It is finally time to meet your host! Unleashed, the Dog and Cat Store is a rare, still independently & locally owned and operated pet supply store with locations in Raleigh, Cary, Durham, Wilmington, and Southport NC. Our mission at Unleashed is to provide the best a Dog and Cat can get, at affordable prices, so that every dog and cat can be as happy and healthy as ours.
We work hard every day to help dogs and cats live their longest, healthiest, happiest lives possible!
Backstory
Unleashed is a true "mom and pop" store, owned by Amy & JP Phinney.
AMY
A true NC native, Amy was born in Fayetteville where her father was finishing his 20 years of service in the Army. After retiring, Amy's father went to NCSU to start a new career, and the family moved to Raleigh and became big Wolfpack fans! Amy still remembers cheering on "Fire and Ice" from the student section. For you Raleigh locals, Amy attended Douglas Elementary, Carroll MS, and Sanderson HS. After HS, she moved to the great city of Wilmington, NC to earn a degree from UNCW, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude, with Honors, and received the E.M. West Award from the Cameron School of Business. While in Wilmington, she was a tour guide and tour director for EUE Screen Gems studios and if you look closely, you just might see her in the background of a few tv series and movies.
JP
A New York State (upstate) transplant, JP grew was born in Mechanicville, NY and moved to NC for 8th grade. He attended Carroll MS, and also Sanderson HS. While in school, JP worked many jobs and chose to keep working after school. He has worked at many restaurants and shops in Raleigh and Wilmington too. He now considers him a full North Carolinian and his roots here are pretty deep.
Amy + JP
You may have noticed that they both went to Carroll and Sanderson. Their paths did cross in Junior year when they sat next to each other in English class. They can still remember their first conversation from their first-day-of-school ice-breaker activity! They can truly say that they have known each other most of their lives, and Amy is still loaning JP pens.
After Amy graduated from UNCW, the young couple packed up their things and moved across the country to Burbank, CA for Amy to dabble in the film industry.
BENNY
While in CA, they decided to adopt a dog. They headed out to the Burbank animal shelter but found that it was closed that day. So they headed to the next closest one, the Pasadena Humane Society. Little did they know that there was a puppy on the same journey. A stray puppy had been picked up from the streets of Glendale and as the closest shelter was closed, he too ended up at the Pasadena Humane Society. Amy and JP were two of the first people to see this puppy and instantly fell in love. They adopted that puppy, not having any clue how life-changing it would be in so many ways.
They named the puppy Benny and he became their everything. They watched training videos, took him on countless walks, took him to the dog parks, and even signed him up for "Nuts for Mutts," a mixed-breed dog show fundraiser for rescues. Benny won "Cutest Puppy" and was even on Animal Planet!
After a year in CA, they decided to pack their stuff back up and drive back across the country to their home, this time with a new BFF between them.
The HISTORY of Unleashed
Learning about how to best care for Benny became their passion. Amy worked various pet-related jobs and began researching the best products for Benny. She had an "ah-ha" moment when comparing dog foods. Wanting to feed good food, but also not having a big budget, Amy did some math. Instead of just comparing price tags, she actually calculated the cost per day of various foods. She found that the more expensive foods were much more nutritionally dense, and the feeding amount was much less. So when you calculate the cost per day or cost per month, the more "expensive" food was actually cheaper in the long run! Not to mention, the better you feed your pet, the healthier they will be, which means less vet bills and less expenses overall. Amy started to share this new development with everyone she could. She also found a passion to educate people on better chews, better treats, and more. When she learned something new for Benny, she wanted to share with others.
Humble Beginnings + Organic Growth
With a desire to share what she was learning, but with limited resources, she decided to set up a table at the Flea Market at the NC State Fairgrounds Marketplace. She borrowed a table and an umbrella, ordered some of Benny's favorite things with money they got from JP selling his car, and set up outdoors on February 24, 2007 at the NC State Fairgrounds Marketplace.
The idea was that it was low risk to order Benny's favorite things and see if anyone would buy them. If they didn't, well Benny would just have a year's supply of the things he loved! To this day, this is still how Unleashed is operated. You won't find anything at Unleashed that Amy & JP wouldn't give to their own pets!
Thankfully, people did buy Benny's favorite things, and the little flea market shop began to
expand. Amy & JP's family began to expand as well, with the addition of Mr. Vixen, a lab/golden mix that was a great friend for Benny and also a great product tester for Unleashed! In October 2007, Unleashed was invited to the NC State Fair, and the course of history was set again. Needing more support to commit to the State Fair, JP left his job to go all-in at Unleashed.
After the fair, it was time to take Unleashed to the next level. On April 8, 2008, Unleashed became an LLC, and the work began on turning an "upscale dollar store" into a dog store.
By June 2008, Amy & JP opened the doors of Unleashed, the Dog Store at Lake Boone
Shopping Center on Wycliff Rd. With the support of their customers, Amy & JP married on
June 20, 2009, and became the Phinneys. A year later, the Phinneys adopted two kittens, which they named Wesley and Buttercup, from the Wake County Animal Shelter and Unleashed, the Dog Store upgraded to Unleashed, the Dog & Cat Store!
In the late summer of 2010, the Phinneys saw an opportunity to expand into North Raleigh,
and on November 1, 2010 opened their second location in Stonehenge Market just in time for the holidays.
Unleashed became an official "mom-and-pop store" on 1/1/12 with the birth of the Phinney's first baby boy. The Phinney family and the Unleashed locations have both continued to grow steadily over the years.
The Phinney family now consists of 4 human children, the same 2 felines, and 1 canine, Lisa, adopted from All Breed Animal Rescue of the Carolinas in 2017.
Benny and Vixen lived very long, healthy, happy lives on Earth, and forever in our hearts and in the legacy of Unleashed. They taught us everything, inspired a passion, and are the sole reason that we are where we are today.
Owning and operating a retail chain is hard work and has come with many challenges over the years. But every time a customer gives us a personal testimonial about how we have helped their pet (recover from the worst skin problems, stomach issues, allergies, and more), or even how much their pet loved a toy they got from us, or how they can go for walks again with their new harness, it makes it all worth it. Over the past almost 20 years, we have been able to impact the lives of so many dogs and cats that are hearts are bursting and we are grateful for what we get to do for a living.
Being independent has given us the opportunity to grow and adapt and add more ways to achieve our mission. We now offer personal consultations and private shopping experiences. We just hosted our 13th Spring Fling and get to help homeless pets, and we work with these non-profit organizations year-round too! We have recently added a rescue partner discount program to further help our rescue community.
Every day we are grateful for our journey and for the customers that continue to support us and make it all happen. We wouldn't be here without our customers and our passionate staff too.
Our Mission:
"To provide the best a Dog and Cat can get, at affordable prices, so that every dog and cat can be as happy and healthy as ours."
Let's take a deeper dive into our mission...
"To provide the best a dog and cat can get": Since the inception of Unleashed, we have been committed to finding the healthiest and best products and only selling products that we would personally give to our own pets. If we wouldn't use the product, we won't sell the product. Period. *(even more detail)
"At affordable prices": We have always used minimal markups and fought for good prices to avoid being a high-end boutique, but rather a supply store for all people and their pets. You will find better prices on products at Unleashed than at big box stores, or even online retailers. And, Unleashed doesn't just carry high-end, boutique items, but a wide variety of items to be able to help every dog and cat.
"So that every dog and cat": When we say every dog and cat, we mean it. Our store is for everyone from the homeless, still looking for a forever home animal, to the most pampered pet ever. And part of our passion is helping bridge the gap between the two. We are very active in the community helping homeless animals and helping prevent animals from becoming homeless. **(even more detail)
"Can be as happy": We believe in helping make pets happy. We have the best toy selection you will find, including durable toys, interactive toys, and more. Our true specialty is testing every toy on the market for durability and carrying the toughest toys you'll ever find! We also support each pet's happiness in other ways, including spoiling them if they come in, helping pet parents find supplements for issues such as anxiety, or offering advice for almost any kind of issue.
"And Healthy": Our biggest focus is on training our staff to be nutritional experts. We take a holistic approach to health and well-being and are able to help with many ailments including skin issues, tummy issues, mobility issues, anxiety, and more. We get daily testimonials from our customers that are priceless to us and keep us going!
"As ours": These last two words are key to us. Our pets have their own pet store, so they have constant access to the best the pet industry has to offer and are extremely happy and healthy. But we want every pet to be just as happy and healthy, even if their parents don't own a pet store. Every pet deserves the best!
Passion for Helping Rescues
Spring Fling isn't the only way we help animals in need! Benefitting rescues and animal welfare organizations is an important part of what we do at Unleashed. We have a donation barrel in all eleven locations where we collect any and all pet products for local groups year-round.
We also frequently have extra donation drives at our store-wide Unleashed events. Catch the next donation drive at Prom Night for Pets on May 30th.
Any time Unleashed charges to participate in an event (I.E. Paint your Pet), the entirety of your donation goes to a local rescue. Rescues keep 100% of ticket donations for events like puppy yoga and dog wash fundraisers as well. Our last Puppy Yoga weekend raised over $500 for the rescue!
You can almost always catch a meet and greet at Unleashed on the weekend. Keep an eye on the Unleashed Event Calendar to find one near you!
Unleashed's Services
Highly Trained Staff- our staff is constantly learning, researching and expanding their knowledge so that they can help your pets live their longest, happiest, healthiest lives possible!
Personal Consultations- sometimes it is nice to have a little more support. You can sign up for a one-on-one personal consultation where one of our experts will meet with you for as long as you need and walk with you on your pet's holistic healing journey. They will also follow-up and make revisions to the plan as needed.
Schedule a consultation: https://www.unleashedmutt.com/consultations
Private Shopping Experiences- Do you wish your pet(s) could shop at Unleashed, but are
nervous about bringing them in? We are now offering times outside of regular store hours for private shopping! Sign up here: https://www.unleashedmutt.com/private-shopping-experience
Community Room- Need a pet-friendly space for something? For just about anything, you
can use our community rooms, free-of-charge! From birthday parties, to yoga, to book club, to meet & greets, to paint parties, you name it and we'll welcome it! Book Here: https://www.unleashedmutt.com/bookevent
Rescue Partner- We partner with non-profit organizations to help however we can. We support adoption events, meet & greets, fundraisers and more. We also offer discounts at Unleashed for our rescue partners and their fosters too! Email Jen@unleashedmutt.com for details.
Frequent Buyer Programs- We have over 100 frequent buyer programs on products in our store, and we now have an app just for keeping track of when you will earn your free food/treat/litter/toy/supplement/whatever the case may be! We also support our own rotational feeding frequent buyer programs where we don't hold you to one brand or flavor of food! We believe that variety is the spice of life (and the best thing for overall longevity and good health) so we make sure that our customers can still earn free food while also doing what is best for their pet!
Social Events- We host some kind of social event at least once a month! We love for our
customers to bring their dogs, hang out, get some free treats, do some kind of game/craft/activity and just well, socialize! Some events that we have coming up include: Prom Night, Pet Paint & Sip, Summer Scouts, Summer Sunday Sundae Socials, and more!
Rescue Events- We frequently have rescue groups at our stores, especially on the weekends. From adoption events to dog wash fundraisers (they will wash your dog), to puppy yoga, there are lots of opportunities to support the local rescue community!
Donation Drop Off- We are a year-round donation drop spot. Drop off supplies for animal rescues and we will get them to them! We work with dozens of groups and will find a good home for supplies, new & used.
Support Unleashed
If you love Spring Fling and want it to keep going year after year, please support Unleashed.
We pour hours and hours of time (and money too) into making this event the best event we possibly can. We are not a major corporation or have some big investor behind us. We need the support of our community to make this event possible. I'm not asking for you to send us money, I'm just asking you to consider where you purchase your pet products. Whether you buy a $1 cat toy or transform your pet's life by changing their diet entirely, or somewhere in between, consider doing that at Unleashed.
Beyond spending countless hours on Spring Fling, we are still researching and reviewing and
making sure that we are carrying the best products for your pets, always. We are constantly watching as brands get bought and sold, acquired and changed. We are diligently keeping up with not just formula changes but sourcing changes too. We are doing everything that we can with your pet's best interest in mind. Subscriptions are convenient, but rotational feeding is best for your pet, and formula changes, and especially sourcing changes, can happen without you even knowing. At Unleashed we honor rotation in our frequent buyer programs, and we keep you informed to changes in the industry.
As the market is flooded with new pet food brands that use the right buzz words and have an
extreme marketing budget, we dig in, do the research, ask the deep questions and get to the root of whether these brands really are all they say they are or are they just hype and pretty packaging? Investors are pouring into the pet food industry and using market research to make their pet foods sound great to customers. For example, when the market research shows that customers want real meat as the first ingredient, pet food brands put water-inclusive meat (the water gets cooked out) first followed by 4 (or more) carb sources that combine to be way more than the actual meat content. What looks like a meaty diet, is actually not meaty at all when all is said and done. Another trick is to take an ingredient, like peas, and break it into multiple parts and multiple ingredients. An ingredient list may include whole peas, pea protein, pea starch, pea flour, and pea fiber after chicken, so that the food looks like a predominantly chicken-based food, when in actuality it is an overwhelmingly pea-based food. These are the tricks that we study and stay on top of so that you don't have to. The industry is constantly adding new tricks, and we always try to stay one step ahead.
We attend the trade shows, we meet with the owners of pet food companies, we stay on top of trends. There is a reason for every product on our shelves, and for every product that is not. We ensure that every product in our store is something that we would give to our own pets. When we go to the store with our kids, we let them pick out anything for our pets. It is pretty funny when they choose a 12" trachea for our 10 lb. dog, but we still allow it and then we have fun watching Lisa try to carry it around the house, and guard it from our cats!
When a product starts to head in the direction of being something that we would not want our kids to pick out for our pets, we start to offer our customers alternatives and give them a heads up that that product/brand may not be headed in the right direction. And when it stops being something that we would give, then we stop carrying it in our stores. You can count on us to have the best products for your pets. Sometimes, that even means carrying some products from a brand and not all of them. Just because we carry a brand, doesn't mean we carry everything they make. As you can see, a lot goes into what goes on the shelf and what stays on the shelf, and we hope that our customers can shop with peace of mind that you won't find anywhere else.
Our research goes beyond just food. Before we bring in a new kitty litter, our cats, and several of our employee's cats give it a try (there's a new litter in our box right now!) Before we add a new bone, or chew, or toy, our pets try it and/or our employees pets try it (some of our tougher chewers are currently trying out some new bones and toys!) Also, before we add chews, we test how they will break down. When soaked in water, do they expand, do they break down, what happens? We want to know before we sell it to you. Fun story: one time during a tradeshow, JP was excited to get experimenting right away. While staying in a hotel, he put a collagen chew in a glass of water to see what would happen. But, when he packed up, he forgot about it. Who knows what the housekeeper found or thought of it! We had to get another sample and re-do the experiment :). There are some really neat sounding chews on the market, but if we aren't comfortable giving it to our pets, or they don't pass our experiments, we won't carry them.
We are always open to testing things out that customers tell us about too. If there's a product that keeps showing up on your social media or web pages, and you are curious about it, let us know! We'd love to test it out, ask the deep questions, and let you know how it goes. We have added products brought to us by customers before and always love finding new things! Or sometimes, we dig deep and discover it is not really all it is cracked up to be. Either way, we are here for you.
What if your pet needs a special diet, or a prescription diet? We are here for you too. I could write a whole other blog post about that, but this one's already too long, so I'll just say, please reach out for a consultation where we will spend as much time with you as you need and will consult with other professionals as needed to help your pet find the exact combination of diet, supplements, and lifestyle changes that will help them live their longest, healthiest, happiest life possible. Sign up for a consultation: https://www.unleashedmutt.com/consultations
What if your pet tears everything up? We have product tested our toys and can tell you which ones are the toughest.
What if your pet pulls you over on the leash? Come try out our special harnesses- we'll get your pet fitted and let you take a stroll around the store and see the difference!
If your pet is smelly, has tear stains, licks their paws, is super itchy, has dry, flaky skin, has hot
spots, has recurring ear infections, has skin infections, has extra pink skin, has incontinence issues, allergies, intolerances, tummy issues, poop issues, and more, we can help! We are almost at 20 years of answering questions about all of these issues and have helped thousands of pets. We can help yours too.
We are also there to walk with you as your pet has new challenges and can help you adapt your approach as time goes by.
Beyond caring for the physical health of as many pets as we can, we also love to be there for the social, mental and emotional wellness too! Beyond Spring Fling, we hold many more events and would love to see you at those too! Please follow our social media accounts and the live calendar on our website for details! Find all the links here: https://linktr.ee/UnleashedCommunity
Ready to shop at Unleashed? Check out all of our locations!
Unleashed's Raleigh Locations
W. Raleigh: Lake Boone Shopping Center: 2460 Wycliff Rd. 27607 919-858-6460
N. Raleigh: Stonehenge Market: 7408 Creedmoor Rd. 27613 919-521-4963
Downtown: City Market: 29 Blake St. 27601 919-977-6529
Crabtree Valley Mall: 4325 Glenwood Ave. 27612 984-222-0042
Unleashed's Cary Location
Crescent Commons: 2066 Kildaire Farm Rd. 27518 919-977-1329
Unleashed's Durham Locations
Parkway Plaza: 4215 University Drive, 27707 919-294-4608
Downtown: 1000 W Main St, Ste 1C, 27701 919-908-1887
Streets at Southpoint Mall: 6910 Fayetteville Rd. Suite 211, 27713 919-491-5288
Unleashed's Wilmington Locations
Landfall Shopping Center: 1319 Military Cutoff Rd. 28405 910-256-2128
Downtown: Front/Market: 2 South Front St. 28401 910-769-5511
Unleashed's Southport Location
Tidewater Plaza: 1671 North Howe Street Southport, NC 28461 910-477-6254
We hope that you had a blast at Spring Fling! We also hope that you will consider supporting our sponsors and us for all of your pet's needs, and that we will see you sooner than later! Plus keep an eye on all of our Spring Fling socials for updates about next year!
Learn more about Unleashed and stay up to date with ongoing sales/promotions, events, and more:
Website: www.unleashedmutt.com
Link Tree for all the links: every location's socials, sign-ups for consultations & private shops, event calendar, newsletters, and more! https://linktr.ee/UnleashedCommunity
Note: Every store location has their own FB, Insta, and Google pages so that you can follow the specific locations that you are interested in and stay in touch and up to date with those!
Stay up to date on all things Spring Fling too:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/k9springfling
