Store closing | Chain helped find homes for 117 cats in region

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By KYLE MULLIN
mullin.kyle@dailygleaner.com

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Lori Boone stepped into Petcetera on Wednesday afternoon looking for a nylon dog bone for Reggie, her big black Staffordshire bull terrier that looks an awful lot like a lab.

But the store was out of stock, and what she found instead was news that not only was the Fredericton store closing, but all 45 locations coast to coast.

"I'm sad to see it go, it's a good store," she said after hearing about the retailer's going out of business sale that was announced Wednesday afternoon.

"They don't sell dogs, they sell things for them rather than trying to make a profit off them."

While the retailer sold birds, hamsters, mice and other small animals, Boone said she liked its focus on accessories for larger pets.

She said that philosophy runs deeper than just offering pet food and toys. Boone admired the chain's P.A.W.S. (Petcetera Animal Welfare Society) adoption program. Its first adoption centre opened in November 1997, and by 2008, it had found homes for more than 53,000 cats and dogs along with raising more than $5.5 million for animal welfare.

That program was founded soon after the chain first opened its doors with a store in Vancouver in 1997.

Jen Eastwood, shelter co-ordinator for the Fredericton SPCA, said Petcetera was a huge asset as a satellite adoption centre. The store found homes for 117 SPCA cats and kittens since opening its doors in Fredericton in September.

"It's a monumental loss," she said, adding she wished more companies would take on what she sees as the simple task of leaving a pen with a few kittens in a store so customers can help find a home.

"A lot of people come to the shelter and are overwhelmed. They see it as a sad place because of how the pets came to us, and because they can't save them all,'' said Eastwood. "But a few kittens in a retail environment like Petcetera makes them more comfortable, they feel a little less helpless when helping them."

Petcetera management, at both the local and national level, declined to comment. The going out of business sale is expected to last up to 10 weeks, but some stores will likely close sooner.

The chain's "for the love of your pet mantra,'' along with founder and president Dan Urbani's signature colour co-ordinated layout for products in each location, was designed to help the company stand out as a pet specialty supply retailer.

But the recession hit the chain hard. On June 16, it filed for bankruptcy. PricewaterhouseCoopers Inc. was appointed as both trustee and receiver manager.

The shelters and non-profit societies that provided animals to Petcetera to care for while awaiting adoption were asked to take them back into their custody.

At the time, the retailer employed about 700 people in Canada. They were rehired by the receiver manager to support liquidation of the company's inventory over the summer.

But on Wednesday, the chain announced all of its locations would be shutting down following the sale.