(Video by Cooper Slough)
By JAMES BELL
Hays Post
For many residents in Hays there has been a glaring omission in the local retail sector – a dedicated pet supply store. With the opening of Petsense in the Centennial Plaza, 2520 Vine St., pet owners will now be able to pick up all their necessary supplies in one location.
The location’s grand opening is Saturday, Aug. 20, at 9 a.m. with a Hays Area Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting.
Hays native Ashley Taylor is the general manager.
The relatively new chain focuses on being a part of the communities they serve and is pleased with the location in the center of Hays.
“It’s very much going to be a part of the community,” Taylor said. “They will see us being involved.”
After spending four weeks training in Ponca City, Okla., Taylor has been busy the last few weeks getting the store ready, building shelving and hiring staff. A corporate crew is helping prepare for the Saturday opening.
The Petsense chain is currently undergoing a rapid expansion under the leadership of industry insiders, according to Taylor.
“There have been corporate people on the Petco side and corporate people on the PetSmart side that have left and joined forces. So this is kind of like a mix of the two. I always say its the best of both worlds,” she added.
One of the most notable differences in the store is the procurement of animals. The chain focuses on adoption instead of breeding or sales.
“Unlike Petco and PetSmart, we are all about adoption and not breeding,” Taylor said. Petsense will have a few options for folks looking for a pet – or pet supplies unavailable elsewhere in Hays.
“We will actually have cats 24/7 in our store, in these nice large kennels as you walk in,” Taylor said.
Those cats can be adopted through a partnership with the Humane Society of the High Plains in Hays through the Petsense sav-a-pet program and arrived at the store on Friday afternoon. Even though dogs will not be housed in the store for adoption all the time, Taylor said local agencies are planning times for adoption to be available at the store.
“That is our unique program that we do with local humane societies,” she said. “We will also work with Western Plains Animal Refuge of Hays and we will let them come on weekends, normally Saturdays, to bring adoptable animals as well.”
Pets, of course, are welcome to be in the store with their owners.
The store will also be home to a grooming department, even as Taylor continues to search for a full-time groomer, noting the location will provide employment benefits to an experienced groomer.
Shoppers will find a large variety of pet supplies including bird, reptile, small animal, aquatics, dog and cat accessories, bedding and premium dog and cat food.
Taylor said live crickets will be sold at the store, a service found nowhere else in Hays.
Dog and cat food available at the location are also sold in a discount program.
“With our premium dog and cat food–select brands–you buy 10 bags, you get one free,” Taylor said. “Your dogs are going to keep eating so you might as well get a free bag out of it.”
Breed specific and specialty food for pets is available as well as best-selling brands.
Even with her limited time with the company, Taylor said her experiences have been entirely positive.
“The company is wonderful to work for,” Taylor said. “They are true animal lovers and advocates–all the way from part-time associates to the president of the company. Everyone puts their heart and soul into the treatment of animals.”
Taylor said she is both humbled and grateful they choose Hays as the second location in Kansas for the chain and is happy with the location. The other Kansas Petsense store is in Pittsburg.
“We’re very excited to bring business to the Plaza and be a part of the Centennial Plaza, but we are separated,” she pointed out.
Since the new store is pet-friendly, for safety concerns the door leading to the inside of the shopping plaza will not be open. It is a measure to keep animals from being able to enter the plaza’s interior.
Petsense is open 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays.
For more on the location visit their facebook page here.