It’s a dogs life in St Kilda (Pet Lifestyle Store)

Spending my afternoon off walking around St Kilda, it wasn’t long before my trained marketing eye settled on Puppy Phat, which describes itself as ‘a pet lifestyle store’. Inside I found the mother of the previous owner and naturally I just had to ask….Why?

© The Ponder Room

Evidently the idea for the store came from her daugther a few years ago, when she was in her early thirties.


©The Ponder Room



Obviously she knew a little about display and positioning, as you can find the store on Barky Street, I kid you not.  


She also appears to have studied her target market quite well, establishing that St Kilda has a penchant for pooches.

As if to reinforce this fact, as I walked around the corner I foolishly raised my eyes from the pavement for a second, and was greeted by an older Italian man who smiled and quickly introduced me to Lola.

Respendent in her figure hugging jacket, Lola is by all accounts fairly high maintenance. 

© The Ponder Room

Now I have to say that, given the surf culture on show, with skate boarders whizzing by, and over sized beanies a plenty, I fully expected to be offered the odd substance or two, but to be offered a dog, well that wasn’t what I expected.

Nor I suspect was it the intention of the older Italian lady perched on a street chair, watching my encounter with what must surely be her husband. My guess…she was Lola’s adoring owner.

Back to Puppy Phat. Four stores later the young owner sold up and became…a flight attendant.

My hope was that it had absolutely nothing to do with the store next door.

After a brief look at the sausages I decided some things were best left un-pondered.