party animals

Forget the air-tight bowls and long-lasting lipsticks. Anyone need a pooper scooper? Shure Pets consultant Grace Lintner of Manassas sells pet products from home

By LISA CHINN

Date published: 8/27/2004

By LISA CHINN

RACE LINTNER had hosted plenty of home sales parties in the past--Tupperware, Pampered Chef, PartyLite.

The businesslike bash she held last month at her Manassas home was just a hair different.

Sure, she invited friends and neighbors, prepared food and practiced her sales spiel.

She lined up games for her guests to play, bought prizes and stuffed folders with brochures, order forms and ballpoint pens.

She dotted a cloth-covered table with products for her prospective customers to see, touch and, hopefully, buy.

But there wasn't a candle, cosmetic or kitchenware in sight.

Instead, Lintner took a deep breath, cleared her throat, and proceeded to peddle cat toys , canine apparel and pooper scoopers. The party marked her first foray into a new business venture as an independent consultant for Shure Pets.

Forty-one-year-old Andrew Shure started the Chicago-based business last September. He wanted to combine the success of other direct sales companies, like Mary Kay and Avon, with the passion people have for their pets.

Like representatives for other home sales businesses, Shure Pets consultants sign up, pay for starter kits and book their own parties.

Lintner's house was all wags and woofs last month when her first dog-owning guest and their canine companions arrived.

Susan Woslawski introduced Betsy the Pekingese and Teddy the Lhasa apso to Lintner's black Lab/chow mix, Katie.

The party got off to a precarious start, however, with someone having an "accident" on Lintner's light beige carpet. Lintner pushed past the embarrassing moment by engaging her human guests in a breed-identifying game.

Woslawski's ability to tell Dobermans from Dalmatians, Pomeranians from poodles, earned her a chance to reach inside a big, purple goody bag filled with bow-wow treats. She pulled out a jingly ball.

Lintner's husband, Will, correctly called the most cats, winning himself a cream-colored rope bone.

"If you had trouble, you might want to consult your Shure Pets catalogue," Lintner told the folks lined up around her living room.

The doggies got their due, as well, when Lintner served liver treats and rawhide.

A former secretary for the federal government, Lintner had been a stay-at-home mom for more than 10 years. Early this summer, she decided it was time to go back to work, but she refused to give up the quality time she spends with her daughters--Sarah, 7, and Elizabeth, 11.

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Date published: 8/27/2004