If dogs and cats could drive, there would be a traffic jam in front of a certain store on Washington Street in Middleburg. Luckily for them, their owners have discovered Wylie Wagg, a unique kind of pet store.

Laura and Larry Clark's store is filled with products to keep pets healthy and happy. "Our goal is to provide a one-stop shop for dogs, cats and the people who love them," says Larry. "We do a tremendous amount of research in order to provide the highest quality products and food on the market today."

The Clarks came to Middleburg after spending many years in the corporate world. A move to this area provided a home in what the Clarks consider to be an extraordinarily beautiful place away from the fray. The shop provided an outlet for their longstanding love of animals. Says Laura, "It is a gift when one's work and one's passion can be the same, and we are just so grateful to this wonderful community for their support."

The store sells everything for dogs and cats, including very cute Halloween costumes, food and treats, toys, beds, coats, home decorations and gifts for people. For the Clarks, one of the most important aspects of what they do is to provide healthy food to the area's pets. "If people knew what goes into most commercial pet food and treats, they simply would not feed it to their pets." says Laura. "The regulations on pet food ingredients are weak at best, and I have frankly been horrified by what's passing as nutrition these days."

Wylie Wagg supports the Middleburg Humane Foundation, and, when volunteers are available, holds "adoption Saturdays" in the store. They write "Albert's Corner," a monthly pet-wellbeing column in this newspaper, and they give a free toy to every rescued puppy on his or her first visit to the shop.

Larry adds, "We offer everything you need for your pet, from the basics to the hard-to-find. Many people do not realize that we're not a high-priced boutique and that our prices are competitive with big chain pet stores. The difference is that we offer genuine concern and personal attention to our customers." Laura wraps it up, "We take the well-being of our customers' pets very seriously, but we try not to take ourselves too seriously in the process. We have a lot of fun here and we want our customers to have fun here too – especially the four-legged variety."