With his Oak Lawn pet boutique, Taylor Garrett wants to give every dog — and cat — its day
ARNOLD WAYNE JONES | Executive Editor
Taylor Garrett can’t get away from bow ties.
The distinctive neckcessory became his signature sartorial statement when he was on The A-List Dallas, the Logo network reality show about life among local queerlebrities.
But it wasn’t something Garrett felt strongly about.
“I wore it to my casting [meeting], and they made me wear one the entire time,” he sighs.
He doesn’t wear a bow tie to work anymore, but he does keep an assortment handy — though none are designed for humans.
Garrett’s new enterprise is Jack & Jill Pet Market, which opened last month on Oak Lawn across from Equinox. The bow ties are snazzy and hand-made … and totally intended for man’s four-legged companions. There are even flowers for female dogs, and both strap conveniently on the locally-crafted designer collars he carries.
If the store sounds a little fancy … well, it’s not really. But it is very gay. And very pet-focused.
Garrett drew the idea for the shop from its namesakes, his French bulldogs Jack and Jill. (Jill’s small and friendly so you’ll find her in the store most days; Jack tends to stay home.)
“They really are my inspirations,” Garrett says of his canine family members; even the model mannequins that bear the store’s designer fashions are based on Jill’s markings.
It was Garrett’s love of his pets that got him started in the business originally. Both his dogs had bad food allergies, and most of the commercially available dog food didn’t help matters. He researched the problem, and found the majority of pet foods in the U.S. are still heavily filled with grains, which animals don’t process well.
“Jill’s eyes were bloodshot the first year I had her. They need multiple protein sources,” he says, pointing to one brand of food he imports from Canada that contains turkey, duck and salmon, and “good” carbs — from beans, fruits, pumpkin, assorted berries, lentils and greens. “All these allergies come from too much corn and not enough [diverse] protein sources.”
Garrett became such an expert, soon he was the go-to guy among his friends about the best products for dogs. That spurred him into setting up a home pet food and toy delivery service called Neighborhood Pet Food Delivery. He ran that for a year before opening the storefront on Oak Lawn.
The driving principle for Jack & Jill is quality borne of love.
“Gays and lesbians are very attached to their pets because we rely on them for so much for emotional well-being,” Garrett says. “I always says [my pets] are my most cherished possessions. So if I’m not willing to feed something to my own dogs, I won’t sell it here.”
He offers a range of health supplements — all natural (“I feel vets should distribute chemicals — a pet food story should be natural,” he says) and everything from coconut oil formulated for dogs to promote a good coat to organic shampoos and treats.
But there are also the items we get for our pets because, hey, we’re gay — from toys to fashion accessories. Jack & Jill specializes in durable, fun chewies for dogs that won’t be destroyed before the packaging makes it to the trash can, although there is one item Garrett stocks for a different reason: The Justin Beaver toy. (“I can’t tell you how many people love this,” he laughs.)
Garrett also believes in buying locally when he can. The pet food-bowl mats are made by someone who lives just blocks from his shop; the pet collars are hand-sewn in the Metroplex; and those bow ties? Made right in Fort Worth.
All of those items might come in handy in the fall, when Garrett plans to host a doggie fashion show, with most of the “models” pets that need to be adopted. He also plans to make donate proceeds from the show to a pet charity. He already posts a “pet of the week” photo for customers’ companions on his website.
If you haven’t guessed yet, Garrett treats this enterprise not as just a job or even a business, but with the passion of a genuine pet devotee.
“I love animals,” he says. “You can’t be down or depressed when working with pets!”
Jack & Jill Pet Market, 4022 Oak Lawn Ave. Open daily 9 a.m.–6 p.m. (noon Sundays).
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition July 18, 2014.