Keeley Wilson of Havre was wondering what she was going to do with her life after she completed Havre High School.
She has Williams Syndrome, which causes developmental disabilities and a host of medical issues. While these have created problems in her life, it has never deterred her from meeting her goals. Keeley and her family have been very involved in raising awareness about Williams Syndrome and raising funds to combat it. They have held fundraising walks and a variety of programs to raise money.
Keeley is a pet lover and she thought she could help out other pet lovers by making and selling dog treats.
She formed a limited liability corporation, got all of her paperwork approved by the Montana Secretary of State’s office, created a business plan, purchased liability insurance, rented space in her mother’s bake shop to sell the goodies and opened for business as Ladybug Bites LLC.
Every Monday she bakes several different kinds of treats, packages them and gets them ready to sell at Infinity Bake Shoppe, which her mother, Dottie Wilson, owns and operates. She also sells some at Triple Dog Brewery, which sells her its leftover grain that she uses to make some of the treats.
While not getting rich, Keeley was making money and having a good time at her job, and she was learning a lot.
“It was fun making the treats,” she said.
But then came a letter from the Montana Department of Agriculture.
“It has come to the attention of the Montana Department of Agriculture that you are selling commercial feed (pet food) in the state of Montana,” the letter opened.
“According to our records, your company is not currently licensed,” the letter read.
The license would cost Keeley $100.
“With further investigation, our records indicate no evidence of product registration.”
Registration would be $50 per brand. Since Keeley had made many different kinds of treats, that would amount to a lot of money. She would have to have each brand tested and licensed to see what the protein content and moisture level was for each product. That would add up to real money — more than Keeley made in a year.
“Failure to comply with the feed law may result in further enforcement action,” the letter warned.
Keeley and her mom were devastated by the letter. They started trying to obtain compliance, and will be able to do so for one year. But Dottie was afraid in the long run the business would have to fold. She said it would not be possible to afford this year after year. In order to reduce cost, she scaled back to doing 13 different flavors of treats.
“I was not happy,” Keeley said. “I like my business.”
Keeley Wilson interacts with customers. (Teresa Getten, The Havre Herald)
Joe LaPlante of the Small Business Development Center, which helped Keeley set up her business plan, said they were confused by the Agriculture Department’s action.
Keeley’s products are not pet food in the traditional sense, simply pet treats.
The information from the testing is to be listed in the packaging, but doesn’t have to be approved by the Agriculture Department. It apparently was designed to let customers know what is in the treat. Keeley said people have asked her about the ingredients but no one has ever questioned her about protein or moisture levels.
LaPlante said the rules were apparently designed for large companies that manufacture large quantities of dog food. For that kind of company, the license fees would only amount to a tiny percentage of its profits. For Keeley it will mean life or death for her business, he said.
Keeley is passionate about Facebook, and she is friends with people from all walks of life in Havre. One of her friends is Rep. Jacob Bachmeier, D-Havre, who is now in Helena for the 66th session of the Montana Legislature. He sits on the Agriculture Committee.
Through Facebook, they got in touch and communicated about the license problems.
“Jacob said he would help me,” Keeley said.
Bachmeier told the Herald he will be introducing a bill to exempt small pet treat producers from the Agriculture Department regulations.
Andy Fjeseth, communications director for the Agriculture Department, said department officials would be glad to meet with Bachmeier, but the law as it stands now is clear: Everyone who makes pet food has to pay the license and registration fees. The law was designed so people could see what nutritional elements are in the treats and to ensure the safety of the animals.
The digestive systems of pets and farm animals are different than humans, he said, and the law needs to reflect that. But, Fjeseth said, working with the department Bachmeier may be able to come up with legislation that would allow exemptions for small-time producers.
Bachmeier said he will meet with Agriculture Department officials to determine what the limits will be. He said he felt the bill stood a decent chance of passage and the people on the committee are “a great group of folks.”
While Bachmeier works on a long-range solution to the situation, Keeley and Dottie said they are working to get in compliance for this year and hoping for the best.
Keeley testified before the Montana Legislature when it discussed making cut in social programs.
When asked, she said he would like to testify in support of Bachmeier’s bill when it is heard by the Agriculture Committee. Bachmeier said she would be welcome.
“That would be cool,” she said.
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