Writer Theophile Gautier said about his cat, that “he loved books, and when he found one open on the table he would lie down on it, turn over the edges of the leaves with his paw, and, after a while, fall asleep, for all the world as if he had been reading a fashionable novel.”

Native San Franciscan Celia Sack artfully furnished people’s and, by extension, their pet’s lives, as a rare book specialist for seven years at a local auction house. She delved beyond the boundaries of the book world to “shamelessly copy her partner" into the dog-walking/pet supply store business. The partner is former New Yorker Paula Harris, who was assistant Development Director for the Names Project/AIDS Memorial Quilt for six years when she decided to take the bull by the horn or, in her case, the dog by the lead, to assume her dog-walker’s business. After a year, Paula was joined by Celia on their dog-walking journey, which soon led them to seek out a space expressly dedicated to the four-legged. In 1998, after months of self-contracting, building, buying, and studying retail, they settled onto Church Street, opening Noe Valley Pet Company, extending to dogs and cats the courtesy of everything from stylish outfits and irresistible toys and treats to a dazzling array of dog and cat merchandise. To circumvent any faux paws, Celia and Paula make all their business decisions after consulting with their two resident experts, four-year-old Tessa, a very patrician female Lab/Dalmatian mix, and August, a sleek black seven-year-old prince of a feline.