Pet Domain – an independent pet shop in Armagh – has partnered with local businesses to help residents keep the streets and pavements free of dog waste.
This is the next initiative by the young entrepreneur, Rachelle Mackin, who opened her own pet shop ‘Pet Domain’ on the Portadown Road back in 2022. Since its opening, the pet shop has grown from strength-to-strength, with Rachelle most recently expanding the shop unit to accommodate more stock!
Pet Domains provides quality and ethically produced food at the right price along with providing advice for owners of pets with eating issues or allergies.
As part of its continued success, this year, Rachelle expanded her pet portfolio by launching her online store ‘ForPetzNI’, where you can shop for products online and get them conveniently dropped to your door.
Rachelle said: “The website is growing as people switch to local based suppliers, buying local online makes a lot of sense for many people, its the best of both worlds.”
Rachelle’s local initiative is to encourage the public to be responsible – as dog owners know all too well – it can easily happen!
You rush out the door and forget your bags or perhaps you brought one with you but didn’t anticipate needing more… but Rachelle has found a way to help those who may have been caught out in the moment.
Understanding that dog fouling is more than likely a case of forgetting poo bags, and not owners deliberately shirking their responsibilities, Rachelle wanted to provide something to the local community which would help owners in a time of crisis.
“I have my own dog and even when I’m out walking the roads, I often see dog poo that has not been picked up,” she said.
“There’s been times where I have spoken to business owners who have complained about dog fouling on the streets and it being left up to them to sort out. So, I thought, why not provide bag dispensers throughout different areas of the town to make the clean-up easier?
“I thought the best way for this to work is to get local business owners involved as they are often the ones dealing with this issue, cleaning up messes outside their shop front.”
With that in mind, Rachelle reached out via Armagh I to local businesses to get them involved, hoping for businesses located close to popular walking routes and located far enough away from each other to make the free bags as accessible as possible.
The dispensers are conveniently located in different areas throughout the town and can be found at: Dantes Deli (Palace Stables), 4C Cafe (The Mall), Hawthornes Hardware (Armagh city centre) and the new Primrose Café at Harvey’s Garden centre (Portadown Road).
Rachelle said: “I am grateful to the businesses that have partnered with me to facilitate our poo bag dispensers.
“Whilst the initiative will be fully funded by Pet Domain we could not have delivered this without the support of others.”
Rachelle started off by ordering five dispensers and thousands of poo bags to accommodate bag refills for the coming year. Each dispenser also has a QR code which will take you directly to the Pet Domain website with more information on the importance of picking up after your dog.
“The main thing behind this initiative is we want owners to be responsible and respectful. Not only is it unsightly to see dog poo lying on the streets but it’s also so dangerous,” said Rachelle.
Dog poo contains toxins which can be life-threatening to humans and other wildlife. If left lying, dog poo can be easily stepped in or wheeled on, further spreading the parasites and diseases which it carries.
“If it helps one person when they’re stuck in the moment then that’s one step closer to a cleaner street.”
Click here to visit the Pet Domain website
Click here to visit and shop ForPetzni
