Hi, I’m Michael, and this is Charlie! 

First, I wanted to say thank you to all of you for stopping by and visiting Jack’s Pets! 

I hope your visit will be as pleasurable as it is informative.

Let me introduce myself. My name is Michael Tarran, and I am a pet parent to two lovely creatures – Charlie the Cat and Jimmy the Dog – a full-time deputy pet store manager, and an animal shelter volunteer.

Animals always surrounded me as a kid, and I think this had a lot to do with me growing up to be so passionate about animal welfare, handling, nutrition, training, and proper pet care and safety. This love of animals came so naturally to me – and to this day, it never stopped growing.

I’ll share my journey with you, but first, let me ask you something:

Do you remember what you wanted to be when you grow up?

My friends dreamed of becoming firefighters, astronauts, teachers, or doctors.

Me?

I always knew that I wanted to do something that involved working with animals – taking care of them has been my “dream job,” even before I was old enough to understand what a job was.

Right around my 18th birthday, I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to make my childhood dreams come true:

I got a job at Jack’s Pets, a pet store chain that had just opened a regional store in my hometown and needed someone to clean the cages and fish tanks, and keep the shop clean and tidy.

I grew up in a city apartment, and our living arrangements did not allow me to have any pets of my own. My grandparents’ farm in Virginia, though, was a whole different story – goats, sheep, chickens, and a long line of stray dogs and cats who found shelter in my grandparents’ home.

Before I got this job, the only animals I took care of were my family’s pets:

Mr. Whiskers, my grandparents’ old, grumpy cat, Denver, their horse, and two Boradors, Roxy and Shadow, a lovely Border Collie/Labrador mix.

But I was ready to learn as much about animal care as possible.

I soaked up every bit of info, took note of how other pet shop workers interacted with the animals, and tried my best to follow their instructions. And in my spare time, I would go down to the local animal shelter to help out any way I could.

The trills and chirps of little birdies in their cages, the cute barks and yips of puppies getting groomed, the kittens meowing in excitement, and the soothing sound of the fish tanks bubbling in the background – nothing in this world could quite compare to working in a pet shop.

I adored my job, and everything that came with it – from helping families pick the right pet for them and advising new pet parents on pet care to looking after the animals in the store.

It was a lot of work – but I enjoyed every minute of it.

Jack’s Pets closed its doors since, but even now, years later, I still have fond memories of the time I spent working at one of their stores.

To me, Jack’s Pets was more than a job – I felt right at home there and had an enormous sense of belonging and heart-warming joy from taking care of animals.

That’s actually one of the reasons why I decided to name this site the way I did:

During my years there, I got to learn so much about animals, especially cats and dogs, their behavior, general care, training, and exercise, and much, much more.

And this version – my version – of Jack’s Pets is where I intend to share all that knowledge with any pet parent willing to listen.

Charlie the Cat

Everyone, I’d like you to meet Charlie!

Much like when I first met Jimmy, I knew that we were made for each other – right from the very start. And even though these two have very different personalities, I absolutely adore them both:

Jimmy, my dog, is more of an “I’d prefer to sleep all day, but you can wake me up when it’s time to eat or cuddle” type of pet. Charlie, however, has always been much more active and curious about his surroundings ever since he was this tiny fluff ball of a kitten.

And I know that despite these differences, deep down, Charlie and Jimmy share a loving, brotherly connection.

I like to think that growing up together in a loving, encouraging, and positive environment had to do with them becoming such good buddies – and, more importantly, being comfortable around other animals and happy to make new friends.

Their friendly nature has made it possible for me to help so many animals in need of foster care, too!

Granted, Charlie did need a little convincing and took his time warming up to the idea of having “roommates” – but with some careful planning on my part, and Jimmy by his side, it always worked out:

Jimmy would play with them and share his toys, and Charlie would purr away their anxiety until they were finally ready to go to their forever home.

What is my (and Charlie’s) mission on this site?

I’m here to make sure that all the pets out there get the best possible care and live long and happy lives – and make the world a better place for both pets and pet parents.

Now that I put it like that, I get that it might sound a bit crazy.

How’s one animal lover’s blog going to change anything on such a large scale, right?

I’m going to tackle it one article at a time – and hopefully, with every bit of information and advice that I share with you, we’ll get one step closer to achieving that goal together.

Now, I’d like to point out that I’m not a veterinary expert nor a qualified trainer – and I bet you’re sitting there wondering why you should trust me, then.

Well, here’s the thing:

Besides the years I’ve spent working in one of Jack’s Pets stores, I also dedicated a good portion of my free time volunteering in shelters and organizations and providing foster care for animals in need of a temporary home. 

There, I was always surrounded by others who shared the same passion for animals and met a ton of great people who also happened to be qualified experts, too.

Some were professional trainers and dog breed experts, others were animal behavior specialists, and I’ve met more vets during my time there than I could count.

So, rest assured that, while I may not be an expert, all the information I share with you comes from personal experiences and reliable sources.

How do I create content?

I’m guessing that I already made this very clear, but I care deeply about animals – I have for as long as I can remember – and I want to ensure excellence in everything I do here at Jack’s Pets. That’s why I dedicated an entire page to how I create content and I encourage you to visit it.