Friday, November 20, 2009

The Story of Bone Jour



My name is Becky Pugh. Bone Jour, Inc. is my shop. Currently, Bone Jour is a pet retail and dog grooming shop located in Bethesda Maryland. Although we are predominantly a dog grooming store at present, grooming was not the idea I started with 23 years ago.

In the early 80's, I was 21 and working on Capitol Hill for Congressman Ed Bethune. Great job, but, political work was clearly not my life's calling. I made two goals for myself while sitting behind my receptionist desk . (1 ) Find a way to work with animals. (2) Write children's books. To get started on my main goal, I called the Washington Humane Society and got an interview. I was optimistic until someone brought a litter of kittens to my interviewer. She looked at them and said that they would all have to be put down. I asked, "Downstairs?" "No, euthanized." I started sobbing saying that I would take them all home. Pam Chapman was very understanding. She let me compose myself then suggested that I might do best helping them with events outside the shelter.

Because of my sensitivity, I was feeling a little defeated about my prospects of finding a job working with animals. I was at a loss of what to do next. Then a different venue appeared. A friend on mine told me about a PR firm that he was working for and thought that I might like the change from government. Mark got me an interview and voila - I found a new line of work at Gray and Company in Georgetown.

One day while I was working at Gray and Co. , I got sent out on a mission to find a light-up crystal elephant as a gift from my boss for Sen. Paul Laxalt. I went to Woodward and Lothrop's home section to try and find this elephant gift. While shopping, I found a tin that contained some dog bone cookie cutters and a recipe. I bought it even though I was dogless.

In the past, I had loved throwing my cat, Maggie, birthday parties. In my defense and before you dismiss me as a "cat lady", I just had the one kitty. I without apology and knowingly DID anthropomorphized her. So there! Anyway, after each one of her shindigs, I would always say "I wish that I could do this for a living!" The little Dog Bone Set tin that I had just purchased got me thinking. Maybe dog parties would work. I began making dog treats for friends. Then I started modifying the recipe and using cool shapes. I made After Dinner Georgia Peach Dog Bones, Garlic Croissants, Yellow Dog Democrat Donkey's, GOP-DOG Elephants, etc. My boss, Bob Gray, began to send them out to his clients and political contacts. I personally sent treats to C. Fred Bush, then Vice President Bush's Cocker Spaniel. Mrs. Bush sent me a personal thank you note. I was 25 and on to something I thought.

February of 1986, I had packaged little tiny heart treats and wanted to try and sell them. My friend Mark Robertson directed me to the Washington Post "Try It" section writer, Jura Koncious. Jura wanted to put them in her column, but, they had to be sold in a store first. The only pet store that I knew of was Companions on Wisconsin Avenue. I contacted the the store. Christian Zimmerman called me back and I made an appointment to show him my Doggie Valentine Box. He placed an order and I was in business! The piece ran on February 12th, 1986.

Companions placed more orders. The leap from receptionist ingenue to entrepreneur had been made! I wanted to find a small place that had "dog" exposure. I looked around Georgetown and found a grooming shop on Pennsylvania Avenue near the Four Season's. In May of 1986, subleased the street level floor there. I planned to cater dog parties and sell home baked doggie biscuits to the patrons that came in for grooming. I had my first business cards made up. I was scared to death.

By July, Bone Jour made it into print! I was lucky enough to have a little article written about my parties in the City Paper. Things were going nicely. The dog treat idea was working and finally people didn't skip over me in conversation at dinner parties! Then, the person who I had my sublease with, lost her lease.

What to do? I had printed cards. Where would I base my dog biscuit/party business? I decided to ask the landlord if she would consider letting me stay and take over the building. The landlord lived in Islamabad, Pakistan. Okay, maybe not the easiest person to contact, but, it could be done. How would I persuade her to let me have the space? I had no credit other than a Lord and Taylor card. I decided to ask a big favor from a fellow Arkansas connection, Senator David Pryor's office. They wrote me a recommendation and I sent it by DHL to Pakistan.

I got the building! Even in all of it's disrepair, I was thrilled to have it. I promptly painted it pink. Never mind that the basement floor was dirt. Yep. Never mind I had a much larger rent. I thought I would just hire a groomer for the second floor and they would draw in doggie customers who would like to buy biscuits and have parties. So, the fall of 1986, I fell into the dog grooming business without knowing it. Just what you would expect a cat owning, art major, former receptionist girl to do.

I've been wanting to put this down for years. So, I will continue to write on this little way of life that I stumbled onto, as well as current Bone Jour issues as they come up. Bye for now.