Working in Clark County: Evan Smith: owner, Canine Utopia

In 2011, Evan Smith left a career in which he had to make difficult, uneasy decisions. “As a Medicaid gatekeeper, I kind of held a lot in my hands negotiating prices and making approvals, and knew one day it could be my own mom’s case. It hit home.” Now Smith ends his evenings with the peaceful knowledge he’s helped people and their pets.

Name: Evan Smith

Occupation: Pet store owner

Neighborhood: Hazel Dell

Business name: Canine Utopia, 1503 N.E. 78th St., 360-737-7881; www.k9utopia.com and on Facebook

Age: 35

Educational/professional background: I received my degree in the dental field; I worked for 11 years in the marketing field and was the chief operations officer of two large dental chains. Before opening the pet store, I was the director of hospital contracting for a national health insurance company, where I negotiated reimbursement for Medicare and Medicaid contracts. I left my job in January 2011 and opened the store in June after taking small business classes and forming my business plan. It wasn’t hard to make the decision to open the store. I’ve been a pet lover for the greater part of my life.

How you got started in your business: In 2010, I adopted a cute little dog. I quickly figured out that little pug, Hera, had allergies to just about everything I tried giving him. After lots of research, I found out what I could feed him without it causing a reaction. At that time, I still lived in Portland, so getting what I needed wasn’t a problem. When I moved to Vancouver, I quickly noticed that getting the food I needed for now two dogs with allergies was way more expensive. After chatting with a few of the store owners I was buying my dog’s food and treats from, I figured out I was paying a premium to get the food at my new local pet store. For a while, I drove into Portland to get what I needed but the traffic getting over there was crazy and took away time I could be spending with my dogs. So in 2011, with some loans and a ton of support from my partner, family and friends, I opened Canine Utopia so everyone in Vancouver could have access to better pet food at a fair price.

Personal/business philosophy: My favorite quote has become my philosophy: “Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always.” I believe being kind to everyone keeps the line of communication open and that communication is positive. Negative stuff (in all forms) is usually ignored; I just don’t have time for it.

Most rewarding part of job: Nothing is more rewarding than getting up every day and thinking “I’m doing what I love to do.” I’m helping pets eat well, play well, sleep well and live well. There isn’t anything more rewarding than hearing, “Evan, you helped my dog,” or “My friend told me to come talk to Evan about my cat’s problem,” or “Thanks Evan, you made my dog love eating healthy.” When I lock up the store at the end of the day, I sit in my car for a minute and think, “Yep, I love doing this.”

One thing you’d like people to know about your work: There is a big-box store for everything and you can buy anything online. Something you can’t get from a box store or online is someone consistently checking up on manufacturers, checking recalls and rotating food to make sure your pet is getting fresh, healthy food. We live here in the same neighborhood where we do business, and we see our customers even when we are not doing business with them. So it would be difficult to sell them a product that is not quality and we believe that is what makes our business a success. We have the knowledge of pet nutrition to back it up. At Canine Utopia, you are not “sir” or “ma’am,” and your pet is not “cute puppy.” You’re Vicki, David, Melissa or Tom; your pet is Monkey, Kramer, Rigel or Bella; because here you’re family. We — my partner, Jason, our fantastic employees and I — will treat you as such.

Best feature of your Clark County community: We all come from different walks of life. We all have different opinions and yet we all seem to DO what makes Clark County so cool. We set up booths at the farmers market, we support local, we eat out, we walk the waterfront, we help our neighbors and we understand each other. We temporarily or permanently make Clark County our home.

Favorite restaurant/pub/coffee shop/store: My favorite restaurant/coffee shop is Bleu Door Bakery; my mouth is watering just thinking about it. I pick up my daily latte at the Wise Guys Café.

Hobbies: I don’t have a lot of free time, as owning a small business and being owned by three amazing dogs, I stay pretty busy. I’m a board member for DOGPAW, the fantastic group who manages the five off-leash dog parks here in Clark County. I also volunteer at several Clark County environmental services events.

Most enjoyable book/play/movie/arts event in past 12 months: Hands down, the Clark County Recycled Arts Festival. I go every year and I love it! So many amazing things and such talented people who make a treasure out of what most people would call trash.

Your favorite travel destination and type: A road trip. I love driving out to the coast. Lincoln City is one of my favorite places to frequent. And the Hoh Rainforest on the Olympic Peninsula is amazing and I highly recommend visiting.

Something you’d like to do this year/within five years: I’d like to travel more and I definitely want to hire more Clark County residents.

One word to describe yourself: Compassionate.

Person you’d most like to meet: Cyndi Lauper. I got to shake her hand a few times at some concerts but I think it would be cool to sit down and really talk to her. I’m sure she has some really cool stories to tell.