Do Bougie People Have Bougie Pets? Maybe in Tustin...

Pet hotels, pet groomers, pet spas, and pet boutiques cater to the needs of dogs and cats--or rather their owners' needs--for the finer things in life. The OC Register profiles Carrie Hyde, the owner of The Spaw, which is a a dog daycare and grooming business in Tustin, as she preps to open up her latest pet-venture, which is described as a "Whole Foods for dogs and cats."

Hyde's business vision is to offer pet owners a local spot where they can "hang out, read, and learn about solutions to pet problems, and they can bring their pets with them." Her passion for pets propelled her research into ways to combat animal ailments with food and other natural approaches. She plans to stock only certain brands of pet food, like those "that are USDA approved and have meat from the United States, Canada or New Zealand," and that don't contain the carcinogen and preservative BHT. In fact, the food available at Whole Pets might be good enough for the pet owners to snack on. Says Hyde: "I'm choosing foods with natural preservatives like rosemary extract, no animal byproduct and foods that are human grade."

Although her store might sound like an excuse for well-heeled people to drop excess cash on their heel-trained dogs and the like, Hyde hopes to entice customers by offering affordable alternatives to often-pricey trips to the vet's office. Oh, and a treadmill. For pets.

Whole Pets opens Oct. 18 at 692 El Camino Real in Old Town Tustin.