3-17-2014

Lois Walsh Ends Her 30th Year In Business By Thanking Her Many Loyal Customers and The Town of Franklin, MA. Passes Store Leadership over to Daughter Karen.

Lois Walsh, owner of Vet Med Premium Pet Foods and Pet Supplies in Franklin, MA, enjoying a bit of fun outside her store by crossing off motorcycle riding from her bucket list.

Franklin, MA: Long-time Franklin businesswoman and resident, Lois Walsh, ends her 30th year in business with a resounding, “THANK YOU!”

Lois Walsh is one of Franklin’s true female entrepreneurs. She realized her entrepreneurial spirit
while an employee at Vet Med back in 1982 when the store was owned by the McClay family.
At that time there were only a handful of pet supply stores in the area, and Vet Med also carried
products for horse owners, local race tracks and area farms. “Franklin was much smaller and
more rural back then,” Lois remembers.

Lois enjoyed working at Vet Med so much that when the McClays decided to sell the business,
Lois’ husband Peter purchased it and made Lois the new owner/manager. “He was a wonderful
man who always had faith in my abilities,” Lois recalls. “He also said that he wanted to make
certain I would be financially secure if anything happened to him. He knew becoming a successful
small business owner would provide me with that security, and he was right.” At that time Lois was a wife and the mother of four children, all born and raised in Franklin. Lois and Pete purchased the business in 1982. The Vet Med store was originally located on Dean Avenue and moved to its present location at 359 West Central Street in 1987. In 1996 Lois’ husband passed away.

Lois with the now “infamous” Mr, Dickens at the Vet Med Store in 2008.

As the Town of Franklin grew, so did Lois’ reputation for supplying local pet owners with advanced
nutritional foods for their various pets. Lois made it a point to stock the Vet Med store with pet
food brands that were considered to be top quality in their nutritional content, ingredients, and
manufacturing process. “I only brought in those brands that I would feed my own pets and
especially those that were highly recommended by our local veterinarians. For our 25th year
anniversary, we re-branded and even used Karen’s beautiful black Labrador as the official Vet
Med mascot. We put a picture of Mr. Dickens on a new seal of approval logo that states,
‘Approved by Mr. Dickens,’ explains Lois. “Mr. Dickens has become a fixture at our store and
greets all our customers and their pets.”

Over the years, the Vet Med store has become well known as a true neighborhood store with Lois’
children and grandchildren working with her from time to time. Lois has watched the Town of
Franklin grow into a thriving business and family-friendly place to live, work and raise a family.
“I truly am at home here in Franklin and I am very grateful for everything I have been able to
accomplish because of the wonderful people in this town who have supported and encouraged
my efforts all these years!”

The Future of Vet Med

Looking forward to the future of the Vet Med store, Lois has made the decision to turn the business
over to her daughter, and co-owner, Karen Walsh. Lois has a bucket list! “There are many things I still want to do, so now it’s time for me to do them, including training my new dog Rosie for certification as a Therapy Dog. I’ll still work at the store part-time. I can’t imagine not being there and seeing all my friends, neighbors and great customers! I’m so pleased I can turn over my business to my daughter Karen and know that it is in good hands, family-owned, and will continue to be a part of our hometown of Franklin for many years to come,” Lois remarked. “Life is good and I feel very blessed!”

Karen Walsh has been working full-time at the Vet Med store with Lois for the past 4 years, taking on more and more of the managerial duties to allow Lois time to enjoy her many grandchildren and other activities on her bucket list! “I’m delighted for my mother’s great success as a business owner and am pleased to be able to take over for her at this time,” states Karen.

There are many plans in the works for the future of the Vet Med store. Karen Walsh is very passionate about supporting animal charities that help the residents of the Town of Franklin and it’s surrounding towns. One of Vet Med’s charitable organizations introduced by Karen is Vested Interest in K9’s. This charitable organization provides bullet and stab protective vests for law enforcement K-9’s throughout the United States. With donations from Vet Med customers, the store has helped purchase several of these vests for local Franklin and Bellingham police departments. In addition to the bullet proof vests that Vet Med and their customers helped purchase for area Police K9 officers, Vet Med has recently purchased a puppy, named Maverick, for the local service organization BASK. Bask is a non-profit service dog foundation that provides and supports specially trained assistance dogs to enhance mobility and independence through canine partnerships. “Vet Med has always been a strong supporter of Franklin schools and many community charitable organizations, especially those that are related to pets,” says Karen. “We plan to continue our charitable support and carry on providing nutritionally advanced pet foods and quality pet supplies.”

When asked what changes she will make at the Vet Med store, Karen simply said, “Those that support the health and welfare of the pets of our many wonderful customers. That’s always been our mission here at Vet Med and it will continue to guide our direction.”