Hatboro Pet Store Gets Second Life

Cats apparently aren’t the only ones with multiple lives. On the eve of his last day of business at his borough store, A Dog’s Life (and a Cat’s Too), owner Chris Gowen found out that he would not have to close his Hatboro store after all.

Gowen, a lifelong Hatboro resident and volunteer firefighter with Enterprise Fire Company, is in the process of moving to Maryland with his wife, forcing – what he thought – was the Jan. 31 closure of his 5-year-old store.

The dog and cat gift and accessories store, which is located at 109 N. York Road in Hatboro, will continue under the same name, but with husband and wife George and RaeAnne Jacker at the helm. 

The Jackers also own A Polished Pup, a South Penn Street pet grooming business of nearly two years. 

“I send customers over there all the time for special stuff and they send customers over here,” RaeAnne Jacker said. “We’re still going to do the same thing back and forth.” 

The only difference is that Mrs. Jacker, a dog groomer of nearly 27 years, would be sending A Polished Pup customers to her husband’s store, instead of Gowen’s.

Gowen said the deal is slated to close on Thursday. He and his wife, Mary Ann, will stay on for the next few weeks until the Jackers get up to speed with merchandise ordering and have the opportunity to meet some of the store’s regular customers.

“There’s a lot to learn and we only have a little bit of time,” Gowen said.

Mr. Jacker said he and his wife had been discussing the possibility of buying Gowen’s store. That notion moved from idea to reality when it became apparent that Gowen did not have a buyer lined up and would need to close.

Imminent plans for A Dog’s Life include painting and rearranging, Mrs. Jacker said. The couple plans to “do something different” with the more than 1,000 pet pictures which line the store’s walls, Mrs. Jacker said.

The new owners intend to continue existing store events at A Dog’s Life, including photos with the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus and a summertime beach party.

“We’re going to be doing a lot of things that they do,” RaeAnne Jacker said.