Our Story

It all began with a beloved pet who developed a food allergy

1990

Helping a dog with food allergies

Back in 1994, Life Is Gruff's founder-to-be, Kim Loper, had a dog named Trooper. He was her heart, so when he developed a food allergy, she started baking treats for him using high-quality, all-natural, human-grade ingredients.

Trooper loved them, and as she began giving them as gifts, so did her friends' and family's dogs.

Life Is Grruff owner Kim Loper with her black lab and best friend Trooper

Helping her best friend with a food allergy

Back in 2010, Kim Loper, had a dog named Trooper. He was her heart, so when he developed a food allergy, she started baking treats for him using high-quality, all-natural, human-grade ingredients.

Trooper loved them, and as she began giving them as gifts, so did her friends' and family's dogs.

Kim began selling her treats at farmers markets

As people began to ask Kim if she would be willing to sell her treats.

She bought a tent and began selling them at a local farmers market and they were an instant hit. Life Is Grruff was born!

Local markets and stores throughout Long Island began carrying her baked goods.

Our first Farmers Market

The day she bought Harbor Pet in Greenport--the new headquarters of Life Is Grruff

Kim bought her own pet supply store

While delivering her goods to a local pet supply store in the popular tourist town of Greenport on the North Fork of Long Island, New York, the owner mentioned the store was for sale. Kim bought it. The pet supply store and bakery became the "Life Is Grruff" headquarters.

This let her expand her bakery

Purchasing the store allowed Kim to increase the size of her bakery, too.

She was able to expand to eight flavors including a wheat-free line.

Life Is Grruff's expanded bakery at Kim's new store

Increased production capacity enabled Life Is Gruff to go national

Life Is Gruff goes
national!

With the jump in production due to the larger bakery, Kim began attending national pet-related trade shows and across the country, general stores, craft beweries, restarurants, and other shops whose customers love dogs began selling her Life Is Grruff baked goods.

A new product line from a local craft brewery's leftover grains.

Kim learned that the Greenport Harbor Brewing Company, a popular local craft brewery, had high-quality, nutritious, human-grade "spent" barley, oats, rye, and wheat grain left over after their brewing process.

Kim created a new line of baked goods from these ingredients with eight different flavors called Grrowlers Dog Bones.

They became an instant best seller.

A new favorite: Grrowlers Dog Bones from high-quality barley, oats, rye, and wheat grain.

Harbor Pet expanded again recently, doubling the size of their retail and bakery space

Another expansion!

Kim recently moved to a new location that enabled her to double the size of her retail and bakery space. Harbor Pet has become a destination store for customers all over the country.

Kim's Life Is Gruff line of dog treats is now sold throughout the U.S. and they've recently increased their product capability one hundred-fold

Supporting important causes

Life Is Gruff supports a number of initiatives through Dog Diving events, Ugly Dog Sweater events, etc (more needed here).

The day she bought Harbor Pet in Greenport--the new headquarters of Life Is Grruff

It all began with a beloved pet who developed a food allergy

Back in 1994, Life Is Gruff's founder-to-be, Kim Loper, had a dog that suddenly developed a food allergy.

In an effort to improve her pet's health, she began baking dog treats using only high-quality, human-grade, natural ingredients.

young-woman-her-dog-cooking-kitchen-concept-101696219.jpg

Kim experimented with a number of recipies until she hit on one that her dogs loved, even the one with allergies.

Her dogs loved them and she began giving them to friends and family for their dogs.

Eventually she began selling her dog treats at farmer's markets under the brand "Life Is Grruff" and word began to spread about her healthy, gourmet treats, her dog treats became her lifelong passion, enabling families that love to give healthy treats to their dogs but lack the time to make them.

Markets and stores throughout Long Island began carrying the baked goods, which by then she had expanded to eleven flavors. Eventually she added a wheat-free line.

Then one day in 2014, when delivering her goods to a local pet supply store in the popular tourist town of Greenport on the North Fork of Long Island, New York, the owner mentioned the store was for sale.

She bought it and was able to increase the size of her bakery at the same time. The pet supply store and bakery is now the "Life Is Grruff" headquarters.

It has become somewhat of a tourist destination, with visitors coming from all over to buy her baked goods as well as

just about anything you'd need for your cat or dog--food, treats, collars, leashes, coats, supplements, plus grooming.

A few years ago, Kim connected with the popular Greenport Harbor Brewing Company and launced a new line of treats called Grrowlers Dog Bones that incorporated the spent grains from their brewing process.

Kim's gourmet baked goods are now available in many pet supply stores throughout the US as well as a popular item in general stores, craft beweries, restarurants, and other shops whose customers love dogs.

But they're still baked every day by hand in small batches in Greenport

If you're interested in carrying the LIfeIsGruff products in your establishment, fill out our short wholesale application and let's talk! If you want, we'll even send you a free sample for your canine for a taste test.