Stephen Vance, Staff
Local pet supply outlet Canadian Pet Connection celebrated their first year of business in Meaford by hosting a Pet Expo on Saturday, September 29.
The event, which was held outside the company’s storefront operation beside the Meaford Factory Outlet, attracted a number of vendors and community groups along with a steady stream of pet lovers, many with their four-legged friends in tow.
“Our business was in Oakville for almost 30 years, and when we were there we had a big network of rescues, shelters, animal organizers, and all kinds of things that we really like to be involved in, it’s a big community aspect to our business,” Canadian Pet Connection’s Angela Forder, who organized the Pet Expo, told The Independent. “Now that we have been here in Meaford for a year, we’ve networked with a lot of boarders, kennels, groomers, rescue shelters, all those types of organizations, and we wanted to bring everything together.”
The expo held on September 29 featured a number of vendors and exhibitors, ranging from pet supplies to community groups like the Beautiful Joe Heritage Society and the Grey Bruce Animal Shelter.
Canadian Pet Connection was founded by Lorne Forder in 1993. The company, which began with a single retail location, has specialized in healthy foods and supplies for pets. The company grew to include a second retail location and a Canada-wide distribution and online sales operation. Last year the company moved its online sales operation to Meaford, where they also opened a retail outlet open to the public.
Angela Forder said that once they started organizing the Pet Expo event, many were interested in participating. She also said that next year’s event will be even bigger.
“It started off as just two or three vendors that were going to attend, and it turned into about 15 vendors, it just grew as word of mouth got around,” said Forder. “We have a big wait list so next year we’re going to do an even bigger event, so it’s been really awesome.”
