Health And Well-Being Of Your Pet Made Easy With Pet Shops

Added: 03/02/2006

Whenever you want your pet to live a long and happy life, provide him with all the necessary items and accessories available today in numerous pet stores. While the majority of pet shops feature supplies for pets, some of them offer certain varieties of home animals, like hamsters, gerbils, rabbits, birds, reptiles, and ornamental fish. Less common in these shops are larger mammals such as cats and dogs, as well as some exotic pets.

Ranging from small departments, or shops in garden centers, to specialist centers and pet superstores, pet retailers commonly feature small birds and mammals like hamsters, fancy rats, parakeets, and fish for home aquariums, as well as such small reptiles as snakes and lizards. Animals that are used as a live food for fish and reptiles are also sold. Though larger mammals are not common in pet shops, some pet retailers do carry kittens and puppies, charging higher prices for them as compared to those in animal shelters and private breeders. However, some pet shops offer valuable services and guarantees that are usually not available from private sellers. There also exist a number of smaller, privately owned pet stores, maintaining a superb level of care for animals derived from private breeders.

Some pet shops offer a variety of exotic pets, notably large parrots, large snakes, and sugar gliders. Because it is quite complicated and expensive to take care of these animals, shops that specialize in exotic pets usually carry them as regular stock.

While the majority of customers are satisfied with the pets acquired from pet shops, there exist a number of problems with the way these animals are acquired, taken care of, and sold by pet retailers. For this reason, it is important to make inquiries concerning the level of care provided in a pet store, and determine whether it is responsible and adequate.

Long journeys via truck or air, and overcrowded cases contribute greatly to the spread of disease that may result in sick animals arriving in a shop. In large pet shops, sick animals are frequently placed together with the other stock, while more responsible retailers feature a separate area for such animals. Appropriate education of store employees in the handling of animals is of great importance as well, determining a high level of comfort and treatment, and maintaining the health and environment of animals.

A recognized leader in the pet industry, PETsMART, Inc. is a chain of retail stores operating throughout Canada and the United States, and engaged in the sale of various pet supplies and services. Also available at PETsMART are veterinary services, offered by the Pet Hospital, Banfield.

The company was established in 1986 under the name Pacific Coast Distributing, Inc., and acquired its present name in 1988. By the mid-1990s PETsMART had managed to expand across the United States and Canada, and introduced many lines of products, the most famous of these being Top Paw featuring leashes and collars manufactured by Coastal Pet Products Inc; the line of fish products, Top Fin, that includes fish food, tanks, filters, nets, and aquarium lights; and several brands of dog food, notably Award and Authority.

As of 2005, the company operated nearly 800 stores, a growing number of Pet Hotels, and a variety of pet products and services online. Its subsidiary, Pet Smart Charities, has donated, since 1994, over $39 million to various animal welfare programs, and has saved the lives of nearly two million pets through in-store adoption programs.

PETsMART is also the only company of its kind that provides affordable, high-quality veterinary service inside a number of its shops.

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