Lucy is a modern-day Cinderella. \nWithin several months, she has gone from living on the streets to draping herself in designer clothes and resting her head on hundred-dollar pillows. Lucy’s parents abandoned her when she was little more than a year old. Even at that age, she was able to survive on her own until she was 18 months old. That’s when Bloomington resident Jim Andrews, who sympathized with her plight, picked her up outside of town. \nBut Andrews could not take care of her for long, and he soon began to try to find Lucy more suitable parents.\nIn Mark Ratzlaff and Carole Biggs, he found just that. The engaged couple not only officially adopted Lucy, but also designed a store for her – filled with treats, designer clothes, bedding and bags.\nLucy is a three-year old beagle.\nLondon Dog, 120 S. College Ave., is the shop Lucy inspired, a canine boutique that opened two months ago in downtown Bloomington.\n“I guess I just wanted to have the best for (Lucy),” Biggs said. “She’s always on my mind.”
From London to Bloomington\nAfter living in Britain for eight years with an English graduate degree in hand, Biggs found herself working in retail. In London, she worked in several retail stores, including MAC Cosmetics. \nShe and Ratzlaff knew each other from their hometown of Springfield, Mo. After reconnecting, Ratzlaff visited Biggs in London. When Biggs hopped back across the Atlantic, she decided to “take a risk” by moving to Bloomington to join Ratzlaff in March 2006.\nThrough less satisfying retail jobs over the past several years, Biggs continued to work toward her goal of owning her own store.\n“I kind of knew in the back of my mind this is what I was going to do,” she said.\nLondon’s love of dogs inspired Biggs to fashion the store based around the city. The “minimalist” style of London Dog, with clothes hanging from wire fences and most of the product along the walls, mirrors British shops.\n“Over here (in America), I think people are spoiling their pets even a little bit more than they are in Europe,” Biggs said. “It’s kind of an international thing.”\nMoving to Bloomington and adopting Lucy gave Biggs the extra push to open her own store, designed specifically for dogs. She said after conducting several small surveys in Bloomington and constantly seeing dogs and their owners walking around, she thought there would be a market for it.
Dog days\nThe shop’s walls are lined with designer-print doggy rain jackets and handmade collars with sterling silver buckles and neon-colored leashes. The counter is a glass case filled with rows and tiers of pumpkin and peanut-butter flavored cupcakes, cookie sandwiches, ice cream cones and other pastries concocted specifically for dogs.\nRatzlaff said they were unable to find anything locally that fit Lucy’s style or medium size, which was an impetus for starting the store.\n“We got Lucy and we just couldn’t find anything cool for her,” he said.\n“What I get for other dogs, I ask ‘Would I get it for her?’” Biggs said.\nLucy sports “streetwear,” Biggs said. In fact, her first outfit was a “Royalty” hoodie.\n“She’s not very girly,” Biggs said. “She doesn’t look so good in pink.”\nBut even if Lucy is the inspiration for the store, Biggs said she realizes Lucy’s body type and style don’t fit every dog.\nThe clothes, which range from $15 to $75, are made with current human trends in mind. Jackets in the shop use Ralph Lauren and Missoni prints, and hoodies echo popular t-shirt sayings, such as “Go Green.”\nMuch of the store’s profits are made from small dog owners.\nMillie, a six-month-old puppy, perused the shop Tuesday with her owner, IU senior Courtney Willibrand, following closely behind.\n“I love it when people bring their dogs in,” Biggs said, tossing Millie a treat. “I like it when they do because they can try on the clothes here.”\nBiggs offers a treat to each dog that comes into the store, and when a visitor gets a treat, so does Lucy. Biggs said this reward system has made Lucy more sociable with other dogs in the store and has helped ease her anxiety problems. \nThough Lucy is partial to the pumpkin-flavored pastries, Biggs said they are certainly not for everyone.\n“We’ve tried (the treats),” Biggs said. “They’re just a little bland.”
A change of collar\nThough the store typically sees only a few visitors a day, Biggs said she hopes that the holiday season will bring a steadier stream of buyers. \n“We’re a little worried,” she said. “Hopefully we’ll be able to handle it.”\nAfter attending Pet Fashion Week in New York, Biggs said she “got away pretty cheap” with the costs of designing and stocking the store, despite one splurge.\nShe said that “splurge” included ribbons and tools to create custom-made dog collars. Biggs already had a history of customizing her dogs’ collars in the past.\nBefore Lucy, Biggs completely pampered a white pekingese named Nausicaa, decorating and adding charms to her collar, she said.\nBut for a major collar-making business, Biggs turned to Ratzlaff.\nRatzlaff was a painter, but said collar-making was “surprisingly more profitable.” He uses art skills in picking colors and designs and matching them with interesting threads.\nThe collars are the store’s most popular item, and Biggs said if the business continues to expand, she plans on distributing them to other stores.\nBut for now, Biggs and Ratzlaff are focusing on just operating the business. They are its only two employees.\n“Just the fact that we’re doing everything ourselves… there’s no free time really,” Ratzlaff said. “It’s crazy.”\nDespite the long hours and extra work, both said it was worth the effort because of how it has affected Lucy.\n“Man, she used to be this shy, scared little shelter dog,” Ratzlaff said. “And she’s just totally come out of her shell. She gets more confident every day, so she’s great.”\nLucy declined to comment.
