Fun Archives-Humor for Pet Professionals-PETSPLUSMAG.COM

How One Pet Store Helps Keep Drugs Off the Streets

PETS+ Staff — Fri, 28 Feb 2025 00:26:49 +0000

Last fall we helped our local police department raise money to launch a K9 unit. We sold T-shirts and dog toys, held raffles, and we coordinated multiple fundraisers at several businesses downtown. The department was able to get two narcotics-trained dogs and training for their handlers. They just hit the streets and have already made a huge impact, not only in getting drugs off our streets, but in keeping our officers safe — when you have a K9 officer, there is more compliance! — Shari Wilkins, Lake Dog and Their People, Eufaula, OK

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What Do Cold Plunges, Improv Comedy and a 49-Year-Old Macaw Named Baby Have in Common?

PETS+ Staff — Wed, 26 Feb 2025 00:42:02 +0000

Charlsye Lewis & Marcus Brunt
Metro Animals & Happy K9 D.I.Y Dog Wash,
Fort Worth & Plano, TX

Charlsye Lewis and Marcus Brunt live a full and happy life together. Doing so has allowed the couple to grow Metro Animals and Happy K9 D.I.Y Dog Wash — their day-care, boarding, grooming, taxi and retail pet businesses — to six locations. They also credit their teams at work and at home with helping them maintain a healthy balance, with Turtle the Staffordshire Bull Terrier mix (above), Duke the German Shepherd mix, Kelly the German Shorthaired Pointer mix, Baby the Macaw, and cats Jobie, Eva, Sheba and Owl filling out their family.

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This No-Win Grooming Situation Is My Biggest Pet Peeve With Clients

PETS+ Staff — Fri, 31 Jan 2025 00:19:14 +0000

We offer grooming services. Our biggest issue is when one spouse/partner drops off their pet and provides us with grooming instructions, and then the other spouse/partner picks up their pet and is upset because the pet is not groomed according the instructions they gave the person who dropped off the pet. There is no way we can win in this situation!

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Paige Elder Prioritizes Self-Care to Be at Her Best in Business

PETS+ Staff — Thu, 12 Dec 2024 01:30:23 +0000

Paige Elder
BUZZ N’ B’S AQUARIUM & PET SHOP, ERIE, PA

Self-care in a variety of forms helps Paige Elder be at her best in business. “I have a back injury, so I like to get a massage when I can make the time. I also like to get my nails and lashes done,” she says. “The better I feel about myself, the better I perform for my store.” Elder purchased Buzz N’ B’s Aquarium & Pet Shop, a full-line store that offers grooming, live animals and aquatic maintenance, in 2018 after working there for six years. Also helping Elder succeed are husband and business partner Josh and their pack and flock at home: Goldendoodles Penny and Pepper, Yorkshire Terrier Phoebe, Macaw Joey, White-Bellied Caiques Frankie and Bowser, and Canary Winged Parakeets Evie, Humphrey and Cardi. All of this self-care and support lead Elder to much success, with Buzz N’ B’s recently celebrating 50 years in business!

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Pet Peeves: When Customers Say They Are a Friend to Get Special Treatment

PETS+ Staff — Thu, 05 Dec 2024 22:35:46 +0000

The customer who says they know the owner and uses my name, but I have no idea who they are. Staff knows now that if a customer asks for something and uses my name to try and get it, that that person is no friend of mine.

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Stephanie Bennett Takes a Holistic Approach to Dog Training and Life

PETS+ Staff — Fri, 08 Nov 2024 01:01:52 +0000

Stephanie Bennett
BELIEVE IN DOG, HOUSTON, TX

At her Houston dog training and enrichment center, Stephanie Bennett uses positive, science-based methods that target the mind, body and spirit. She takes a holistic approach to her personal life, as well, finding balance through everything from true crime and travel to massages and meditation. Bennett’s professional and personal purposes also align. She says of Believe in Dog, “Our goal is for every owner to become the center of their dog’s universe, and our mission is to make the world a better place, one dog at a time.” She has certainly done that with her own pups, pictured here from left: Cash, Willow and Waylon, all rescues.

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True Tales: Someone Tried to Steal Our Store Cat

PETS+ Staff — Thu, 07 Nov 2024 03:30:46 +0000

When our store cat Sheldon was a cute scrappy kitten, a woman put him in her coat and tried to steal him. One of my staff stopped her and asked what she was doing, and she said she thought he needed some fresh air. Please don’t steal our store cat. — Melisa Wynn, Paws & Fins Pet Shop, Bainbridge Island, WA

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Do Customers Realize How Much It Hurts When They Do This?

PETS+ Staff — Tue, 15 Oct 2024 01:34:29 +0000

When a customer comes in and asks a question, which you spend time answering, and then give them samples of product to try, but as they leave they say they will check online for Amazon’s cost. I don’t think they realize how hurtful that can be when you have just spent your time, energy and resources to help them and then they basically say, “Thanks, but I don’t want to support your business.”

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How My Staff Blew Me Away With Kindness

PETS+ Staff — Wed, 02 Oct 2024 23:37:08 +0000

I lost my older brother unexpectedly. My staff put in all the extra energy needed so I was very comfortable taking time out and away from the store. A bit later they bought, planted a tree and put up a plaque with a nice inscription to remember my brother. Blew me away. Great crew they are. — Paul Lewis, Birds Unlimited, Webster, NY

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How Do You Feel About Brand Exclusives?

PETS+ Staff — Mon, 09 Sep 2024 03:10:53 +0000

I really hate brand exclusives. When a brand chooses to make a geographical exclusivity agreement with one store, it not only hinders other stores in the area, but it hinders overall sales of the brand. It’s never made sense to me why a brand or store would want an exclusivity agreement.

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Allen and Jennifer Larsen Find Balance by Combining Business With Pleasure

PETS+ Staff — Tue, 13 Aug 2024 01:51:53 +0000

Allen & Jennifer Larsen
Firehouse Pet Shop, Wenatchee, WA

Allen and Jennifer Larsen love to combine business with pleasure. When they attend industry trade shows, the couple enjoys socializing with fellow indies and other pet pros. They also always add a vacation at the end to take full advantage of the time away from their store. And when son Aidan, a supervisor at Firehouse Pet Shop, can come along, even better! Once back home, Allen and Jennifer love sharing all of the new products they found with their team and reuniting with their rescue pup Penny, rescue kitties Deja and Vu, and shop cat Carlos (pictured here).

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Retailer Loses Store Mascot at SUPERZOO

PETS+ Staff — Thu, 01 Aug 2024 04:00:51 +0000

Last year, we decided to bring our mascot costume, Reeses the Dog, with us for social media posts. My husband was in the costume, and we somehow lost him (how do you lose a man in a dog costume?). As we were looking for him, we saw a large crowd gathering up ahead. We went to see what all the excitement was about and found Reeses behind the DJ set-up with headphones on, dancing and grooving to the music with the DJ. Note: My husband cannot dance, but apparently Reeses can! — Diedra Giles, Reeses Barkery and Pawtique, McHenry, IL

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It’s Cats Around the Clock for Angela Ng

PETS+ Staff — Fri, 21 Jun 2024 04:12:58 +0000

Angela Ng
PAWS FOR A MOMENT, WAUKESHA, WI

An aversion to blood and needles steered Angela Ng away from a veterinary career and toward pet grooming. In addition to her 10-year-old salon and boutique, she owns and operates Pawsitively Siberians, a successful Siberian cattery breeding program. “I’ve had seven international winners, four lifetime achievement winners, three international breed winners as well as many regional winners,” Ng says of the show kitties she has bred. Ng also acts as a cat agent of many different breeds, which, as it turns out, does not involve repping famous felines but instead providing professional handling services at cat shows. She has two shop cats, Noodle the Oriental Shorthair and Nova the Siberian (pictured here), as well as house Siberians Husky, Jane, Sporty, Bugsy and Zoey, all from Pawsitively Siberians.

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True Tale: My Cat Told My Psychic That He Wanted to Try These Foods

PETS+ Staff — Fri, 14 Jun 2024 03:10:23 +0000

A customer came into the shop years ago with a very specific list of foods that her cat had told her psychic that he’d like to try. As I went through the list of about 10 foods, we carried a number of them but not all, I treated her with respect and all seriousness. I shared with her some new foods that we’d just brought in that her cat might not be aware of yet and that she should talk with him about. It was sometimes challenging to keep a straight face, but I kept it pretty serious and we were able to find some options for her cat. — Jeff Jensen, Four Muddy Paws, St. Louis, MO

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Pet Peeve: Dry Your Dog for Pete’s Sake!

PETS+ Staff — Tue, 04 Jun 2024 04:43:08 +0000

Customers who use the self-serve dog wash and get water all over the floor, walls and ceiling. Then they barely dry the dog before walking around, shopping for treats and leaving puddles of water on the floor, with the wet dog shaking all over the store.

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We’re a Bit Envious of This Retailer Who Gets to Help Raise Bobcat Kittens

PETS+ Staff — Fri, 12 Apr 2024 00:10:08 +0000

We’re helping to “raise” a litter of Bobcat kittens whose mother was killed by a poacher on a local ranch. The rancher has taken in the kittens and feeds them goat milk and raw food to help them until they can be released to a sanctuary. (They have all the required paperwork/approvals from the government to do this, as they’ve done this before with different wildlife species.) They always bring pictures/videos in for us to see, and it’s so much fun watching them grow up! — Diana Farrar, Fifi & Fidos Pet Boutique, San Antonio, TX

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Jennifer and Maisie Flanagan Find Purpose and Peace in Caring for Animals

PETS+ Staff — Wed, 10 Apr 2024 00:25:11 +0000

Jennifer & Maisie Flanagan
NATURE’S PET MARKET, SHERWOOD AND WILSONVILLE, OR

Like mother, like daughter. Jennifer and Maisie Flanagan find purpose and peace — both professionally and personally — in caring for animals. Jennifer and husband Matt own and operate two raw feeding-centric Nature’s Pet Market locations, with Maisie serving as general manager of both. And the Flanagan family’s urban farm lists among its residents Nigerian dwarf goats Drew Brees (above) and Buckley, Nubian goat Simon Le Bon, Collies Lilo (above) and Sully, Pekingese Ginger (above) and Gizmo, Russian Donskoy Winky (above), Domestic Shorthair Sally, Pug Mei Mei, Tibetan Spaniel Ted and Toy Australian Shepherd Frankie. The many pets and their people, which also include other daughter Quinnell, spend much of their time on the farm simply enjoying life in each other’s company.

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Sorry Not Sorry You Ran Out of Pet Food

PETS+ Staff — Mon, 25 Mar 2024 02:33:14 +0000

Customers who blame us because we were closed. “I ran out of dog food on Sunday, and you weren’t open.” I want to say, “Well, who fed the dog on Saturday? Blame that person.” Instead I just smile and say, “Oh, yes, sorry about that.”

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What I Want to Say When a Customer Comes In With a ‘Head Full of Google’

PETS+ Staff — Wed, 28 Feb 2024 03:42:05 +0000

People come in with a head full of “Google” and are sure they know considerably more than I do about something I’m an expert on. Depending on the customer, I’ll either acknowledge their “expertise” and re-educate them gently or I’ll immediately engage to correct the misinformation. But what I’m thinking is “WTF?! That is absolutely not what the study said” or “That incorrect information had to be on page 10,000 of a misspelled Google search.”

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Marvel Movies and Road Trips Help This Dog Trainer Wind Down

PETS+ Staff — Tue, 27 Feb 2024 01:37:08 +0000

Sarah Gonzalez
LITTLE MONSTARS TRAINING ACADEMY, HOUSTON, TX

Work and play combine for this Houston dog trainer, who also puts on trick and disc shows with her pack throughout the year. They jump, fly and amaze audiences at pet-friendly events and private parties. To fully unwind, Sarah loves a good brunch with mimosas, watching Marvel movies and shows, and RVing with her significant other in work and play, John, and their pups. They include Zelda (shown here in action), Mollie, Misty, Darwin, Gamora, Nebula, Eva, Miles, Gwen, Peter Quill, Remus Lupin and Mad-Eye Moody (she’s also a huge Harry Potter fan).

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