Our Company

The concept of For Other Living Things™ began when founder Anita was a pre-teen, about 68 million years ago during the late Cretaceous period. Working in a pet store and active in animal rescue, she quickly became frustrated with the lack of products designed with the needs of the animal in mind. I mean really, should crocodiles be eating that shake n' flake stuff! In her perfect world, pet supplies would recreate aspects of an animals natural life as much as possible, be easy for their human caregivers to utilize, and be sold in a store that was more of a community of support for animal folks, rather than a mere place of commerce. And so the dream of For Other Living Things™ was born.

Fast forward to modern times - a couple of dwarf rabbits adopted Anita's family, the family's first experience with rabbits. Armed with advice and supplies from the local megapet, she cared for them as best she knew how. Which turned out to be not very well at all. As she watched these little guys, it became clear they had a much richer emotional, social, and mental life than she had realized. After doing some research and getting connected with people who really knew how to care for bunnies, she spent a lot of time and effort trying to track down safe, appropriate toys and equipment. So much time and effort that she finally decided to take matters into her own hands. A resale license, a room full of chemical-free, natural goodies for rabbits, a permanent spot at the local college flea market, and For Other Living Things™ was here.

It wasn't too long before For Other Living Things™ grew into a web site, and finally in 2001, a brick and mortar store. Now For Other Living Things™ has a broad range of products for all sorts of warm-blooded animals and works closely with the animal rescue and education communities. We host regular adoption, fundraiser, and educational events that benefit local groups. Our events have featured internationally recognized presenters including rabbit expert Dr. Carolyn Harvey, and dog behaviorists including Dr. Ian Dunbar, Pat Miller, Jean Donaldson, Janis Bradley, and Teoti Anderson. At every step of the way we at For Other Living Things™ have never lost sight of our primary goal - to help people fulfill the needs of their pets by offering products that are critter, people, and earth friendly.

Critter Friendly

Observe any animal. How does it look when it is at peace with its world? What conditions existed when it felt at peace? How does it naturally live? What actions are natural? What aspects of "normal" life have changed for it in its current surroundings? Which of these aspects may we want to provide our family friend to keep it healthy and happy? For Other Living Things™ asks these questions and answers them creatively and compassionately. But there is more to this equation. Human caregivers have to live with this arrangement, and deserve consideration too, unless you don't mind your pet rat tunneling through your walls.

People Friendly

Hey! We have a life too. If we have 20 minutes, we'd rather be playing than cleaning. We'd rather smell something sweet than rank. We'd rather... well you get the picture. Ease of use is critical. If our critter is living well, but the environment is too difficult to maintain, well... it probably won't get maintained. For Other Living Things™ strives not to let that happen. Still, the responsibility of pet ownership doesn't end when the needs of you and your critter friends are met.

Earth Friendly

As animal lovers, and animals ourselves, we have a responsibility to care for this world that supports us all. For Other Living Things™ strives to locate and provide products that work just as well or better than conventional products, but don't exploit our people, critters or planet. This is an area that will always be evolving. We welcome your comments, suggestions and ideas. Feel free to contact us.

Clockwise from top row left: Susan Carle, Denis Gaydos, Diane Nathan, Anita Ledjte, Cathy Ledtje-Piancone, Audrey Piancone, Kelly Ledtje.

The For Other Living Things™ Family

Anita Ledtje, owner and chief visionary. The woman who started it all, she is our go-to gal. There aren't 5 minutes that go by without someone in the store or on the phone needing her expertise. Responsible for everything from counseling anxious pet owners with her wealth of knowledge, to handling all of the pesky "business" details, she pretty much lives here at the store.

Dennis Gaydos, the guy who knows all the stuff we don't. Computer down? Dennis will fix it. Need to add or subtract money to bank accounts? Have taxes to deal with? Dennis will handle it. Icing on the cake - he actually knows a thing or two about critters and is great talking with our customers. (We call them "our company"). Dennis also has the responsibility of being Anita's husband.

Kelly Ledtje, right-hand woman. As Anita's #2 daughter and the original employee of the store, Kelly has been here from the beginning. Kelly's duties around the store are numerous, but her primary role is as our shipping person. If you are wonderful enough to order from us, Kelly will most likely be handling your order from beginning to end. If you have a question about your order, just ask her, she's really nice.

Susan Carle, how did we ever get along with out her. Susan is a customer-turned-employee, and we thank our lucky stars every day to have her with us. Susan somehow manages to take care of customers and get a ridiculously overfull stock room full of products priced and out on the shelves. We don't know how she does it.

Cathy Ledtje Piancone, tries do stuff behind the scenes. Anita's eldest kid. Because she comes to work with her daughter Audrey, Cathy does most of her work in the youthfully outfitted office in the back of the store. (Youthfully outfitted as in contains sticker books, half the dog and cat toys in the store, and at one point, even a little slide.) When she is not cleaning up the most recent mess that Audrey has made, she attempts to work on the web site and handle other marketing type stuff. If you find typo's on the web, blame it on Cathy being distracted by Audrey.

Audrey Piancone, childhood development specialist. Audrey, born in '06, has worked here at the store pretty much full time since she was 3 months old. Her duties include making us laugh, shopping, and un-stocking the shelves. (She is really good at what she does). We are not breaking any child labor laws as she is reimbursed for her time with frequent trips to the balloon store down the way.

Diane Nathan, volunteer laborer. Diane is just part of the For Other Living Things™ family. She dutifully shows up at painfully early hours to help with big events like inventory and "Bark in the Park". She is with us nearly every week to help us put away that ridiculous amount of stuff in the stockroom and help our customers graciously. We don't know why Diane is so generous, but we are awfully glad she is.

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