Animal Nature Gives Back in Food Drive

’s community roots are deep—and only continue to grow.

As owner of in Regent Square, Wolf, who was a member of the last graduating class of Edgewood High School, now lives in the borough where she grew up.

“I love the community,” Wolf said. “ has always been good to me.”

Animal Nature opened in May of 2010 as an expansion of what began as her own pet sitting services business, Au Purr, which is designed for pets with special needs.

A lifelong animal lover, Wolf is now involved in the for the Greater Pittsburgh Food Bank as Animal Nature is a local drop off spot for . Providing dog food to the needy also is an option as part of the drive.

“The food bank is just an incredible organization,” Wolf said. “It also ties in really well with our own upcoming efforts surrounding the Pets of the Homeless.”

Wolf said she grew up in a family that had a very "1950s view" of a pet’s role in the home, where they weren’t so much an emotional type of companion. Later on in life, she began doing independent rescue work of mostly feral cats in Virginia.

“When you do rescue like that, you learn to do a lot of things yourself,” Wolf said. “You can’t go to a vet for every scratch.”

She met a veterinarian who taught her the ropes of basic animal care and healing, including dental work, assisting with surgeries and other opportunities.

“Through that, I could understand anatomy in a real way,” she said. “It helped me to understand wounds, internal layers of stitches, and those types of things.”

That same veterinarian was the one who first proposed that she open a pet sitting business specifically targeted at helping those owners whose best friends are experiencing physical challenges of all kinds. She started Au Purr, which in turn, supported her own animal rescue efforts.

After moving back to Edgewood and continuing the Au Purr business, she soon found that the natural supplements and products she was providing to her clients became a long list that many local pet stores did not provide.

Soon after, Animal Nature was born and became a neighborhood staple for pet lovers.

“So much of animal health is determined by nutrition,” she said. “So many animals suffer from allergies and illnesses whose symptoms can be lessened by nutritional changes.”

Animal Nature offers all-natural dog foods and toys, including alternatives to raw hides, such as sweet potato dog chews, organic doggy biscuits and deer antler chew toys.

In one experience, Wolf was called to help 13 cats who were dying from an upper respiratory problem. After reading a book called, “The Natural Cat,” she found remedies that helped save the same cats within two weeks, restoring them to good health.

As Animal Nature also continues to connect people in the community, Wolf said the store is a great focal point and a great “excuse” to get involved. Most recently, the store held a Halloween complete with prizes for all participants.

A Holiday Bunny party is upcoming from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Nov. 19, with a special visit from Santa Claus.

“If we are lucky, we find what we should be doing in life, and I feel really lucky that I found my thing to do,” she said.