Dogma Bakery & Boutique will celebrate its 25th anniversary next month, marking over two decades of charity and tail wags across Arlington.
Since 2000, the business has offered signature store-baked dog treats and pet supplies while lending support to animal rescue organizations. Giving back to the community is owner Sheila Raebel’s proudest achievement and has been part of Dogma’s mission since its origins as a bakery-cafe at the Lee Harrison Shopping Center.
Raebel bought the boutique from founder Mary Hogan in 2008, adding new inventory and grooming services, closing its first location and expanding to the current Clarendon and Shirlington addresses over the years.
“I can’t take credit for starting it, I can just take credit for growing it,” she told ARLnow. “I had been going there for years with my dog and I would occasionally go and help [Hogan] do stuff when she needed things done.”
Under Raebel’s wing, the business frequently hosts adoption events, fundraises for local shelters and offers financial assistance to customers in need. Earlier this week, Dogma fundraised over $6,000 in two hours for Lucky Dog Animal Rescue at its annual pet trick-or-treating event.
At times, the charitable efforts have stretched as far as the Caribbean. In the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, Dogma and Lucky Dog collaborated with Southwest Airlines to evacuate over 100 surrendered pets from Puerto Rico in 2017.
The group transported cats and dogs to Dogma’s Shirlington location in the middle of the night, where they stayed as a veterinarian prepared to transfer them across shelters in Northern Virginia.
“We were the pit stop and mini veterinarian office for a while, and it was one of the most moving things I’ve seen,” Raebel said. “A lot of [the pets] actually came with letters from their owners saying things like, you know, ‘please take care of my dog.'”
Since then, Dogma has continued its efforts to rescue and transport animals from underfunded shelters with Lucky Dog, sometimes requiring long hours from employees.
“My staff has been amazing,” Raebel said. “Without all of them, none of this stuff could ever happen.”
As the anniversary approaches, the owner said she is thinking about embarking on a new charitable project.
“I want to do a foundation for Dogma,” Raebel said. “We do a lot for the food banks, the shelters and the rescues when they need it, so I thought, you know, I should probably do this through a foundation instead of just through me.”
While there will be no official 25th anniversary celebration, Raebel encourages guests to give generously at this year’s annual Santa photo op in Shirlington from Nov. 22-23. Proceeds will benefit Lucky Dog and the Animal Welfare League of Arlington.
Photo 5 via Lucky Dog Animal Rescue/Facebook.
