SJ pet business gives special-needs young adults jobs

MEDFORD - Special education teacher Sarah Moretti’s desire is to see all of her students have successful, fulfilling lives.

Since developmentally disabled students are eligible to attend high school until 21, Moretti can spend up to seven years with a student. The Cherokee High School teacher can get close with families, who often worry what their children will do after aging out of the school system.

Moretti, another teacher and two sets of parents of students came up with a solution nearly six years ago.

They created Pride Paws, a pet accessory store in Medford that employs and trains young adults with developmental disabilities.

The Main Street store has employed more than 55 young adults with disabilities since it opened in 2010. Many of those stayed a few years — they can work there until they’re 29 — before moving onto jobs in a more mainstream setting. Pride Paws starts paying the student workers after they’ve volunteered for 200 hours.

SEE ALSO: Precious Gems overcome challenges to cheer

“Through working in that program at Cherokee, I got really close to two of the families, and it got to the point where their kids were aging out of high school and it was just like, ‘What do we do, what are they going to do now from 8 in the morning to 3 in the afternoon for the rest of their life?’“ Moretti explained.

“It’s our hope if they come to us when they’re 21, they stay with us for a couple of years, and in that period of time, help them pursue other avenues and find other jobs in the community they can really call home for years and years.”

Pride Paws currently has about 20 developmental disabled employees working alongside another 35 or so employees and volunteers. They are state-approved, registered with the state’s Division of Developmental Disabilities, as an approved habilitation provider.

Alicia Headley, 26, of Marlton, is developmentally disabled and has worked at Pride Paws since the store opened.

“I just like everything about it,” said the former Cherokee student. “I love the people that come in with their dogs. It’s a good store to work in. I’m like the mini-manager type.”

Nicole Schroeder, 23, also has been with the store for six years. Her mother and father, Pam and Ed Schroeder, are two of the seven founders of Pride Paws, as well as Pride Ventures Inc., the not-for-profit that owns and operates the store.

“I like being with all of my friends and all my coaches,” said Nicole Schroeder, also a Cherokee graduate, who resides in Marlton.

What her favorite thing to make is? “The dog biscuits.”

SEE ALSO: Marlton woman gets companion dog

Pride Ventures  and Pride Paws are hosting their seventh annual fundraiser from 5 to 9 p.m. April 30 at Pinsetter Bar and Bowl at 7111 Maple Ave. in Pennsauken. Moretti says the fundraiser brings in 80 percent of the annual funding for the store.

The concept behind Pride Paws was born out of Moretti's self-contained special education classes. Students hosted a morning café where they prepared breakfast for the teachers, turning their classroom into a restaurant.

The original idea was to create a small coffee shop where students could serve breakfast items. That idea changed into baking dog biscuits in a church kitchen. They sold the biscuits at town craft shows and fairs. They had two recipes — peanut butter and honey ginger. Things took off from there.

Linda and Joe Ritzel are also co-founders. Their son Alec was taught by Moretti and Kate Allen, the other teacher/co-founder at Cherokee.

“We all started just selling biscuits at craft fairs,” Linda Ritzel said. “We found this spot and decided that a retail site would be a great start. Learning those skills in a small area, not too much sensory around them, learning it day-by-day.”

They even have an unofficial mascot. A 7-year-old golden retriever named Expo wanders the store at times, showing just how pet friendly they are. Linda Ritzel's  niece Megan Mackalonis, a veterinarian, adopted Expo after he failed the test to be a Seeing Eye dog.

“I think it’s a very positive environment. It’s amazing what the participants can do. They go from doing inventory, running the register to baking," said Renee McCormac, the manager at Pride Paws for five years. "We have a lot of handmade items that they do. They do cutting, sewing, ironing, painting. They do everything in the store.”

They still make the homemade dog biscuits, but also make accessories such as pet beds, blankets, note cards and toys. They also sell grooming supplies, collars and more.

Michael Hofmann, 24, has worked at the store since it opened.

“I like baking,” said the Shawnee graduate, who lives in Medford Lakes. “I like doing the cards.”

Suzanne Link, his mother, loves the opportunity Pride Paws gives her son and others.

“We’ve enjoyed it,” she said. “I enjoy working with him and the other participants. I come in and coach. Each adult has their own personality. That’s the uniqueness of it. If one doesn’t like one thing, there’s another thing they’re good at.”

Rowan students raise companion dogs on campus

The store is bright and colorful. There is a brand new hardwood floor, which was the result of a grant. Home Depot workers put the floor in and the workers donated their time to do it.

An American flag sits in a case on the wall near the front register, with a letter from by the U.S. embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, after Pride Paws employees sent the canines  that help guard the embassy a batch of homemade biscuits.

“We had two families and two teachers who just loved and cared about these kids and wanted to give them some kind of opportunity post-high school,” said Moretti, who coaches field hockey at Lenape High School. “We wanted to give them a quality of life and at some point continue to work on the skills that they need to be as independent as they can in the community.

“We’ve been really lucky. The Medford community has really embraced us.”

Celeste E. Whittaker; (856) 486-2437; cwhittaker@gannettnj.com

If you go

Pride Ventures, Inc., and Pride Paws hosts their seventh annual fundraiser — Pins 4 PRIDE — from 5 to 9 p.m. April 30 at Pinsetter Bar and Bowl at 7111 Maple Ave in Pennsauken Township. The cost is $50, which includes 3-4 hours of unlimited bowling, two drink tickets, shoe rental, dinner buffet, dessert, appetizers and more. There will also be a Chinese auction items as well as a silent auction.

Contact Sarah Moretti at sarah6autumn@yahoo.com or visit prideventuresinc.org for more information.