On May 21, I had the pleasure of attending the opening ceremonies for Mud Bay’s annual “MudStock” event, which is a day that all 45 of their branches throughout the NW close, and employees gather to celebrate and have fun together. This year was their 30th anniversary, and they had commissioned a mural to be presented as a gift to the founding owners of the store. We decided to go with a photo-realistic style in stained glass depicting Mud Bay (the place on the far side of Olympia that the chain is named for) with a collie standing and looking out over the landscape. The owners had a collie named Clara when they opened the first location, and she was very dear to their hearts.
I’m so honored to have been commissioned by such a great company. These guys have become an employee-owned business and the average wage for their employees is $20.75. They are committed to providing high-quality, natural pet foods, and it is only because of their strong ethical policies that they have been able to compete against the big-box stores that have put all other locally owned pet stores out of business. Please, if you live near one of their stores, support them! Help prove that providing a living wage and good quality products is more important than investor profits (though for this company, their employees are their investors, so it is a win-win.)
