The first dog to enter Sea Dog Pet Boutique for the day earns a mugshot on the shop’s Instagram page, which inevitably ushers in loads of likes and loves from followers who learn about the coastal pet hub by walking by or from afar.
“People really seem to like the fact that their dog is going to be famous,” quips owner Karen Komisar, who had dreamed of opening a doggy bakery or pet boutique while working a full-time career in health care for 30 years.
On weekends, every dog that walks in is highlighted on the store’s Instagram Reel — and Komisar loves when she can snap a shot of the pooches or kitties posing in the bandanas for sale. Occasionally, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and his wife will walk by with their puppy Tucker Balti Moore and pick up some treats.
“The best part is having fun with all the dogs that come in and hearing how they were adopted,” says Komisar, relating how U.S. military returning from overseas stop in since the store is by the United States Naval Academy. “We’ve had customers who brought their dogs back home with them from Afghanistan because they came across a dog that needed help and ended up adopting it.”
A boozecruise boat stuffed with plush from Haute Diggity Dog is a focal point in the store.
Photos: John Eric Dove
Other regulars who paw through the store include Charlie the Goldendoodle, Ella the Bernedoodle, Raven the Frenchie and Horatio the Chow-Chow. “We have chairs in front of our door and a table with treats, a bowl of water for local dogs, and the really good treats are inside,” says Komisar.
The dogs already know.
“It is part of many customers’ routine to stop in, say hello and grab a treat,” she says.
Animal house
Komisar is a lifelong animal lover, sharing a resume of pet ownership that started with a pooch her mom adopted when she was an infant to memories of begging her parents to get a Great Dane. “I was a little obsessed with dogs,” she jokes, adding rescues, Golden Retrievers, and Irish Setters to the list of family dogs, along with pets like hamsters.
After her now grown children were born, they adopted a cat and kept geckos, a snake and fish, along with dogs, of course. Currently, the Sea Dog Pet Boutique “animal house” includes rescue dogs Colby, Bentley and Oshie along with a newly adopted cat, Ted.
So, what to do with all this pet passion?
Sea Dog Pet Boutique was just the answer and has been open since March 2022. After keeping watch on available shop space for several years, a Main Street location became available and Komisar jumped on it.
The timing was perfect.
“We’ve had customers who brought their dogs back home with them from Afghanistan because they came across a dog that needed help and ended up adopting it.” — Karen Komisar
“There had been another pet boutique in Annapolis that was there for 18 years and it moved before COVID, so there was an emptiness of not having that anymore,” relates Komisar. “The community was very welcoming and right away, I met so many nice customers who have become friends.”
The goal when opening was to carefully curate products, she says.
“I try to go small batch, and I have a couple of local artisans’ products I carry,” she says, calling out Banjo’s Bows and Sweet Piggy Baking Co. that offers treats and frozen yogurt push-pops.
Like other coastal pet shops, Komisar focuses on carrying products people can’t find in big-box stores and she centers on Made-in-the-U.S.A. items such as collars and leashes by Puddle Jumper Pups, Up Country, Preston and the Belted Cow.
Sea Dog Pet Boutique stocks a variety of goods that appeal to pet lovers, from hamburger dog toy plush to dog-themed coffee mugs and home decor.
Komisar also supports military- owned businesses including Rope Hounds based in Arkansas, an adventure line with harnesses, leashes and life jackets for all breed sizes.
The biggest seller is the Animated Crab Dog Toy by Tall Tails. “Because we are on the Chesapeake Bay, everyone wants something Maryland to take home, so that has been a really big hit for us,” she says.
Another line the shop offers is Spunky Pup, which produces toys made 100% from recycled plastic bottles. Motifs are ocean-themed such as crabs, turtles and seahorses.
Fun slow feeders from Soda Pup offer an engaging mealtime experience for pets that tend to wolf down their food and benefit from a maze to navigate while they chomp.
For visitors traveling with pets or boaters who forgot their chow back home, Komisar stocks smaller bags of pet food.
And honoring the military-centric locale and the many active duty and veteran customers who visit the shop, Komisar carries HuggleHound mascots including U.S. Naval Academy Bill the Goat, a U.S. Military Academy Army mule and U.S. Air Force Academy gryfalcon — all durable corduroy toys with knotted limbs for chewing.
Shoppers peruse Sea Dog Pet Boutique year-round, with an influx of guests in summer during boating season. The holidays are also huge, Komisar says. The Annapolis Chamber of Commerce hosts two Midnight Madness events around the holidays, and one 11th hour event on Thursdays in December. “We serve prosecco and cookies for customers and treats for the dogs,” she says. “It’s a huge series of events and definitely our busiest time.”
Tidy up
Komisar is a stickler for organized displays. An extensive slat wall holds all collars and leashes, organized by pattern and size. “It’s very easy for people to look for the pattern they prefer and find the correct size,” she says.
Plenty of open floor space allows people to mingle and for pups to do their thing “without feeling like you’re on top of each other,” says Komisar. She recalls a conversation with another local shop owner before she opened Sea Dog. He advised her to avoid too many tables.
Slat wall holds just about any collar or leash pet owners might want at Sea Dog Pet Boutique.
The tables Komisar does include for displays are themed, such as a picnic motif with a grill housing hamburger chew toys and baskets of hot dog chewies, along with watermelon and the ever-popular crab.
Another tiered table features only bandanas with plush tucked underneath in a grabbable spot for four-legged guests. A “cat cove” corner holds treats, harnesses, collars and myriad feline goodies.
There’s a “human section” of the store, too, with artisan cards, mugs and pet-themed decor by Rustic Marlin.
Sea Dog is also a platform for giving back. Komisar volunteered with Animal Advocates of Howard County for over a decade. Also, a claw machine in the store costs $1 per chance to grab a pet toy. All proceeds support nonprofit animal rescue groups.
Komisar adds that the people, pets and opportunities to give back are the most rewarding parts of the business. She says, “I have met so many nice customers who are passionate about dogs and pets.”
