Westside Farm and Feed

~20% More expensive than General Feed and customer service is not quite as good. The people are plenty nice and helpful, though. Things always seem a little frantic.

This place is AMAZING! The people know everything about what your animals need. I have been having a heck of a time with my 9 month old puppy with food allergies. They sold me an allergy test, I collected saliva and hair from my dog and mailed it off. When the results came back, they helped me interpret them and find food that my dog could eat without getting sick. They spent so much time with me and knew exactly what was wrong with my dog and what he needed to get better. They have the best selection of natural, quality dog foods. I’ve saved so much money with their help and HIGHLY recommend them for all your animal needs.

I love Westside Farm and Feed! I’m so happy to have a feed store on the Westside finally. Their prices are reasonable, they carry the best pet food and pet products and the owners are very knowledgeable! I highly recommend this place.

I first moved to Santa Cruz to attend UCSC. After some time here myself and boyfriend decided on getting a kitten. Bandit, love at first sight :). I googled for hours trying to figure out what the best/​most economical cat food options were. I stumbled upon the brand Fromm. I searched to see what stores carried Fromm, and the rest was history. From the first time I went to Westside till now, everything has been great! Fromm had a special kitten dry food that they didn’t carry at the time but ordered specifically for me so every week I could pick it up. Now a year and a half later, plus one more kitten, my cats are happy eaters and I’m a happy customer!

The owners are always there and welcoming to my dog when I go. They have a selection of toys that can be filled with food that Petsmart doesn’t sell, including some from recycled materials and that don’t have an awful rubber odor (seriously, sniff some dog toys and remember how much better dogs’ sense of smell is!). I go for recycled poop bags I also haven’t seen at Petsmart. Also, they carry Baskerville basket muzzles, which allow dogs to pant, drink water, and eat treats, which keeps everyone safer and allows for behavior modification with yummy treats. They also have reasonably priced attractive succulents.

When I moved to Santa Cruz I was worried that I was going to have trouble finding taste of the wild dog food for my American Pit Bull Terriers. I was on Unilocal looking for locally owned pet stores and found westside. Not only do the have a verity of taste of the wild food, but they have lots of other goodies for your k9 friends! The staff is knowledgeable about the products they carry, which is a huge plus. On top of that they are always welcoming, friendly, and a good conversation. I highly recommend them if you live on the westside. Great location!

Great store in a convenient location on the westside of Santa Cruz. Great selection considering the size and very friendly and helpful staff. This is my dogs favorite store in Santa Cruz

I get more than high quality food for my dog here, the folks behind the counter are VERY knowledgable about dogs, cats, horses, training, grooming and the community. Also prices for Instinct and Evo brands are better than other retailers! Oh, and you may bring your well behaved, leashed dog into the store with you which is great for letting your dog sniff out his/​her own treats or chewy thing.

Westside Farm and Feed is a nice little store that’s very convenient for those of us who live on the Westside. The folks that run the place are fantastic– very nice, accommodating, always willing to offer assistance and answer questions. They carry a decent selection of good-​quality dog and cat foods and treats, as well as a small sampling of leashes, collars and toys. They also have a nice selection of equine and livestock feeds, grass hay, alfalfa, etc. They’ve recently added freezers and stock raw dog and cat foods, primarily Primal. They’ll special-​order just about anything you ask.
Why only three stars, though? It’s extremely expensive. There are three other pet/​feed stores within 10 miles of this place with significantly cheaper foods, toys, and treats. It’s worth visiting for the convenience if I need something quickly or run out unexpectedly, and the service is great, but honestly I’d rather drive a little farther and get better pricing elsewhere. Even with the added time and gas costs, this place is easily beat by other Santa Cruz-​area stores.

I heard they carried quality dog foods and primal bones here (raw). I loved that its significantly closer than petsmart to me so I decided to check it out. The store is well stocked and they carry blue wilderness, wellness, and taste of the wild to name a few in addition to raw food and bones. They have cute country gift type items and the customer service was over the top. They didn’t have the specific wellness core «ocean» one I’m really liking and happily offered to order it. They took my info all with a smile and asked my name and how I was doing while sharing how they were. I love that! I am very happy to get my pet supplies here. What a great addition to the west side!

We love this place! Besides offering quality merchandise, the folks here are so warm and accommodating. Also, they are very knowledgeable about pet food ingredients. We have been using «dog food advisor dot com» to find out the real scoop on a vet-​recommended hypoallergenic dog food that we’ve been giving our dog for years (unfortunately — because turns out it contains very low quality ingredients). When we went looking for a better brand, West Side Farm & Feed not only carries a selection of «limited ingredient» dog foods, but they are also hip to this website, which analyzes all ingredients in hundreds of brands, so they knew how to help us pick the right food for our dog’s problems. Dog, by the way, is a different animal since the diet change. They also have wholesome «clean» dog treats: pure meat and no fillers. We are very grateful to have this store here on the West Side.

What a great asset to the Westside! If you want healthy, made in USA treats for your dog, this is the place. Good folks with helpful advice! AND, they sell fresh/​frozen marrow bones

Love this place!!! Best dog toys. I found a couple of sturdy play toys for my lab and corgi that they have not been able to destroy! Also, for the horse folks out there, I purchased a gorgeous hand tooled leather hoof pick holster and special hoof pick as a gift for my mom… She loves it Laureen Yungmeyer

Cheers to an excellent local business with competitive pricers and helpful staff. I used to go to Pet Pals to buy my dog’s Taste of the Wild food but a friend told me about Westside and now I won’t go any place else. The staff is very helpful and ready to answer any questions and their prices are better than Pet Smart and Pet Pals. An example of their high level of customer service: I went in to purchase dog food and needed some guidence around my dog’s self imposed hunger strike. The employee (sorry, I didn’t catch your name) asked a few thoughtful questions and then offered to give a few different samples of Taste of the Wild. He also coached me in how to best transistion my dog to another type of protein. The icing on the cake was multiple treats for my pup and help out to the car with my bag of food. These guys are the real deal.

Great new feed store with an excellent selection of products. I went in for dog food but found myself looking at chickens, beautiful redwood tables, and all sorts of other products. I will be back for sure. Nice people, great selection, great prices I thought as well.

One of the few places in town that carry Natural Balance! Plus, I didn’t have to fight traffic to get there. Finally I found a place that carries the 1) dog food we LOVE 2) cat food we LOVE 3) Litter we NEED 4) all treats and accouterments for our furry companions.
We took the dog in and she went crazy for the chickens in the back. Also, I think I saw a dog training class happening in the back? I’ll have to investigate more, but I’m sure I’ll be coming here more often.

TracyP wrote the truth when she said the folks at Westside Farm and Feed bring back memories of how spectacular people were after the quake — but these people live their entire lives with that spirit, and it shows in the quality and services they provide.
It’s so marvelous to have a full service store on the WESTSIDE! No more driving miles and miles to get to the only other decent feed store — Mountain — or worse, to the other side of town where the products and service are far less than desirable.
Everyone at Westside Farm & Feed knows their stuff and they offer seasonal classes for pennies — even free with a purchase for some of the classes.
The store is clean, well organized and stocked with quality — no box store madness here, just down home and what you need.
Now the AlpacaLover who whined about the orchard grass, heads up honey… I’m sure you are a professional farmer and all… since you raise alpacas and grow a lawn, but orchard grass and alfalfa grow in *gasp* dirt! I’ve purchased bales there with no problem, but wouldn’t be in a twist if there were a few dirt clods. And a 35 $ delivery fee is nothing to cry about either, think about gas, vehicle wear and yes, salaries for the delivery people.
We are lucky to have such a wonderful resource here in town — Thank you all!

What a fantastic resource! Great prices, great product, and great service! Gail and Butch have patiently and enthusiastically answered my numerous and varied questions from hardware cloth to dog training. This is a wonderful addition to Santa Cruz!

Local owners who have the time to answer your questions. Good location for the West side of town.
Quality pet foods. Good prices on Puppy sweaters. Brrrr.
A good store to find «just right» pet supplies.

I haven’t come across a business like this in a long, long while. New to Santa Cruz, Westside Farm and Feed opened in November. Butch, and Gail two of the owners, and long time Santa Cruz County residents stood patiently as I asked them novice questions about chickens– lots and lots of questions. These are the type of people you remember residing in Santa Cruz before the earthquake– friendly, down to earth, helpful, did I mention friendly? Butch showed me his genius designed chicken coop– which I can see easily being featured in Sunset Magazine. Gail patiently answered (oh, with a cheerful smile) all my questions, and gave me so much advice. They invited me (with again, a smile) to come back with any questions I have (even though I hadn’t purchased anything). I walked out of Westside Farm and Feed as if I just finished a 2 hour session at the library researching, chickens, and goats.
And dear God, have I not presented my hat off to these brilliant folks who decided to open a feed store on the WESTSIDE of Santa Cruz! What the heck have people been doing for their pet, livestock and farm supplies all this time? Driving to the Eastside, or into the mountains? Crazy! When in November, I saw their banner unimposingly placed right next to the train crossing on Swift, I did a double take and my heart skipped a beat. I now decided that with a feed store so close, it was time for me to add some livestock to my husband’s modest urban farming venture.
Thank you Butch, Gail and Susan.
Besides pet, gardening and farm supplies, they offer dog training classes, and may be adding workshops including a community emergency response workshops.
website
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Check out their featured article in the Sentinel posted November 21,2012.