Natural health pet store and dog spa – with in-store bakery

Kelly Newbold Cooper, a qualified Canine Nutritionist, is preparing to open Nurture them Naturally on Saturday.

She has run a similar shop in Gosport for the last ten years alongside her husband Grant Cooper, and also produces her own brand of raw dog food.

The new shop in Chichester’s Terminus Road, which was formerly the furniture store Feather and Black, will be a much larger version of the Gosport branch and Kelly is confident it will interest the city’s dog owners.

“There’s nothing else like it in the area,” she said.

Thankfully her plans have not been disrupted by the latest lockdown measures, as the store is considered an essential business offering emergency animal care.

Customers will be able to purchase a wide range of raw dog food, natural dog treats, herbal treatments for fleas and other issues.

There will be an in-store bakery conjuring up dog treats from natural ingredients, including cupcakes, cheesecakes, brownies, cookies and even little Christmas puddings for dogs.

Natural products can have a big impact on dogs, helping clear up skin issues, improve behaviour – in the same way that having a natural diet can benefit humans, Kelly said.

The store also has a pet spa which has been specially imported from Australia.

With bubble jets, it is just like ‘a jacuzzi for dogs’, Kelly said.

There are only six of its kind currently in the country.

The spa can help dogs with their skin, with the jets helping with mobility, and joint and muscle problems.

Painted with forest imagery and calm blues, with rainforest sounds and aromatherapy scents in the air, the store will have ‘a spa-like feel’.

A groomer will be on site, and there will also be a dog training school at the back.

Kelly said there was ‘very much’ a demand for their products in the area. The business already does a local delivery round to homes in Chichester.

She said of these customers: “They are very happy that we’re coming to town, so they can pop in.”