Putting passion into pets

Cristi Melson started Purrs & Gurrs 2-1/2 years ago with an idea and some fliers she distributed door to door. She didn't have a formal business plan then and still doesn't.

"You don't always have to go to a bank and take out a big loan," she said. "You don't always have to have a mind-boggling business plan.

What you need to have is passion, a belief in yourself, and the guts to take that chance."

That may not work for everyone, but it has for Melson, who's grown the business from a dog-walking service to a full pet-care company with two stores and 31 employees. They sell holistic foods, including treats they bake in the 116th Street store, and provide services that include grooming, pet-sitting and more.

Melson tells her story sitting on a comfortable leather sofa in her Olio Road store. She'd been working in commercial real estate for locally based Colliers Turley Martin Tucker and looking for something else after her son was born. She loves animals - she studied veterinary science at Rutgers University - and thought something involving pet care might be the way to go.