Tail Chasers blends pet services with tasty treats business
Nov. 29, 2023
Tail Chasers Tasty Treats don’t go on the market without the bark of approval of Leroy, Bodhi, Charlie and Finn.
The 8-year-old yellow Labrador, 7-year-old Shih Tzu mix, 4-year-old Yorkie mix and 18-month-old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel belong to Darci Golden and Amanda Taylor, owners and founders of a business that’s all about animals.
Tail Chasers Tasty Treats is one aspect of what Tail Chasers Pet Services offers. That includes at-home services such as nail trimming and anal-gland expressions, blood glucose checks, pet sitting and transportation to training and grooming appointments and even taking Ace the Augie Doggie, the Augustana University golden retriever, to his scheduled visits.
It’s the treats for dogs and cats that will be featured at Saturday’s 605 Made Holiday Market, though, in flavors such as bacon, chicken, peanut butter and salmon, seasoned with herbs such as rosemary and sage.
“We’ve had dogs with severe allergies,” Taylor said, “and label-reading is kind of a nightmare. We’d find a treat they really liked, and they’d be bought out or change the formula. We wanted to start with some custom treat orders so if they have a food allergy, they could find a treat that fits their allergy avoidance.”
Golden had begun baking sourdough bread as a hobby, and discards were used in the homemade treats. They expanded the treats while continuing to limit the ingredients to prevent allergens and developed a line for cats.
Tail Chasers stresses all-natural treats with human-quality ingredients.
“A lot of people want to feed their dogs what they eat,” Taylor said. “This is salmon you and I would eat. It’s safe for human consumption, and a staggering amount of people admit to trying the treats at home.”
Added Golden, “We’ve learned so much while we’ve been doing this. … We learned how important it is for people to get quality nutrition for their pets. We get comments on the ingredients we use, like flax and chia seeds. The consumers are paying attention to what we’re doing.”
Tail Chasers has started a line of sourdough crackers for humans, using some of the same flavors that are popular with canines and felines. Those sold well at farmers markets this past summer and can be found at three downtown breweries. The human customer can enjoy them with a beer while their animal companion chomps on a treat made with the same grains, Golden said.
Tail Chasers treats also can be found at Knotty Gnome Variety & Salvage in Hartford. This is the second time Tail Chasers, which started Dec. 1, 2022, will be part of the 605 Made Holiday Market, which will feature almost 50 makers with work for sale.
Golden, who is from Sioux Falls originally, moved back four years ago. She had her own pet-sitting business in Nebraska. After the move to Sioux Falls, Taylor worked as a veterinary technician with Horizon Pet Care in Brandon. Now, she works full time with Tail Chasers but also does relief work at the clinic. In 2017, veterinarians in Nebraska nominated Taylor for vet tech of the year.
Golden also has experience managing health-food stores.
“I’ve been in the industry on the human side and Amanda on the medical side,” Golden said. “Our combined experience is a great fit for this business. It’s fun, and we really enjoy it.”
And they have many more satisfied consumers besides their canine quartet at home.
“A lady works at a local credit union, and she has a 14-year-old dog that is blind and deaf and never gets excited about anything,” Taylor said. “She left the treats on the counter. The dog got on counter, and when she got home, it had ripped open the bag and eaten half.”
The 605 Made Holiday Market will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday in the lower-level parking ramp of the original Cherapa Place office building in downtown Sioux Falls. Items will be sold as one cohesive pop-up shop.
605 Made is co-organized by Knotty Gnome Variety & Salvage and SiouxFalls.Business. The First National Bank in Sioux Falls and Pomegranate Market are the sponsors.
To view the complete vendor guide, click below:
