Why Does It Feel Like Someone Just Kicked My Dog? The ONE Star Review...
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So I probably take things like a negative review too personally. It's because of Agatha. She’s the inspiration for Agatha’s Apothecary. She’s the reason I started the journey to find the things that truly help pets stay healthy. She’s why I spent years and a small fortune gathering great products in a field that abounds with cheap, ineffective placebos.Agatha's Apothecary is unlike any pet company out there & I'm blessed to be part of its beginnings. My dream? To provide absolutely the best products money could buy. Products that help pets have happier + healthier lives,,, period. I wanted ours to be products with HEART, from a COMPANY with heart. A company that truly cares about the other Agathas and Annabelles, the much-loved Luckys and Lucys and Lulus out there.
I've been so excited about our new product line. There have been so many thousands of hours poured into this endeavor and finally, we approach the official Amazon launch of over a dozen products. Besides our probiotics, upcoming is a joint formula, an all-natural flea remedy, the best dog shampoo & coat conditioner money can buy. (really!) There's Fur Freshener & Pup Pup Cologne (divine!) Agatha's Elixir and even a product called Probiotic Cat Essentials for those with a furry feline in the house.The first product formula is AMAZING, (learn more about Agatha's Advanced Probiotic and other new products here) in brief, I've taken our original Advanced Probiotic and made it even more powerful, it has ten of the most pet beneficial probiotic strains, a whopping 15 BILLION CFU's per capsule. (That is incredible for a dog probiotic, check labels, most pet products just don't come close) I wanted to create products with stories and wonderful watercolor illustrations. Stories about real dogs and cats, because we all need to laugh more and perhaps reflect more too. It's been the busiest time of my life but a joy-filled time of creativity and a chance to be part of something that will help others hopefully avoid some of the pitfalls of keeping their pets well.
I'm a storyteller and first, I shared the story of my wonderfully funny and sweet and loving and courageous little dog Agatha, who will be (trumpet sound!) TEN YEARS OLD HER NEXT BIRTHDAY! (yes, shouting for joy!).
This isn't some huge China-based conglomerate company that spins out who know's what kind of pet products, to the best of my ability, I promise that Agatha's Apothecary will offer the very best you can buy for your pets.Agatha's Apothecary is unlike any pet company out there, we follow the most current scientific & holistic research and offer the best made in the USA products on the planet. I'm so blessed to have been given this dream and been surrounded by the talented people who could help make it become a reality.So what has all this got to do with reviews on Amazon? I'm so glad you asked!
Not long ago, I was checking the inventory on our Advanced Probiotic, I was stunned to see an ONE-star review from a woman who complained (with bad language) that she didn’t want the "blank blank" bother of having to hide the capsule in a treat. (which is totally incorrect anyway, the package clearly says just pull open and sprinkle over wet or dry food, it’s totally invisible to pets & tasteless) easy peasy to give in those shiny little vegetable glycerine capsules, edible and safe any way you give it really...Regardless, not everyone will love Agatha's, I get that. But, did she have to curse?(I know she wasn't cursing at my dearest of Agatha's, but it sure felt like it).And a ONE star review? Ouch that hurts in the world of pet products.People CARE about their pets and who wants a product with even one bad review?The heart of Agatha’s Apothecary is summed up here: “for the love of a dog”.I started this journey “for the love of a dog”. Because I knew if I didn’t find answers for how to help that dog fight the cancer that struck her at only four years of age, that certainly I would watch her die years before her time.And not for Agatha only, but for all the dogs I’ve owned and lost too early. For those now lost companions, some of whom I watched suffer painful and needlessly early deaths. It was like a slap in the face for everything we’ve worked so hard for, the products that I KNOW are amazing, that I’ve poured so much into, to be so caustically rejected without one ounce of understanding of why it was important to be willing to be slightly inconvenienced for the sake of the pets we love. 
Am I old-fashioned as to believe that an open forum like that calls for at least a modicum of courtesy and good taste? Obviously, she hadn’t read anything about who Agatha was, or why her products were so important for pet health, obviously, she couldn’t have cared less.Of course, I immediately responded and offered her a full refund, to keep the unused portion with my apologies (and just a word or two about using it the right way instead of writing such a disparaging review that was so unfair to the product itself). It stung for days though, I’d wake up thinking about it, check my emails hourly waiting for her reply which never came.I contacted Amazon Seller Central with pleas of not wanting an unhappy customer and trying to find out how to refund her purchase, Amazon couldn’t find her order either so that was fruitless as well.
Reviews on sites like Amazon can be the lifeblood of a new company. I carefully read reviews myself and they definitely are one of the factors I consider when trying anything new. Happily, Agatha’s products have a faithful and passionate following, but considering the hundreds of products we’ve sent to customers, the sad fact is that 99% of people (including myself I’m ashamed to say), never leave a review on a product. I totally get it, we are so busy, who has time to place the order in the first place, the added step of remembering to go back and rave about the products I love is often a good intention I simply never take the time to follow through on. I’m trying to be more diligent in that area and when I love a product, I try to let the world know!
The one good thing that might have come out of that review? I decided that making probiotics even easier to use made sense, and I’m happy to say that we’ll now be offering another really fabulous dog probiotic (and a formula for cat lovers too!) Probiotic Dog Essentials that allows you to use a scoop, contains a 5 month supply to make things easier for those with more than one canine companion. It’s a powerhouse blend of immune building ingredients, you can read all about here soon here, but for now, suffice to say I’m more than excited and my dream of seeing Agatha’s Apothecary change the lives of pets everywhere seems well on it's way to becoming a reality.(By the way, would you do Agatha & I a favor?If you love her products???Please help us tell the world with a nice review on Amazon?!? Warmest Wags Indeed,Terry & AgathaCo-CEO’s & Founders of Agatha’s Apothecary TO VISIT AGATHA'S NEW SITE OR SHOP NOW CLICK HERE
Poor Agatha, she's had the sometimes not so enjoyable job of helping us develop new products for the company named in her honor.SHE HAS NOT BEEN A FAN.The problem is, as someone with rather a large amount of experience regarding dog grooming (owner of a grooming shop/boarding kennel, veterinary technician, etc), I decided a few years ago that there simply had to be a better dog shampoo available.It wasn't too much to ask really.A shampoo that smelled fabulous (and didn't bother my allergies). A shampoo that lathered richly (without nasty sulfates) and left doggie fur lightly fragrant and super clean.A shampoo that was truly safe and natural, as organically sourced as possible, gentle on the eyes. A shampoo that not only cleansed, but nourished coat and skin. A shampoo that removed dander and amazingly, even helped reduce shedding!
Alas, it took dozens of failed attempts on this journey to an absolutely fantastic dog shampoo solution.First I tried searching the internet. I spent hours reading the reviews of this or that bubbly offering. I stayed up late at night, scanning the vast array of dog shampoos available to the pet owner. I ordered so many bottles of shampoo Agatha began to think we were opening our own pet apothecary,,, (little did she know).The UPS guy must have wearied of driving up our long farmhouse lane. Of carrying box after box of heavy cartons up into my kitchen.
I would open those cartons, one by one, and begin the process of evaluating the pros and cons of each.The criteria were strict, upon opening the bottle, first of all, the fragrance had to be fabulous AND not bother my allergies.You'd be amazed at how many failed even that first simple test. The high hopes that I had for each new candidate were often dashed the moment the lid came off the trendy looking bottle.Why on earth would I want my dog to smell like a pumpkin latte? If just the first whiff made me cringe, why bother to douse my pet in the smelly stuff?I developed a rather large carton of bottles to donate & spent a small fortune only to find that not a single one of those products which promised the moon & stars was more than mediocre at best.Some of them required an enormous amount of shampoo "pour a couple of palmfuls on your dog's coat to start" (this one had over a hundred 5 Star Amazon reviews!). Even that enormous amount of shampoo didn't clean very well and required so much rinsing that it quickly went to the reject bin.(Agatha was relieved when that one went by the wayside!)
