June 23, 2008

Bow Wow

(March-April 2008 - Philly Fit Magazine)

Buzzy's Bow WOW Meow, a one of a kind pet supply retail store, opened in the former historical Albrecht's at 701 Montgomery Avenue in Narberth, PA last April. This was a dream come true for Buzz, to turn his passion for companion animals into a retail business while realizing his personal mission to help make people aware of the benefits of the human-animal bond.

Buzzy's carries natural, holistic, organic and raw foods as well as an incredible assortment of pet supplies, treats, toys and animal themed items such as beds, crafts, clothing, carpets. The very animal loving, knowledgeable staff at Buzzy's is always available to answer questions and help you find the perfect food and supplies for your pet. Your "best friends" are welcome to shop with you at Buzzy's and the staff loves to offer nutritious treats to your furry friends. What makes Buzzy's truly unique is its mission to educate the public about the benefits of adoption. It's not really a store; it's what Buzz likes to call a "companion animal education center" with free seminars and workshops held regularly discussing animal related topics. Just to name a few-seminars are available on behavior problems, training, adopting the right pet for your lifestyle, children and pets, rescuing animals, food allergies, bereavement and so many more companion animal topics.

Buzzy's encourages customers to make suggestions about animal topics they would like to learn more about for future seminars or workshops. Recently a seminar entitled "Pit Bulls, Perception, Policies and You" was held at the store at which a lawyer with the ASPCA delivered timely information to attendees on this "hot" animal issue. This was not only informative but a real eye opener to many people who didn't know the true facts surrounding Pit Bulls.

Buzz Miller, formerly a successful business-real estate lawyer and developer, has found greater satisfaction in bringing people and companion animals together, helping to educate the public, and placing wonderful rescued pets with loving families, than he ever received during his lucrative career. He will be the first one to tell you that there truly is no greater gratification than that which comes from working with the animals and helping to spread the word about the benefits companion animals bring to our lives.

How this all came about is an evolution over thirty years. In the late 1970's, Buzz and a former girlfriend had a dog. When they split up, he unexpectedly realized that he had become emotionally attached to this new companion. After giving the woman his car and bribing her two sons with a television and a motorcycle and an expensive purebred dog, he kept this thirty-five dollar dog. That's when he first learned about the human-animal bond. Over the years, that bond has only gotten stronger.

After slowing down his practice, Buzz began working pro-bono full time for several animal organizations, offering his business skills and legal expertise. Instead of this being rewarding to Buzz, he found it extremely frustrating. So many of the shelters and organizations he worked with were underfunded, understaffed and lacked strong business expertise. The passion and desire was there but without enough funding, they continued to struggle. Buzz felt that he would be able to run a business with his background. He could combine his business experience with his fire and passion for the animals and use the capitalist system, a retail store, to educate the public and adopt out many loving animals. Hopefully, with lots of hard work and persistence, Buzzy's will become a true success story and help the animals and many worthwhile animal welfare organizations, while furthering the human-animal bond.

Don't make any mistake about it-there are NO pets for SALE at Buzzy's, and never will be-they only facilitate fosters and adoptions of rescued animals. Most of the animals sold in pet shops come from puppy mills, places that breed animals in large quantities and often under very inhumane conditions. Buzz would like to see an end to such practices and is working, one animal at a time, to promote rescuing and adopting some of the millions of dogs and cats out there who are healthy and lovable and just need someone to care about them.

Not only do they have buckets of love to give, but there is much we can learn from our companion animals. It has been documented that they lower our blood pressure and help prevent heart attacks. Studies have shown that dogs have many life saving abilities, including detecting cancer and seizures in human beings.

Buzzy's is quite involved in helping match up dogs and cats with new loving homes by holding Adoption Days on the weekends. Various shelter and foster groups bring wonderful animals to Buzzy's to be introduced to new "forever homes" with a new loving family. They have successfully placed many loving pets, once homeless, lonely animals which became part of a wonderful loving family, to share each other's life and love. Also at Buzzy's, you will find two Cat Rooms, equipped with real-time cameras fed into their website, featuring the cats currently available for adoption where you can watch all the playing, sleeping, and love just waiting for you if you are lucky enough to make a match and take home a new friend.

One of the groups Buzzy's works closely with is the Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society, a vital arm of the Philadelphia Animal Control and Care Association. PAWS provides homeless cats housed in the two cat rooms at Buzzy's which are available for adoption. PAWS also holds regular dog adoption events at the store. Buzzy's has been signed as the exclusive purveyor of pet food, toys and supplies at the newly opened PAWS adoption facility at 2nd and Arch Streets in center city Philadelphia.

Buzz writes regular animal articles for several local newspapers and magazines. These include articles on the Human- Animal Bond including his thoughts on the recent horrible Michael Vick situation; reasons to adopt (not buy) a homeless companion animal; the health benefits to humans from companion animals; and, how to cope with one's grief upon the passing of one's companion animal. Buzz enjoys putting his thoughts on paper as he had done for many years as a lawyer. Only now he can put a different spin on it-letting go of the legal jargon and just talking about the animals and their owners with passion and love, and a dash of humor.

Buzz is excited about future plans at Buzzy's, specifically regarding the Human-Animal Bond as it develops in the relationship between children and animals. In 2008, two new programs will be supported by Buzzy's involving children raising funding to provide both the next K9 dog to be utilized by a local police department and for a trained K9 dog to be used in the Middle East. Buzzy's will be holding contests for children involving essays written by kids about their relationship with their own pets/companion animals as well as a photography contest of pictures taken by children of their companion animals. It is most important to encourage, educate and work with children when it comes to animals, as the children are our future. Developing a child-animal relationship will benefit all of us in the years to come.

When Buzz talks about Buzzy's, it is clear he is not out to just promote it, advertise it or profit from it- his mission is spreading the word of how much animals can help humans and what we can do for them. Finding loving homes working in conjunction with animal shelters is a goal of Buzzy's. Buzz Miller has devoted himself to helping companion animals and their owners. He recently opened Buzzy's in his mission to educate companion animal owners about proper care, healthy foods and pet adoptions that he believes is important to enhancing their lives. Please visit the store, website (www.buzzysbowwowmeow.com) or call (610-617-3300) for more information.