How Little Chief & Co. Got Noticed by Google Canada

It all started with an email in mid-September. I was in the middle of a typical day at Little Chief & Co., juggling deliveries, helping customers find the right food for their pets, and keeping the shop running, when a message popped into my inbox from Google Canada.

They wanted to feature Little Chief & Co. in a national Small Business Campaign with The Globe and Mail.

I’ll be honest, my first thought was, “Are you kidding me?” A small pet store in downtown St. Catharines? Google Canada? It felt like a prank. But no, it was real. Somehow, a tiny, independently-run store with a loyal but modest following had caught their eye.

Running Little Chief has never been about chasing the spotlight. We do it because we care about pets and their humans. Over the past six years, we’ve grown slowly and deliberately, focusing on products that are natural, eco-friendly, and trustworthy.

During COVID, we had to rethink how we could serve our community. That’s when we launched our website and started free local deliveries. Suddenly, people could get the products their pets needed without leaving their homes. Those deliveries weren’t just business, they were lifelines for families stuck at home. It was a tough time, but it pushed us to innovate and showed us how adaptable we could be.

Through late September and early October, I participated in remote interviews for the campaign. No cameras, no fancy lights, just honest conversations over video calls. They asked me about the journey, why we focus on sustainable products, and how we use tools like Google Analytics and Gemini to actually understand our customers instead of just throwing ads at them.

Then in early October, things went from remote to in-person. Google Canada invited me to the first AI Connect roundtable at their Toronto offices. The session was co-hosted by Natasha Walji, Managing Director at Google Canada, and John Kiru, CEO of Digital Main Street.

Walking into that room with other small business owners from across Canada was eye-opening. There were entrepreneurs in VR gaming, wellness, events, and fitness, all figuring out how AI could help them grow. And there I was, a dog shop owner from St. Catharines, talking about Google Analytics and personalized consultations. It was equal parts inspiring and humbling. We shared stories, struggles, wins, and ideas, and I left thinking that if a small shop like ours can leverage tech this way, the sky’s the limit.

After the roundtable, I spent the day at Elevate Festival, Canada’s tech and innovation festival. The city was buzzing. There were masterclasses, panel discussions, and keynotes from Shopify, OpenAI, Super.com, and more. It was a tech playground, and it was impossible not to get fired up thinking about how some of these ideas could apply even in a small, independently-run pet shop.

By mid-October, the campaign went live. Seeing Little Chief & Co. featured nationally was surreal. The article, the photos, the podcast, they captured what we care about most, connecting with pets and their humans in a meaningful way. You can check out the Globe and Mail feature here: How predictive insights help this pet business navigate the economy.

Even though the interviews were remote, some moments stick out. During my first call with The Globe and Mail team, I had a cup of coffee in one hand, the shop buzzing in the background, and a pile of paperwork threatening to topple over. They asked about Maizey, our Airedale, and how she inspired the store. I laughed and told stories about late nights hunting for natural products for her, which eventually became the heart of Little Chief.

Talking about AI and digital tools could have been boring or intimidating, but it turned into a conversation about how we actually use these tools to improve customer service, find efficiencies, and make smarter decisions. It reminded me that even a small shop can punch above its weight if you use the right tools and stay focused on what matters.

Then came the surreal moment, seeing our story in print in The Globe and Mail. Holding the paper, I thought about everyone who’s been part of this journey, our customers, our team, our community, and of course, the pets. It was pride mixed with gratitude and a little disbelief that our small shop had made it to the national stage.

Now, moving into November, that excitement hasn’t faded. Google Canada, The Globe and Mail, our customers, and the community have all helped make Little Chief & Co. what it is, small, scrappy, and full of heart.

Here’s to the next chapter, one dog, one customer, and one connection at a time.