Helmutt’s is, and has only ever wanted to be, big enough to serve our community and pay our employees decently by offering for retail sale food and goods that are better for pets at a fair price for us and our customers.  For many years we have been somewhat at the mercy of the US market but managed to get a fair enough deal to make it worthwhile.  Sadly recent events have made this approach unsustainable.

So what’s a 29-year-old independent pet food and supply store, and their customers, to do?  Lean into what still makes sense, and for Helmutt’s, that means renewed support for Canadian pet food brands.  Made-in-Canada brands have also flourished in the last 29 years, and keeping the focus on them while our American neighbours sort themselves out is our way forward.

For every product leaving our shelves, there is a Canadian one to take its place, already in stock or newly added by us for its quality and commitment to being a better choice for pets’ health.  If alternatives are not suitable for your pet, we will continue to special order that item for as long as you need.  Our four-legged friends -thankfully- don’t know a thing about tariffs, currency exchange rates, or politics, and sometimes we two-leggeds just have to do what’s necessary.  And so we all shall.