Botanical products are for pets, naturally

AKRON, Ohio - I am en route to a visit with empty nesters Gay and Buz Fifer, drugged by the heavenly scent of picturesque Wooster, Ohio, bursting with the fruits of May, flowering bushes and trees in a half dozen hues.

Even so, I can't seem to conquer the mental image of fields of dancing parsley.

This is a no-brainer because the Fifers are purveyors of Parsley Hollow All Natural Pet Products. I envision their acreage and prepare to fling off my shoes for a romp.

A Rubenesque white cat called Frogger _ I don't want to know why _ cast his spell on me as I sought out the side door of the Fifers' 160-year-old Victorian home, once part of the Underground Railroad.

Frogger is as wide as he is long and reeks of nobility.

He is one of many felines who have adopted the willing couple over the years and taught them state secrets about being human, Gay says.

Comfortably seated in the living room, I note that she is possessed by a love of finery and detail extending to every corner. Suddenly I notice something very telling. With a backdrop of sun shining through the bay window, I can't help but notice bits of lining falling to the floor from the bottom of a stately period chair in the living room.

''We decided we could have fine furniture or we could have animals,'' she says, smiling. ''We chose animals.''

It's a noble sentiment, one enjoyed by a steady procession of cats who are selling maps to their digs.

''I channeled Smith,'' she says of her late Maine Coon mix.

''I am the world's worst whistler, but I'd whistle the 'Three Penny Opera' and he'd come to me. He would climb in my lap and put his paws on me and bite my chin.''

Smith could calm their golden retrievers, Jake and his late sister, Savannah, during a thunderstorm, she says. All he had to do was roost nearby.

His unique talents as a cat ambassador suited him perfectly to the job of spokescat for Parsley Hollow All Natural Pet Products. An extension of the Renaissance couple's animal advocacy, the company began to take shape in 2005 after the two of them were downsized _ incredibly, twice each.

It also seemed to be written in the blood of an ancestral grandmother who was burned at the stake for using herbal remedies called ''simples'' to help mothers through childbirth, Gay said. ''The Catholic Church believed she should suffer.''

HERBAL PRODUCTS

Her mother and grandmother were both herbalists, so it should come as no surprise that she formulates Parsley Hollow's six nontoxic, environmentally friendly grooming products, while her husband ''mixes and tweaks'' them on the premises.

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The name of the company evokes, well, acres of parsley and cowslips in a bucolic nirvana, a scenario put forth on the Fifers' Web site to stir memories of a softer, sweeter era, Gay said. They picked parsley because it's medicinal, culinary and pretty, but their products don't actually contain any. Their ingredients come from trusted suppliers, so there would be no romp through the fields for me.

For dogs, they make a shampoo, ear cleaner, detangler and ''half bath'' for quick cleanups, plus an insect repellent for dogs and cats and a cat dander reducer. They are true botanicals, she said, which means they were formulated without pesticides, fungicides, herbicides, artificial dyes, perfumes, preservatives or synthetics. They also contain nothing genetically altered or irradiated.

''All animals need healthy skin and coats, and everything we make addresses it,'' she said, without using harsh chemicals and synthetics found in most grooming products. The shampoo for dogs, for example, is a castile-based soap that lathers, well even in cold water, and is infused with antioxidants, emollients and antibacterials, she said.

Their insect repellent for dogs and cats employs a form of catnip as a deterrent, not a repellent, and is more effective than DEET, she added. The insects will come near, but won't land, and it works on people, too.

FAMILY HISTORY

After testing the market on friends and family, the Fifers put their vision to work. The company comes as the natural next step in their evolution, which began decades earlier on a meandering road.

They met during their college years at Northwestern University. Buz, from Hudson, was an athlete and astrophysics major who later wrote one of the first information technology management manuals in the country. He played baseball and Big 10 football.

She was born in New Zealand and has worked for nonprofits most of her life.

''I saw him walking down the hall _ blue eyes, lashes 10 inches long and curly black hair,'' she crooned. ''I was cute and he should have noticed me. ... I told a sorority sister I'm going to marry him.''

She once faked a fall and threw her books in the air but he failed to notice and passed her by.

Another time, she ditched her date midstream to approach him and say, ''Oh, aren't you Buz Fifer?''

When she finally got his attention and he asked her name, she told him it was Natasha. ''I wanted to see how much he wanted to find me,'' she said.

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They have been married 41 years and have four grown children and two grandchildren.

The two still mourn the loss of Smith.

''We lost three cats in three years,'' she said. ''Smith just got old. ... The day he died, the vet said his heart was laboring and his kidneys were gone. But Smith still loved going to the vet.''

Their dog Jake is portrayed on their Parsley Hollow labels. Photos of their cats, Frogger, Spooky and Tibia, are posted on their Web site, http://www.parsleyhollow.com, where their products are also sold.

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© 2008, Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio).