. While more costly than the grocery store fare, in the long run, there is a cost savings by fewer visits to the vet and a more satiated appetite.

“I always encourage everyone to do their own research,” says Jeffrey.

If you do your own research with a bag of dog food, Jeffrey says it’s important to slowly transition the pet to the newer brand. Some popular brands contain sweeteners, which, like humans, your pet will prefer.

To properly switch a pet over to the more nutritious brands, Jeffrey recommends gradually adding the natural product–25% increase every few days–in with the previous brand over a 10-day period.

Ma’s Pet Pantry is cutely decorated. In a former hair salon just south of the local fire station in Belton’s old Main Street District, products are displayed in three rooms: dog food in one, cat food in another and a mix of food, treats, grooming products, collars and miscellaneous items in the main entrance. Custom-built shelves in the shape of a dog house line some of the walls. On the outside facade, facing the fire station, are painted silhouettes of pets headed to the shop’s entrance.

Built on the corner is an outdoor “stick library” that reads “Take a stick. Leave a stick.” The set up is in reference to the front yard libraries that encourage readers to take a book and leave a book. “People either get the joke or they don’t,” smiles Jeffrey.

Jeffrey is joined by his mother, Bobbie Jeffrey, whom the boutique is named after. Bobbie recently retired as Director of Theater Arts from Calvary University in Belton. The two, along with manager Jen Mills, create a fun and engaging environment.

“There is no competition for us,” chimes in Bobbie. “We’re a small pet boutique with bougie dog food.”