Hey everyone, just wanted to let you know that we’re still working our tails off to get things sorted out. We are officially closed for the time being but Jason is working on getting a new store open and ready to go as soon as possible. We’re hoping to have limited appointments available to pick up necessities by special order soon and will keep you posted when that is an option.

I know the last few weeks have been confusing and I am so sorry for that. A lot of things happened very rapidly that were out of our control and now we’re trying to make the best decisions about reopening.

Many of you have asked where you can find things while we’re closed and I’m sorry to say that there really isn’t any other store that sells many of the items we carried. For feeders I would suggest checking out Midway Fish & Pets in Kent or Tropical Fish World in Sumner.

Thank you so much to everyone who came out and helped pack and clean, you guys were amazing! Be sure to follow us on facebook for the most current updates! Hopefully we’ll have news sooner rather than later!

Donations Welcome

Many people have suggested that we set up a paypal account to accept donations. If you feel moved to do so, you can click here to be taken to a paypal donation page. Even if we aren’t able to raise enough money to keep the shop open, any funds raised will go towards helping us continue to care for the critters and find them permanent homes. If you have questions or suggestions, please emails us at: info @ thewildsidepetstore.com (all one word!)

Starting today ALL MERCHANDISE AND CRITTERS (excluding feeder items) are 15% OFF. If you don’t want to lose us, we need your support!

Anyone with unused punch cards may redeem them for store credit and if you have credit or gift certificates we encourage you to come in and use them now. We don’t know how much time we have left and we don’t want to leave anyone hanging.

Dear Friends

Dear Friends,

As the end of January approaches we are faced with the realization that we are running out of time to catch up on the debt that was incurred during our move and temporary closure. Although sales have been steady and the majority of our clients have found us and are happy with our new location, we aren’t bringing in enough revenue to make up for what was lost. Although we have put all of our blood, sweat and tears LITERALLY for the last decade into this shop, with the management team often working 50 – 60 hours a week and 6 day work weeks, we just haven’t been able to bring in the inventory to generate the sales needed to sustain our expenses AND catch up. We have a very limited time to make a few very large tax payments or we will be forced to shut our doors permanently.

Through the end of the month we will be exploring a number of different options to keep the doors open because we know that many of the items we offer can’t be easily obtained elsewhere. We’ll be marking most of our inventory down in an effort to generate the funds needed to buy us more time to get back on our feet as well as explore the possibility of adding a partner, investors or even selling to new owners.

Over the last 10 years we have celebrated the birth of 3 of our own children, and we’ve seen clients and Team Members grown up and start their own families. We’ve been there for new beginnings as well as endings. Helped thousands of people choose the right pets for their families and supported them if things didn’t always work out. We’ve given advice when going to the vet wasn’t an option and taken in critters that needed TLC. We’ve rescued dying dogs from dumpsters in December, animals that were left in apartments and abandoned homes, and even taken in cats that found us on their own (and walked right in the front door). We’ve occasionally had to make the terrible decision to not allow people to adopt an animal when we didn’t feel it would be a safe environment and celebrated when we knew without a doubt that we’d found a fantastic home.

It’s easy to forget that businesses aren’t all owned by big corporations with lots of financial assistance and at the end of the day, we’re just people like you. We had a desire to help other people and for 10 years I think we’ve done a pretty ok job of it. We made mistakes along the way but always tried to put the critters first in every decision. To say that it’s been a labor of love is an understatement. We’ve always been happy to give free advice, assessments and consultations but unfortunately “free” doesn’t pay the bills. Our overhead expenses are higher than other retailers because our inventory consumes inventory and the costs of maintaining the critters is not cheap. The only way for us to cover our expenses is to sell merchandise. We have no way to recover when a customer comes to us for help/information then chooses to go elsewhere for their purchases. We had hoped that 2013 would be a year of new beginnings but we were faced with one unexpected hurtle after another (delays, government shut downs and auto accidents, just to name a few!) and we know that we’re not going to be able to keep up.

Please come in and pick up what you can or make a donation while we’re still here. And if you or anyone you know is interested in investing in a little family-run exotic pet shop, we might want to talk to them.  Nothing has been finalized yet but we’ll do our best to keep you all updated as decisions are made.

Sincerely,                                                                                                                                                             The WildSide Team

Finally! New Puppy Pictures!

We’ve finally had the chance to take some updated pictures of the puppies that are currently available for adoption! Click here to see all the pictures!

Italian Greyhounds

Guinea Pigs on Sale!

We have a handful of young adult Guinea Pigs available for adoption right now for a reduced fee of just $14.99! If you shop around, you might be surprised to know that the adoption fee for our adult Guinea Pigs is regularly HALF of what the big box stores charge, even when they’re not on sale!

Guinea Pigs on Sale!

Holiday hours: today (Christmas Eve) 10-4 *please come in early if you’re picking up a critter so we have plenty of time to help you!

We will be closed Christmas Day and resume normal hours on the 26th.

Tuesday the 31st 10-7,

Wednesday the 1st 11-8.

No matter what holidays you celebrate this time of year, we hope they’re filed with happiness and love.

Let us help!

Just a quick reminder that making the decision to add a new member to the family is one that should never be taken lightly. We always strive to help people make the best decisions regarding pet adoptions and encourage you to do lots of research, ask lots of questions and let us help you find the critter that is going to fit the best into your family. Just like there is no “perfect” breed of dog, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer to “does this make a good pet.”

 

If you haven’t already “liked” our Facebook page, please consider doing so! We regularly post updates on new critters, product shipments, specials, etc. It’s the best way to stay up-to-date on what’s happening at the shop!

Black Friday & Small Business Saturday Specials

Here are a couple of the specials we’ll be running this weekend to celebrate Black Friday & Small Business Saturday:

• $100 or more discounts on Puppies
• Discounted Adoption Fees on nearly all Animals
• Free Boarding with Christmas Eve Pick Up on Critters
• Additional Discounts on customized Starter Kits & Set Ups – we’ll help you put together the perfect set up for YOUR new critter – no “one size (doesn’t) fit all” starter kits here!
• $5.00 Bonus Certificate with $25.00 Gift Certificate Purchases
• AND MORE!!

Thanksgiving, Black Friday & Small Business Saturday

Just a reminder that we will be closed this Thursday, November 28th to allow our Team Members to celebrate Thanksgiving with their families. We will be open regular hours on Friday, November 29th with lots of fun specials for Black Friday and Small Business Saturday!