We made it for our dog first.

Every bowl is a small bet on more time together.

2015 · Portland, OR

Charlie's vet said "look at his diet"

Charlie was eight years old.

Joint pain. No energy. The vet said look at his diet. So Mary started cooking, ground beef, rice, sweet potatoes. Nothing fancy. Not even perfectly balanced, if we're being honest. But Charlie got better. His coat changed. His energy came back. When they went back to kibble, he got worse again.

They saw the evidence and they couldn't unsee it.
The national brands worked okay. The experience was wrong.
2019 · Downtown Portland

Then Paul started noticing the boxes

box of neighbor pet food in front of a residential door

They sold the house in the suburbs and moved to the city.

That's when he saw them - Farmer's Dog boxes coming into the building lobby. He'd been an entrepreneur for 35 years. He knew what it meant when venture capital entered a space. So he ordered everything. Farmer's Dog. Pet Plate. Nom Nom. He wanted to see the food. He wanted to feel the customer experience.

What he found: food that worked. An experience that didn't. Plastic pouches. Mushy texture. Customer service in New York or LA. Not a neighbor. A corporation with a logo that looked friendly.

He thought he could do it better. He was right.
Fresh food shouldn't come from a warehouse in New Jersey. Your dog lives here. So do we.
2020 · A shared kitchen, rented by the hour

They launched anyway

By December 2019 the brand existed - originally called Fetch.

The first product was meatloaf. Literally meatloaf. Made in their own kitchen, then a shared commercial kitchen rented by the hour. Just Paul and Mary, sometimes their kids on big production days.

Then COVID hit in March 2020 and they paused. But Paul kept watching the boxes pile up in the lobby. In August 2020 they launched with four customers. No ads. No budget. Just walking around NW Portland handing out cards and introducing themselves to their neighbors. That was the whole marketing strategy.

Four customers became eight. Eight became twelve. Within two months they had twenty.
The product had to change

Meatloaf wasn't cutting it

Customers loved the food. The format was the problem.

Meatloaf is messy to serve, hard to portion, and not exactly what anyone pictures when they think about feeding their dog. So they went back to the kitchen. Same ingredients. Same recipes. Same vet nutritionist. Different shape.

The meatball changed everything. Easy to pick up. Easy to weigh. Easy to love. Dogs went crazy for it. And Paul and Mary realized something else - the brand name had to change too. Fetch was fine. But this wasn't just about the food anymore. It was about who made it. Where they lived. The relationship between the person cooking and the person feeding.

Neighbor was born in 2025. Same kitchen. Same people. Same dog that started it all - just a better name for what this actually is.
Employee #1

Sean answered the ad

When production outgrew Paul and Mary's hands, they posted on Poached - the Portland hospitality job board.

Restaurants were dark. Chefs were out of work. Sean Harry had been cooking at OX, one of Portland's best restaurants. He had high-volume prep experience from a resort in Colorado. He loved dogs. He was hired part-time in 2020. Today he's full-time, and has an ownership stake in the company. He still shows up every week and makes your dog's food from scratch.

That's not a marketing line. That's just true.

2020

4 subscribers. Zero ad spend. Brand called Fetch.

2022

First retail store. Product still meatloaf.

2024

Meatball format launched. 70+ independent stores across the PNW.

2025

Rebranded to Neighbor. SE Foster Road kitchen. Still Portland.

The real hoomans behind the meatball

Paul & Mary Mardesich

Founders. Started this because Charlie needed something to change and the food that fixed it didn't exist yet. Still running it today.

Sean Harry

Kitchen Lead. Has been making your dog's food since 2020. Came for the job. Stayed for the mission. Still here every week.

Dan Wharton

Kitchen Team. Joined in 2021. Has worked through every hard week. Still here.

What we believe.

01

Your dog can't tell you what's wrong. You do that for them. We make it a little easier.

02

Fresh food shouldn't require a factory, a plastic pouch, or a customer service rep in another city.

03

The person who makes your dog's food should live in your city. Ours does. SE Foster Road, Portland.

Charlie started this. You're dog is his legacy.

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Starting at $1.29/day

Neighbor dog