She is just fifteen years old. But already, Ava Dorsey has an impressive title on her resume: Founder and Chief Pet Officer.

As the Founder of Ava’s Pet Palace, she is the mastermind behind what is quickly ballooning into a worldwide pet lifestyle brand. With a focus on organic and sustainable treats made from natural ingredients, Ava’s Pet Palace is about more than simply running a successful business.

 

The teen rockstar describes it like this, “Ava’s Pet Palace has grown into an amazing community of pet parents, animal lovers and animal advocates.”

Our tails are wagging with excitement to share Ava’s amazing story with our readers!

 

What Inspired You to Start Your Own Company?

 

At the age of six, most children are playing with toys. Or watching cartoons on television. It’s rare – some would say extraordinary – for somebody so young to formulate a business plan, never mind bring it to life.

Yet when inspiration struck Ava, there was no turning back!

 

She explains:

“When I was a little girl, my parents made sure I was eating organic and natural foods. One day I asked: what about Rock (our family dog at the time). Doesn’t he get organic, natural foods too? I clearly remember seeing the labels on dog food bags and them just being so long and full of words I couldn’t even sound out. And from that moment, I started dreaming of a better world for pets.”

Ava quickly grabbed her crayons and paper. Within minutes, she had drawn a picture of a palace fit for royal pets.

“It was a grand palace that had things like an animal restaurant, a vet, animals running free, a shop for pets and anything else that pets would love,” Ava recalls. “This picture was actually the start of what turned into Ava’s Pet Palace, two years later when I was eight!”

Nowadays, Ava’s Pet Palace has over 19K followers on Instagram.

Check it out here: @avaspetpalace

From Home Kitchen to Nationwide Retailers: How One Little Girl is Making Food Better for Pets

Imagine a pet treat company that uses premium, limited ingredients and no corn, wheat, or soy.

Sounds pretty good, right?

Ava agrees.

She recognizes that more and more pet parents are paying attention to the ingredients in their dog’s food. People want healthier options. From harmful additives to fillers, chemicals, and dyes, unfortunately many commercial pet food brands don’t pass the “healthy” test.

That’s what makes Ava’s Pet Palace one-of-a-kind.

“I've been purposeful about this from the beginning,” Ava explains. “When I was baking treats in my kitchen, we only bought and used organic ingredients. Now that my business has grown, we work with bigger kitchens and they use only the best, high-quality ingredients. And we've worked super hard to finally become USDA Certified Organic.”

Whoa.

This is no small accomplishment. Congratulations, Ava!

Don’t Be Afraid to Take that Leap

Starting a business takes courage.

Luckily, Ava had help from her parents to perfect all those recipes (and the family dog to be her official taste-tester).  

But for other teens and wishful entrepreneurs who dream of starting a business, she shares the following advice: Just go for it.

“Take that risk of starting because that is going to be the biggest step of all,” she says. “Whatever it is that you want to change or start, make sure it’s something you are truly passionate about. There will be tons of distractions, bumps in the road and many times you don’t want to continue. In those moments is when it’s important you remember why you started and the passion and love you have for it.”

Indeed, Ava’s Pet Palace is equal parts love for animals, kindness, and the best nutrition our four-legged friends could ask for. Check it out at Ava’s Pet Palace

Way to go, Ava!