Petsage

This store was referred by a veterinarian after our cat started vomiting quite frequently shortly after we adopted her from the shelter. Petsage offers a good variety of gluten-​free, grain-​free, raw, and natural foods and supplements for cats and dogs. Price tends to be a bit more expensive than that of bigger retailers, but this is likely because they carry specialty and more high quality products. The store is located in a hidden mini strip mall near the Alexandria post office by Duke Street. Despite the somewhat industrial exterior, the inside is immaculately clean and very well organized. It reminded me more of a peaceful and warm boutique atmosphere than your typical big box pet store that usually smells of semi-​wet dog.
I’m not sure what the situation was with the other reviewers’ complaints, but Terri and her people have always been nice, attentive, and professional. On several occasions, she has gone above and beyond by suggesting a few remedies for our cat’s sensitive stomach issues. Her probiotic recommendations were the only thing that helped our cat after multiple and fruitless visits to the vet.

Terri the owner is apparently a lot of times in a bad mood, very short with her customers, and also very condescending. Avoid her at all costs!

Looking to start my cats on a raw food diet, I found this store carried what I needed. I was pleasantly surprised by how much more I got from this store than cat food. The woman working about 45 minutes before close was so helpful. I walked out of the store with exactly what I needed and with so much more knowledge about my cat’s diet than what I walked in. I will definitely be buying my pet food here from now on.

Petsage is amazing. I walked in here with the expectation that this was a grooming salon for some reason after Unilocaling for a pet groomer. Boy was I surprised. I walked into a store full of nutrients, refrigerators full of local meats for pets and tons of organic food options for dogs. I will never shop at another pet store after the expectations were set so high coming here. The woman working at the store offered my dog a treat, she told me that her dogs name was also Pixel. She gave me a tour of the store, explained all the different food options and even helped me configure a new semi raw, fully organic diet for my dog. We picked out various foods, treats and I left a happy customer. I will not shop at another pet store and I love Petsage.

First employee didn’t even look up when I came in. Second employee was so sanctimonious and snotty, I was shocked.

Last time I went is the last time I ever will go. :(While they still have good selection, I told the woman there that I came specifically from Rockville to get something from them. I asked for advice, and the first thing she did was roll her eyes and say «I wish you would’ve gotten here earlier, the owner would know and she just left 30 minutes ago.» Well EXCUSE me for having traffic from ROCKVILLE…
Then she told me to check their website. That’s not very helpful. She asked the other employee, who gave the same advice. So, pretty much, drive an hour back home, check the website, then come back here an hour and we can help you? No thank you. Unnecessarily rude. I will not be back.

I stopped into PetSage to buy my regular order of raw & I enjoyed walking the small store, they have a good selection of products. The employees seem knowledgable although I do agree with the other reviews, they do come off pretentious. They are a good source of knowledge but they should certainly work on their delivery.

I understand what people mean when complaining about some of the staff here. There is a lady who can appear somewhat dismissive of customers, but I think she’s more awkward rather than intentionally rude. By and large, the staff is very helpful and willing to order things they don’t carry in store for you, give free samples of products for your pet to try, and educate you about holistic pet nutrition. And I love that they encourage sustainability by giving first-​time customers reusable cloth bags.
I like this store. It’s tiny and cute and a great resource for healthy pet food. Big Bad Woof has a better selection of products, but PetSage is great for animal lovers living in Northern Virginia.

LOVE THIS STORE. I love exploring the items on my own.

I’m fortunate to have found this place. Pet Sage has a nice, friendly atmosphere and knowledgeable staff. I usually order natural pet food online but I am trying to support local businesses more often. Pet Sage does not have a huge selection but what they do carry is high quality. I was referred to Pet Sage by my holistic vet at South Paws while dealing with a pet suffering from digestive distress. I spoke to the staff at Pet Sage about the symptoms and they recommended a particular food. Pet Sage gave me 4 free cans to try! I also bought other items. Since my pet has been on this new food all the digestive problems have disappeared. I know I can order this food online, which I do from time to time, but I like going to Pet Sage knowing they have exactly what I need.

I really feel for the Unilocalers who have had bad experiences at this store. I get it. My boyfriend has some colorful stories of his own regarding service. I’ve been in customer service for years and it just isn’t hard to do! Be helpful, say hello, smile, listen. Duh. I don’t care if you hate your job — quit. Don’t make my life miserable when I just need some damn dog treats. And, yes, the general public is AWFUL, so I feel for people in customer service. People suck, which is why I love dogs. This may be a key to the issue here. I’m knee deep in dog stuff — work, volunteerism, rescue — and there are a lot of animal people who just aren’t good with actual people. Think this could be the case here.
Not an excuse, just an observation. 95% of the time I get adequate service, but there is that 5% that makes me think the people I am dealing with might not be well versed in human interaction. There is one person who is so chilly I think she might actually have some sort of diagnosed condition. I don’t know how you give someone a sincere and warm smile and you get no response back.
Great selection, though. I will continue to go because it is convenient and it has what I need. I just never go in expecting much interaction.
I also HAVE had positive experiences and the folks here do tend to be quite knowledgeable. They really helped me find the best diet for my dog who was unable to lose weight even though he didn’t eat much and got exercise. I’d read about raw diets but didn’t know where to start or how to make sure it was a well-​rounded diet. The woman I spoke with really filled me in and my dog has never been more lean. His energy is also greatly improved. Kudos to them for that.

I was surprised to see the reviews regarding service in the store as that has never been my experience. Thanks to the owner, Terri, and one of the people who work there, Barbara, I had a cat who lived 5 years longer than she should have — all because of diet. They not only educated me in nutrition and health, they became partners in raising my four-​legged, fur-​bearing children. There is nowhere in the DC metro area that has more knowledge and cares as much about natural animal health.
I have recently moved to Arizona and will dearly miss the folks at Pet Sage!

Snobby owner, poor service, outrageously priced merchandise. Also, this owner does not allow her incredibly spacious store to be used for animal adoption or other animal friendly events. Sorry, but I can’t support an animal business that only caters to wealthier clientele and doesn’t give back to the animal community.

I would have to agree to most peoples reviews on here. I have been going to PetSage for about 7 months and overall received great advice on cat food-​advised to go to wet food only– MUCH better than dry food diets, and tried some holistic remedies for struvite crystals. I also started incorporating raw rabbit and turkey-(Furry Foodie is the name) into my cats diet as well and my sweet cat is doing GREAT!!!
I also agree on the Horrible service I have received here!!! SNOBBY/​SNOTTY is an under statement and RUDE to bat! I have spent SO much money here on food and herbal remedies-​worth it for my cats sake and to not even get any appreciation is just wrong! Hello people we are in a tough economy even in the DC area and when we want to feed our pets– who are our family a good, healthy diet and CHOOSE to go to your store– well show some appreciation DAMN IT!!! Felix and Oscars in Springfield is a bit a further drive but much nicer staff…

Apparently I am invisible to the staff at this store!!!
Upon entering, one of the staff people, Suzanne says «Hiiiiii Angel» (which is my name) so at first I am like wow, this woman is psychic. Turns out she’s looking past me to a little girl or a dog or someone. So no greeting for me, no «can I help you?» Fine, whatever, I am perfectly capable of finding another staff person.
I walk to the back of the store and find Barbara. She seems to be looking at me and as I open my mouth and start speaking, she says «oh, I have your cat tree». Oh, great, another staff person, speaking to someone behind me. Again, I am blatantly looked past as the staff person dotes on another customer. Forget the fact that I was just speaking to her and was in front of this other customer whose business is apparently more important than mine. She could have asked me to wait or acknowledged my presence, but no. I really began to feel like a ghost.
I then walk to the front of the store and approach Megan at the counter. As soon as I start speaking she picks up some bottles and walks away. What in the world is going on here? I stood in the front of the store for several minutes. It could not have been more obvious that I needed assistance. I understand being busy, but three staff people overlooked me in record time. Terrible, terrible customer service! Service of this nature totally deserves ONE star!
Finally, Rachel noticed my presence and asked if I needed help. I did make a comment to her about how difficult it was to get some assistance. She spent a few minutes with me and gave me some free samples to take home since they do not take returns. I would never have stayed in the store given the service I received had my vet not recommended this place. Shame on them for not being more professional. These are grown women I was dealing with, not teenagers.
Good luck finding this place, too!

This store is as good as it gets people.
Got our puppy in the summer of 2004 with severe food allergies. We tried just about everything. Our vet was even going to conferences just for him. The staff at Pet Sage not only stood with us, but they really do love your pet as much as you do. They helped us through years of problems and identification of foods, and now — 6.5 years later, the dog is in wonderful shape largely in part to this store and it’s staff.
You get what you pay for folks. It really does make a difference in so many things to feed your pet the «good» stuff even if it costs more — and they only sell the good stuff here. The staff is attentive and has listened to us try and help two cats with cancer, and the dog with food allergies. They only want the best for your pets (which is why they wont take back food you’ve had for 2 months — what did you expect? Go back to a grocery store and try and return your Chef Boyardee 2 months after because you didn’t like the taste — see what sort of reaction you get there). It is human grade food and I have seen my wife and the staff there try treats out before giving them to dogs :)
I would recommend this store to everyone in the Alexandria area.

We’ve been here twice with our new puppy. The first time we were just doing some research on what food we wanted to switch her over to and knew they carried a few brands we were interested in. Someone offered to help us as soon as we walked in the door, answered all our questions, and gave us tons of free samples to take home.
We finally decided on Orijen as our puppy chow of choice, and this is one of the few places in DC that carry it. We were again greeted and offered help but when we told them we knew what we wanted they let us go about our shopping. They didn’t hound us, trying to get us to switch over to a different brand (like Petsmart does) or try to get us to buy things we didn’t need. Our puppy loves coming here since all the employees fawn over her and offer her treats.
It is in a really random location that you wouldn’t see if you were just driving along Duke Street. If you navigate by GPS, my Garmin always tells me to turn left onto Dove street, but if you’re heading west on Duke, left turns aren’t allowed. You actually want to turn right (onto Roberts Ln, I think), then turn left and use the light to cross Duke Street.

Me: I have some questions about my dog, and since you’re not busy and there’s no one in the store, I figured it would be okay to ask you:
Store clerk: UH … yeah. It’s not like I have anything else to do! (Sarcastic tone.)
Also: overpriced, weird location, sold me a guaranteed homeopathic remedy for puppy carsickness … that didn’t work.
So, screw it. Drive to Springfield and go to Felix and Oscar.

Remember the pet-​food scares back in the spring, when a number of dogs and other animals died from eating pet food from China tainted with toxic chemicals? Well, you don’t have to worry about that at Pet Sage.
All the food and products sold here are all-​natural. The store recently expanded, so there is lots of variety to choose from. Customer service I’ve found to be routinely excellent. One employee gave me samples of 12 different types of dog food to try for free on our chocolate lab-​mix, as I didn’t want to spend $$$ on food the dog wouldn’t eat.
Pets are welcome, of course. Do know that two of the employees’ cats roam in the shop, as does a very old, arthritic and sweet dog.
As for directions, yes, the shop is tucked away. Here’s how to get there: If you’re heading west (towards Old Town) on Duke Street, turn right on Dove Lane (if you drive past King Street Metro, you’ve gone too far). There will be a US Postal facility on the corner. The narrow two-​lane road curves to the right, and you’ll see a handful of nondescript brick buildings. About mid-​way down the road is Pet Sage, on your right.

This place off Duke Street in Alexandria recently expanded. They’re another holistic pet food store that’s jumped on the raw food bandwagon. I remember speaking to an employee there a few years ago and her saying how they’re against it, it’s dangerous, etc.
Anyway, they’re nice enough but kinda tricky to find the first time around. Actually, the first time around I drove in circles around the Hoffman theatre and gave up.
I think they do carry (and know a lot about) homeopathic remedies more than anywhere else. The customer service friendliness there can also be hit or miss.