We had the good fortune of connecting with Jennifer McKenna and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jennifer, is your business focused on helping the community? If so, how?
We are a socially responsible store meaning we are living wage, carry sustainable products that are non-toxic and are as local as possible, giving back in various ways (green initiatives, B Corp, waste diversion, etc.).

Little Chief & Co. has a holistic/homeopathic focus and we pride ourselves on helping pet parents heal their dogs and cats naturally with proactive solutions and diet. We also help numerous pets that are quite unwell, through educating the pet parent and providing natural solutions to reach a goal.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Being a female in STEM, is never easy, but continually offered opportunities to learn and grow. Studying holistic mammalia health (since the age of 12) as a hobby, I thought helping heal pets and friends would always be a passion project.

Seeing movements globally to holistically heal pets, my Husband and I felt that we had a combined knowledge to set ourselves apart in the space with our Brand, and launched Little Chief & Co. in 2019 – a dream 15 years in the making. In our lives, we felt the planets align to make this dream happen, and we truly jumped in with both feet and the Universe caught us! It’s been a wild ride, with so many things happening in the world over the past 3 years, but we made the best choice and have helped countless people and their pets.

We truly believe that if your pet is not thriving and living their highest quality of life, neither are you – stress, not sleeping, drained bank accounts, etc. So through healing pets we help the family as a whole – being of service to others has been the greatest gift, and we are infinitely grateful for it.

Little Chief & Co. was named after our dogs, Melvin and Betta. Melvin, in gaelic meaning “gentle chiefton” (chief, being the french word for leader) but being a Boston Terrier, he’s little. Betta always tags along. Putting them together = Little Chief & Co. (Melvin & Betta).

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
We are located in the Niagara Region, which is a popular wine region in Canada. There are countless local vineyards, such as Honsberger vineyards, and amazing local cuisine at renowned, award-winning restaurants like Dispatch. Lakeside Park on the shores of Lake Ontario is great for beach and pier walks within the willows, made popular by the famous band RUSH, and Niagara Falls with Clifton Hill are 10 minutes away.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Dr. Julie Anne Lee, of Adored Beast Apothecary. Through Julie’s guidance and selflessly shared knowledge of animals, she has enabled countless passionate pet parents to advocate for, and holistically manage, their pets health.

Website: www.littlechief.dog

Instagram: @littlechief.dog

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/littlechiefdog/

Twitter: @littlechiefdog

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LittleChief.dog

Other: Tiktok: @littlechief.dog

Image Credits
Mike McKenna

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