A short vacation

We just wanted to let you all know that we will going on a little vacation for a few days.
We'll have some modified store hours for the time between July 31st - August 6th.

Here they are:

Mon. July 31 - CLOSED

Tues. Aug. 1 - CLOSED

Wed. Aug. 2 - CLOSED

Thurs. Aug. - 3:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Fri. Aug. 4 - 3:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Sat. Aug. 5 - 10:00 am - 6:00 pm

Sun. Aug. 6 - 12:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Mon. Aug. 7 - CLOSED

We'll resume regular store hours on Tuesday, Aug. 8th.

Molly and Robbie will be at the store and should be able to help you with most anything.

Thanks as always for your continued support and we'll see you when we get back.

Seymour is one of the pups we'll be visiting on our vacation.

A big thanks to all of you!

We want to THANK YOU all for voting for us in the CBS4 Boston A List contest. Many, many thanks to everyone that took the time to vote and many thanks as well for all the kind words you left us on our testimonial page.

Thanks as well for voting us #1 Choice for Pet Stores in the Roslindale/West Roxbury area in the annual Readers' Choice Awards sponsored by the Community Newspapers Company.

We really appreciate your patronage and promise to keep looking for ways to keep your pets happy and healthy in as natural a way as possible.

Mary, Marley, and Topo thank you too.

Topo Giogio update

A brief Topo the Cat update for you...yesterday, our pals Marybeth and Joanne came in with their new puppy Kevin, an adorable and feisty 12 week old Cairn Terrier. Kevin was enjoying the place when Topo came up from the basement and noticed a puppy in the house.
Immediately, Topo trotted over to him and placed him in a headlock. Kevin was clearly confused for a second or two and then quickly turned the tables on Topo. The two went rolling off in a puppy-kitty heap up and down the length of the store. This sometimes alarming display went on for several minutes until Kevin chased Topo under one of the cat food shelves. Kevin was disappointed that playtime was over. Topo was exhausted.
We're sorry that we didn't have any cameras around to grab some action shots of the brawl, but we'd like to invite Kevin back for a grudge re - match. Topo is already in training.

This vaccination thing

So this is the time of year that we see a large number of puppies and kittens. Lots of adorable little ones are coming into the store and we are so happy to see all of them...the cuteness factor has been cranked up so much that it is almost too much to take.
Many new owners are coming in with lots of questions about how best to care for their new pets and we are delighted to help in any way we can. There is though, one particular topic we'd like ALL pet owners to think about. That is how frequently you are going to vaccinate your pet.
Typically, yearly vaccinations have been recommended for cats and dogs but now the necessity of this practice is being questioned. Indeed, yearly vaccinations may in fact be doing more harm than good. Illness and allergic reaction can occur in otherwise healthy pets after a vaccination, especially for older pets or those with an already compromised immune system (i.e. many, if not most pets taken from "stress" situations like a shelter).
We're going to recommend that you visit a couple of Web sites that spend quite a bit of time discussing the vaccination debate. One of those sites is Shirley's Wellness Cafe and the other is Jeane's Holistics
You don't have to believe or agree with any or all of the information that is presented in these forums, but we ask that you educate yourselves to the choices around vaccinating and to the alternatives to vaccinating, such as using homeopathic nosodes.
Please BE AWARE of what your choices are and don't just blindly do what your vet (or doctor) tells you to do unless you thoroughly understand it and are comfortable with it. We all want our animal pals to live a good, long, healthy life and we're responsible for making decisions about their care. Let's try to make the best, most informed decisions we can make for them.