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| Jul 29, 2010 - 06:45 PM |
Queen City News - Helena's FREE Weekly Newspaper |
Helena, Montana |
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PETS AT WORK
by Lacey Middlestead
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
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French novelist Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette once said, “Our perfect companions never have fewer than four feet.” Whether they have fur, feathers, or scales, people’s pets are a source of company and abiding friendship. For three Helena business owners, their pets not only provide these things at home, but on a daily basis at work.
Debi and Tom Matte, owners of Batteries Plus, bring their Australian Shepherd, Mopar, with them to work every day. To some people, this practice would seem strange, but to Debi Matte, nothing could be more natural.
“I’ve worked with dogs and horses all my life. That was absolutely necessary to me,” she said in explaining why she brings Mopar along. A professional dog groomer for 22 years, Matte said she has a deep-rooted love for dogs.
The couple previously lived in Tucson, but moved up to Helena to open Batteries Plus last April as their retirement plan. So while Debi Matte’s occupation changed, her need to be surrounded by furry four-legged companions never wavered. For her, dogs will always be more than pets.
“I think of them as people. They’re not animals to me,” she said. At one point, she pointed to Mopar sprawled out on the floor and noted, “That’s my son.”
The Mattes aren’t the only ones who enjoy the pets-at-work arrangement. According to Debi, Mopar “can’t get in the truck fast enough” in the morning to go to work with her and Tom. Mopar gets excited and starts following them around the minute they put on their work shirts.
Customers, and especially their kids, also enjoy seeing Mopar in the store. “The children just think that’s the best thing in the world,” Matte said.
The best part of Mopar’s work day, though, is when a pit bull named Zena comes in to see him. According to Matte, Zena is Mopar’s “girlfriend” and visits the store with her owner about once a month. This particular pooch isn’t one to let being at work all day slow down his love life.
Golden Girls Antique Mall, located on Last Chance Gulch in downtown Helena, is home to another work pet: Copper the cat. Business owner Carroll Day first stumbled upon Copper this past winter during the Lewis and Clark Humane Society’s Animal Outreach Program, when he and other homeless cats spent an afternoon at Golden Girls. Copper took a liking to the store and, shortly after Christmas, Day adopted him.
“He seemed perfectly at ease here,” she noted.
The cat’s friendly and affectionate demeanor quickly made Day change his previous name from Sher-Khan (like the villainous tiger in “The Jungle Book”).
At first, Day was nervous about having a cat in the store. “I never thought of having an animal here because of all the breakable stuff,” she said. Fortunately, the only thing Copper has ever broken is a lion figurine. “He was just taking out the competition,” she joked.
While Copper keeps Day company at the store, he also elicits smiles from fellow cat lovers who come in and see him. “They adore him,” she said. “He gets so much attention.”
On Helena’s west end, Betsy Pennington’s Outside In Interior Landscape store is a veritable jungle with leafy plants and three species of resident animals. The quickest to spot is Gretchen, better known as “Little One”, a tortoise-shell cat. Little One was also adopted from the Humane Society and has gained weight and become much healthier since Pennington found her.
Whether lying in her bed on the counter or curled up in a wash basin along the wall, Little One is a comforting companion. “It’s lonely here without her,” said Pennington. “You work many hours. It’s nice to have your friends here.”
Outside In is also home to a cage full of musical birds. With three doves, two parakeets and four canaries, the store is seldom quiet.
“They add nice ambiance,” Pennington and, plus they also go along with the jungle theme.
Pennington joked that her older generation of customers is often terrified of the avian occupants of the store since they grew up watching Alfred Hitchcock’s film “The Birds”.
The most unique of Outside In’s inhabitants, however, is Simone, the resident iguana. Stretched out in her large cage complete with tree limbs, Simone holds her head erect and proud like a queen, while a tomato chunk dangling from her mouth takes away from her serious facade.
“She isn’t something I went looking for,” said Pennington. Her oldest daughter found Simone four years ago in Memorial Park. Pennington immediately welcomed her into the family but admits “she’s a really difficult animal to maintain”.
Iguanas must be kept in temperatures of at least 85 degrees to properly digest their food. Fortunately, Pennington is glad to accommodate her needs. “Plants and animals – probably the two loves of my life,” she said.
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The Queen City News is published every Wednesday in Helena, MT, by Mossback Media, LLC.
Contents are copyrighted and cannot be used in any form without prior permission from the QCN.
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