As the weather warms up, a locally owned pet store in Marin County is offering soft serve ice cream for your favorite furry friend. Brownie’s Pet Boutique is offering vegan and lactose-free soft serve ice cream throughout the summer.

Owner Simon Contreras said he worked with a pet nutritionist to ensure the ice cream would be safe for dogs, making it with just oats, water, natural vanilla and sugar. Owners can then choose to add chicken or fish “sprinkles” or top it with any of the dozens of natural pet treats offered. Contreras said they even carry their own line of pet treats — Brownie’s Signature.

Originally from Chile, Contreras and his wife, Maria, fell in love with Northern California while on their honeymoon. The couple moved to Marin County in 2023 with dreams of starting a bakery. But the pair chose to pivot and create a pet shop instead, naming it after their beloved pug Brownie. The shop is focused on carrying natural pet treats without preservatives.

“We’re always trying to create this shock when people enter into our store and see this huge table with 80 different treats,” Contreras said. “We very often hear ‘Oh, it’s like a candy store but for dogs; I’ve never seen something like this.’”

Contreras said he noticed that his customers love to pamper their dogs compared to Chile, where “dogs are just dogs.“ He said he was inspired to bring ice cream to his Larkspur shop after seeing someone in a park selling ice cream for dogs. Contreras piloted the soft serve recipe last year and decided to bring it back again this summer by popular demand. While they have only been open for two years, the couple has already built connections within the community.

“In our store, we know mostly all the names of our customers. We have unique items that you’re not going to be able to find in big retail stores,” Contreras said.

Contreras said the soft serve is only available on weekends, and they’ll continue serving it as long as the weather is hot enough — likely through September.

The pet store at 276 Magnolia Ave. in Larkspur is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays. Fridays it’s open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays. Go to browniespetboutique.com.

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