Death of the local pet shops

[Mother Hubbard]

So yesterday I went into my nearest town to go to an independent pet shop I frequent and buy in bulk. I was saddened to see it had closed, their are now no Independant pet stores in the town, so I had to make the 15mile journey to the nearest p@h as I was desperate for hay.

I signed up the petition a while ago not to go to p@h so I was very disappointed.

I will search for another shop but I do believe we need to support these shops against the multinationals who very often can give good advice, not all, but certainly the ones I've come across.

Looks like its going to have to be an online shop in future, what a terrible shame. Does anyone else have this problem?

 

[Stewybus]

You could also look up your local farm store too. Since the recession hit, a lot have also gone into pet supplies. We buy our cat & dog food plus Megazorb & Readi-Grass from our local farm store, Farmway. They only have stores in Yorkshire & the North East but every area has a farm store.

 

[MargaretB]

There are still several independent pet shops around me and one in the city centre, but like all small businesses (and some large ones) they are struggling in the current financial climate and with the change in our shopping habits to buying more on line. It is sad to see these small shops close and it's sad that most of them just can't compete with bigger stores.

 

[Guinea pig slave]

I don't go to pet shops if I can avoid it, all my piggy supplies are ordered online. Pet Supermarket and Vet Uk are the ones I use mainly as I buy in bulk.
Last time I went into a pet shop, I reported them to our local council as he had male/female piggies together and was investigated :x He barred me for telling him about the risk of pregnancies...rolleyes
Sadly, many small businesses are closing down and really do wish the Pratts@Home branches nationwide would vanish into thin air mallethead
I noticed last week that the little fruit n veg shop I use have put their prices up so have over priced stuff now so have gone back to Tesco/Asda etc.

 

[Caviesgalore (EPGPR)]

The pet department in our local garden centre is currently still open but they have lost all their rabbit breeders (which is good news) as they can't afford supplies and aren't making "enough money" selling to the trade. They also only have one piggy breeder currently supplying them - sadly a woman who lives just up the road from me and is now offloading her old "stock" to the pet shop. The downside is that they are actively looking for people with "surprise" litters and will take any babies under the age of 14 weeks

I have tried to convince them to do away with animal sales altogether and concentrate on all the other pet products, of which they offer a good range (including some reasonably sized hutches) but sadly they look at me as if I am mad to suggest such a thing

 

[sport_billy]

I don't go to pet shops if I can avoid it, all my piggy supplies are ordered online. Pet Supermarket and Vet Uk are the ones I use mainly as I buy in bulk.
Last time I went into a pet shop, I reported them to our local council as he had male/female piggies together and was investigated :x He barred me for telling him about the risk of pregnancies...rolleyes
Sadly, many small businesses are closing down and really do wish the Pratts@Home branches nationwide would vanish into thin air mallethead
I noticed last week that the little fruit n veg shop I use have put their prices up so have over priced stuff now so have gone back to Tesco/Asda etc.

Hello Tracey
There is a fantastic little pet shop on the warstones road by the cats protection shop. She is an independent who does not sell animals and is quite active in rescuing. She has hay, food , etc for good prices. Know it's the other side of town to you but if you run out and need something in an emergency she is well worth going to.
The hay is normally brilliant but have to admit we are buying French online at the mo because of the poor harvest.

 

[Guinea pig slave]

Hello Tracey
There is a fantastic little pet shop on the warstones road by the cats protection shop. She is an independent who does not sell animals and is quite active in rescuing. She has hay, food , etc for good prices. Know it's the other side of town to you but if you run out and need something in an emergency she is well worth going to.
The hay is normally brilliant but have to admit we are buying French online at the mo because of the poor harvest.

OH went into Critchley's in Bradmore last weekend to order something and came out beaming and clutching a big bag of hay...bless Going to have to stick my nose in there for a rootle Know the shop you mean and have been really disciplined with ordering after almost running out of hay last year as the order was delivered late. What supplier are you using if you don't mind me asking ? ")

 

[sport_billy]

Dustfreehay company, it's pricey but lasts ages.... We used to live by critchleys, they always did everything you wanted, good shop. Will be going back to the lady at warstones once the hay picks up.

 

[klee]

We don't have that many independent pet shops near us, there is one on the market which we get herbs and herbage from, from time to time. We have been buying hay from a local garden centre, its by comfy pets and looks and smells lush and green.
I tend to get harringtons pellets from asda, and the only time i go into a pet shop that sells animals other than fish is when I get excel pellets. Unfortunately that is p@h or another local garden centre x

 

[primrose]

I wish that I had a good independent near me. However, I have to say that I don't think I've ever been in a really excellent independent pet shop - they've always left me feeling mildly (or deeply) depressed. I don't know whether P@H is a move for the better or worse - I just know that I don't want to shop there. I buy my supplies from Kennelgate as they don't sell animals, they sometimes have 20% off everything weekends and I can park right outside. The only thing they don't sell is blackcurrant and oregano Excel, but I think I'm going to start ordering that online.

 

[yorkiegirl]

I buy megazorb and hay from my local equine feed place. Really good prices. They sell food too, but not had a good look as yet. I went into a local independent recently, and the only woodchip they had was in a very small packet and had lavender in it, so I went to Burnhill's instead. I need to make the effort to go there, it is 15 min drive away whereas P@H is 2 minutes away.

 

[Mother Hubbard]

Thanks everyone. I'm going to do my best to support a pet shop that's independent and meets with my ethics. I will be searching for the right shop, or eventually buying it all online.

 

[SDRB_TP]

I don't have any pet shops local to me that provide all of the things I need for my piggies so I have limited choice to either go to multiple individual pet shops frequently, or one trip to p@h.. it is a lot easier :S