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How an adopted dog named Louie inspired a growing business

Dan Schaefer
Courtesy of Native Pet
Dan Schaefer

Dan Schaefer didn’t know it at the time, but the idea for his startup company began to take shape on the day he and his wife adopted a dog. A 10-week-old Labrador retriever named Louie to be exact. Louie was in bad shape, so Dan and his wife turned to specialty pet nutrition to improve his health. And Dan found a great startup idea. In 2017, Dan and his childhood friend Pat Barron co-founded Native Pet, a St. Louis maker of all natural supplements and treats for dogs and cats.

Midwest Moxie's executive producer is Audrey Nowakowski. She produced this episode. Subscribe to Midwest Moxie wherever you get your podcasts. And if you love Midwest Moxie as much as we do, help us out by posting a review.

Kathleen Gallagher is the host of Midwest Moxie and previously the host of How Did You Do That?.