Pets Go Raw

About The Company

The Beginning

Pets Go Raw is manufactured in Cranbrook, B.C. by Top Hand Supplies Ltd. The Lauries started the business by making food for their Shiba Inu dogs. When one of our show dog’s began a raw food diet, we were so impressed by his coat and condition that we decided to change his diet to frozen, raw food and there is where it started.

We began researching and experimenting with raw food in our home. We wanted a product we could feed to both our mature dogs and the young puppies on weaning. When we settled on a recipe, we bought a small grinder and started bagging by hand. As friends and acquaintances saw our dogs, they wanted to change their diet as well, so we started producing in our kitchen during evenings and weekends. We quickly needed to expand.

We incorporated the company and sold shares to raise working capital. We moved operations to a building in Cranbrook in January 2004.

Evolving Our Process

We began by grinding the product in a large grinder and then used a mixer-grinder to mix the product. We packaged in bread loaf tins putting the product in by hand and freezing. Next, the pans were emptied and the frozen loaves were put into bags. This was extremely labour intensive and not very satisfactory.

We later obtained a water-hydraulic sausage stuffer that we loaded by hand. We stuffed large diameter sausages, froze them and cut them to approximate weight. This worked reasonably well, but it was hard to produce sausages that were even in diameter, and the saw had to constantly be adjusted to cut patties to size. At this point, we purchased a bowl-cutter, which is similar to a huge mixer with very sharp cutting blades. This machine replaced the mixer-grinder and made for a more uniform product. We also started using a sausage stuffer that was semi-automatic.

While it worked better, the sausages were still inconsistent, hand tied and required cutting with a saw. In 2012 we bought more viable machinery, including a good grinder, a bowl-cutter, an automatic sausage stuffer and a semi-automatic clipper that staples the sausages. In 2016 we replaced the one-stage grinder with an automatic three-stage grinder. To handle the increased production from the new grinder, we retired our small bowl-cutter and replaced it with one that handles double the product.

Our packaging also has evolved. Our products are cut to size (1/2 pound and 1/4 pound) and either shrink wrapped with double wrapping or offered in bulk boxes with a box liner. As well we offer a 5 pound sausage for people who want this option.

About the Owners

Stu sold the company to Sherin in November of 2014 and has since retired. Sherin and her fantastic crew continue to produce a great product to help promote pet health. We are moving forward to give you the very best pet food possible.

We are committed to producing a top-quality product for a reasonable price. When you are in Cranbrook, B.C., visit us, tour our plant and see how our product is made. We are very proud of our staff and facilities and love to show them off.

Keep your pets healthy and happy with great food.