When Angeline Rosadi and Lorenzo Jose welcomed their fur baby home and became new paw-rents, they knew they wanted to give their new arrival the best care in the world.
Whether it was pampering their four-legged friend with top-tier dog treats or with some other luxury pet product, they sought nothing but the best.
Which is why, as dog parents, when they tried multiple paw cleaners on the market and they all fell short, they decided to formulate their own.
Pawlosophy, founded by Rosadi and Jose, was an effort to create gentle, effective and easy-to-use products focusing on pets' needs and well-being.
"We wanted a paw cleaner that's actually good for our dog's paws. Gentle enough that it doesn't cause irritations but could power through dirt and bacteria," Rosadi said, "which is how our Paw Cleansing Foam was born."
In a conversation with the NOW, Rosadi told the story of how Lorenzo Jose came to Canada as a student from Indonesia in 2016, bringing with him a love for animals and a background in science. She, on the other hand, arrived in this country three years later from Indonesia to pursue Film Production from Vancouver Film School.
She remembers her Pomeranian back in Indonesia: "When I had him, it was more like a birthday gift for my brother when he was young," she said. "We didn't really know how to take care of dogs because it was our first dog. We thought everything was fine. We thought we did everything that we could."
When their dog began to lick and scratch his paws, Rosadi's family didn't recognize that it was a bad sign.
"It was over time we knew that," she said. "The first sign of like allergies would start either from their paws or itching their skin."
Later, they would realize that their pet was allergic to chicken.
She said that many pet owners (including herself, initially) overlook the importance of paw cleaning in their dog's care routine — paws make the most frequent contact with bacteria, dirt and mud, making the dog more prone to infections.
While owners generally wipe the paws with tissues or wash them with water, cleaning them properly is important for the well-being of the dog, she said. That was the founding principle of Pawlosophy, and the formulation of its paw-cleansing foam.
The beginning
Rosadi said it all started when she was browsing through packaging on Pinterest, and the package design of a particular brand of face cleanser caught her attention.
She showed it to Jose. "'Oh Lorenzo ... wouldn't it be nice if we had this for our dog?'"
He agreed.
"We were struggling to clean his [the dog's] paws, because it takes so long, especially as a puppy," she said. "He runs around mud and everything. We took 15 minutes just to clean his paws because he wouldn't stay still."
Rosadi thought Jose's biochemistry education might come in handy in tackling the problem: "You've made soaps before; you're a biochemist, you deal with all this."
Formulation
In February of this year, the couple started brainstorming product ideas in their Burnaby home, and after four months of trial and error they were happy with their formulation. The product is now available for purchase through their Instagram site and their own website.
They tout their product's convenience factor — "from a dog parent point of view, our paw cleanser offers convenience since paw cleaning becomes easy and quick," she said.
"It is also more sustainable than wipes as there is less waste," she said. "For the dog, it cleans their paws and moisturizes, soothing itchy paws which can reduce the chances of dogs licking their paws which then reduce infections."
The cleanser also provides just enough moisture to prevent paws becoming dry, she said.
Pawlosophy has also collaborated with two local businesses to create a winter kit for dogs, teaming with Vancouver-based Pom and Chi to create dog treats, and with Tiny Inu to market paw and nose balms.
Although the Local Makers Market at the Amazing Brentwood was their first pop-up, the small business hopes to expand as it relies on customer feedback to improve and expand its products.
