Nashville Holistic Pet in Cool Springs offers natural pet food, advice

By Wendy Sturges of the Community Impact Newspaper:

"For pet owners who want to spoil their four-legged friends during the holiday season, Nashville Holistic Pet in Cool Springs carries a wide range of specialty items for cats and dogs. The shop, which allows leashed pets inside, carries pet food for dogs and cats, apparel, grooming tools and beds. Shoppers will find high shelves filled with specialty foods and walls of treats for chewing and play-time.

Owner Allen Pate, who took over operations of the shop in 2018, said Nashville Holistic Pet specializes in high-protein foods and natural treats that are close to what dogs would want to eat in the wild, as opposed to overly processed options.

“You can find some of what we sell at the big chain stores, but a lot of the people that we buy from only supply to small, independent retail stores,” Pate said. “So what you’re going to get at our store is going to be higher in protein than what you’ll get somewhere else, so it may cost a little more. But you’re also not going to have to feed as much, and it’s going to be a higher-quality food that will be, in the long run, more beneficial for you.”

Pate said employees can recommend treats and toys based on training and pet preferences. In addition to more well-known brands, such as KONG and Greenies, the shop carries many local options, such as Nashies, a Spring Hill-based company that makes one-ingredient treats from cheese, chicken or beef.

“That’s kind of what our whole thought process is behind—let’s give them what they’re going to want to eat anyway and make it be something that’s nutritional for them,” he said. “A lot of our products are human-grade. We’ve got some treats that are [so] good that I’ll eat [them] myself—not all of them, but some of them.”

Nashville Holistic Pet also offers tips and advice on nutrition and common issues, such as grooming, training and more, Pate said.

“It’s kind of our niche that we have, versus some of our larger competitors. ... We try to hire people that have some sort of background or at least have an understanding of pet nutrition,” he said. “[We try] to have enough knowledge [to help] when a customer says, ‘Hey, my dog’s got this wrong. What do I need to do?’ That’s kind of what we base our customer service on: ... having enough knowledge to help pet parents.”

Over the years, Pate said, he has enjoyed getting to know owners and helping them find items that will give their pet a higher quality of life.

“Our managers and the people that work in our stores—they know our customers. When they come in, we know the dog,” Pate said. “Just the bond between our regular clients and being able to help people when they come in: They’ve got a problem, and they walk out with a bag full of stuff that’s going to fix whatever the issue is that they have.”"

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