Larchmont Living's Monthly Spotlight on Local Businesses and Residents

Q&A with Todd Warner, Owner
Tailwaggers & Tailwashers

Larchmont Village: 147 N Larchmont Blvd
Hollywood: 1929 N Bronson Ave
West Hollywood: 801 N Fairfax Ave
tailwaggerspets.com | IG @tailwaggerspets | 323-464-9600  

Tailwaggers opened its first location in 2003 in Hollywood, its second location in West Hollywood, and this past April its newest location right here on Larchmont Blvd. Tailwaggers offers healthy, natural pet care products of the highest quality, plus a full-service grooming salon and self-wash, and doggy daycare! Their goal is to provide their customers with a shopping experience they can enjoy and products they can trust - and yes, I can confirm it's been a great experience each time I've visited their store. 

Q. We're very excited to have you on the Boulevard. Why did you choose to open up a new location here? How has the new store been received by the community?   

I'm thrilled to be a part of Larchmont Village. I have been coming to Larchmont Village for over 30 years and it has always held a special place for me. I used to live in the Ravenwood apartments and then in Brookside. It has been a dream of mine for years to have a Tailwaggers location in Larchmont Village. I was always reaching out to the brokers of this space for over 10 years asking in hopes to make this happen. I was extremely lucky when the owner of this property agreed to meet me. They wanted to help Larchmont stay special with local independently owned shops. I was very fortunate that they helped me to make Tailwaggers Larchmont Village happen.

Q. How did you go from a post-editing background to opening several brick-and-mortar pet supply stores?

I loved what I was doing in the post-production world, but I kept feeling like something was missing. I love interacting with people, and of course, dogs and cats have been a passion of mine. When I adopted my first dog, Logan, I knew that I wanted to be more involved in helping with the rescue community. I realized if I could open a pet supply store, I could host events and help with fundraising for the rescue community. After I had success with the stores, I was able to help more with our 501c3, The Tailwaggers Foundation. 

Q. Community activism seems to be a very important part of Tailwaggers. Can you share more about the work Tailwaggers Foundation aims to do and causes you've supported in the past? 

The Tailwaggers Foundation was started here in Hollywood by the actress Bette Davis in 1938. She quickly put it on the map and with the help of other people in the entertainment industry. They helped build an animal hospital for stray dogs and started a seeing-eye dog school for the blind. The foundation fell apart in the 1960s, and I was able to get the rights and brought it back in 2013. 

We provide medical treatment for rescue dogs and cats. Just this month we were able to give $8,000 in grants to help pay for life-saving medical bills to 4 rescue dogs. We can do this with the help of our amazing customers and fundraising events. I always say the rescue people are my heroes - they do the very difficult, emotional, and life-saving work of rescue. What we do is help them so they can continue to do this amazing and compassionate work.

Q. With the holidays around the corner, what are your most popular gifts for our four-legged family members?

Dog and cat beds are always a big hit, along with toys and treats, but really more than anything our furry companions just want our love and to be a part of our family. This is what we at Tailwaggers do best. We are so lucky to be able to greet each dog and cat that comes into Tailwaggers with treats and love.

We are also doing a Santa Paws and Mrs. Claws event. Saturday, December 4th at 11 am to 4 pm at Tailwaggers Larchmont village. We are also bringing in 10 tons of snow for the pups to play in for this event!

Q. What's your favorite part about the neighborhood?

 The people and their furry friends. This is a real community. The neighborhood really cares about Larchmont Village, they know how special it is and have been so supportive. Larchmont Village is truly a star in the city of angels.