The Best Pet Stores in Toronto

I'm not sure how Menagerie was left out of this! Aside from the great stuff they have for dogs and cats they're one of the few places that have a great selection of OTHER kinds of pets too! Everything from some amazing birds to snakes to tropical fish and its staffed by a great group of people.

ALSO...a lesser-known spot on Dovercourt near Hallam is Earth Echoes. Bearded dragons, all sorts of snakes, lizards, geckos and all the supplies you'll ever need backed by some amazing knowledge (tough to find) make this a great place.

I too echo my awe at the omission of Menagerie on Parliament. The people there actually care about the pets and special note to the bird section and that they do bird sit (for a fee).

Elizabeth, two things:

1. This list should be called "The Best Mutt Supply Shops in Toronto". This is a dog list. This is not a pet list. Pets are myriad. Surely you had a hamster growing up.

2. The omission of the Menagerie -- one of the best and most varied pet stores in the province -- is foolish, even given #1 above, as it's a fine place for mutt supplies as well.

Research, research, research.

Also, get a cat.

I too cannot believe that Menagerie was overlooked! Unless this was a list of best "Pet Boutiques". For my part, I couldn't care less if a place can bake a custom cake for my dog's birthday party. I do however, care that I'm paying $10 more for the came bag of dog food or that the staff there knows nothing other than the fact they carry Juicy Couture for chihuahuas...

I know I may be exaggerating a bit here but I've been to most of the places listed and still go religiously to Menagerie, even though it is out of my way, with the once in a blue moon stop at either Timmies or Small Wonders.

Menagerie may be a little cluttered inside and they may not carry the latest designer pet duds or pooch pastries. They do however carry an extensive selection of quality foods and treats, with a lot of healthy, organic, holistic, and biologically appropriate options. The staff is very friendly and knowledgeable and you instantly notice that are true animal lovers.

Services they offer above and beyond your normal pet store
(at a fee of course):
- Bird nail and wing clipping as well as boarding
- Reptile boarding
- Self serve dog/cat bathing station

Any true animal lover should at least check these guys out, It's well worth the detour! My pooch and I have been going there for over 4 years now and I don't foresee it changing any time soon.

let's say this ALL together now people:

"nominated by our readers"

It's so annoying how these threads are 95%: Why isn't such and such place on the list!

Short Answer: Cause you DIDN'T NOMINATE IT!

I guess not many orangutan owners chimed in to the poll!

Insight to take away from this is that dog owners spend a fortune on pet-lifestyle accessories ... cat owners do not.

the dog lounge rules!!!!

All these great pet shops need to carry www.foufoudog.com

We are a canadian company that specializes in designer doggy wear and accessories. We have given functional a new twist :)

Pls visit our site for more info or contact us at 416.628.1916

For the nearest retailer or if you are interested in selling our brand

Happy shopping :)

re:keven
Ok, so what does it matter if the list was nominated by readers, people can still comment on how they are surprised something didn't make it. It also gives people looking at the list more options of places...

http://files.myopera.com/Mysticmaster/blog/facepalm.jpg

i just wanted to thank everyone for our nomination and wanted to share my wife Melanie's and my sincere appreciation for our shop, PET POD being chosen for the list. i also want to put in a good word for menagerie, which is where i personally get my marine aquarium livestock and food for our pet ball python and leopard geckos. i see there are alot of menagerie fans posting replys to this article, add Melanie and i to the list! menagerie only stocks captive propigated corals and marine livestock and as anyone who has shopped at Pet Pod knows, we are all about being as environmentally consious as possible. we specialize in dog and cat accessories and select food and treats, and basic fish foods but i have no hesitation referring clients to menagerie for exotics and non cat/dog items, as well as to the above other shops and umbrella pets if we don't carry what you are looking for. my wife and i are pet lovers first and if we don't carry it, it won't hurt our business one bit to send you where we know you can get what you are looking for. plus it will mae your pets and you happy, and you just might come back to us next time you are looking for something else!

thanks again to everyone,

Mathew and Melanie, owners, Pet Pod

They post an entry calling for nominations, you just have to watch for it!

Shouldn't this be THE BEST CAT & DOG PET STORES?

I've got a rabbit, and unfortunately I have to go the suburbs to get my treats for my pet!

What is the process to nominate a particular business on this website?

Mathew, I'll definitely be checking out PetPod soon, you guys sound great!

No amount of "web" design can fix people refusing to read instructions.

@whateves, i wasn't hijacking the thread at all. people were commenting that all the above shops only sold cat and dog items and i was only saying that we could special order for people looking for supplies for other animals. I was also praising menagerie, as were a lot of other posters for the great job they do and for the fact that they sell supplies for other animals, not just cats and dogs. my original post was to thank everyone who voted and to also support the other shops that were mentioned along with a few that were not. I don't see how praising other shops and referring others to them is advertising my business, being on the list is advertising enough for me. Sorry about the spelling errors, i don't have spell check on my work computer. thank you again to all who have supported us, we truely appreciate it!

@Keven

Where the heck do we nominate or vote on these Best Of poll???

I've scoured the website and found nothing, is it hidden and only available to certain user???

It sounds like some of you either work or own Menagerie,...or you're just some weird and scary person that shops there,...

Your passionate comments may hurt the image of Menagerie. Look above,...now you have activists getting involved, making Menagerie look even worse, since they supports guinea-mill's that breed these animals in terrible conditions.

Next time, blogto may have an extra category. Best Live Pet and Supply Shop in Toronto. All the haters of nice pet shops can all vote then.

BTW, if you're so hardcore about getting your votes in,...maybe you should read the blog more often, so that you don't miss a thing.

Congratulations to Helmutt's for making the list. By far the best Pet Supply shop in west Toronto.

I love The Bone House they have cozy beds, healthy food, yummy treats, and the coolest toys. I like the eco friendly canadian made concept as well. The prices are the best in the city so my human loves it too.


Tega

I disagree. I shop at the Bark & Fitz in Bloor West Village. The staff are super knowledgeable not to mention extremely friendly. Bark & Fitz is Canadian, with three stores in different parts of the city. And they sell plenty of Canadian products. My dog's harness is made by Smoochy Poochie, which is an independent Canadian maker (I think it's one woman that makes them). I know they have very strict guidelines as to what time of food they'll sell, (ie. nothing with corn, wheat, gluten, by-products, etc). And the food I buy (Orijen) is also Canadian. When I first got a dog, I was clueless and would have bought anything. But the owner of the Bark & Fitz actually talked me out of buying stuff I didn't need. She wasn't in for a quick buck, and has kept me as a loyal customer because of it.

Does someone knows of good place for rabbit treats? :)
Thank you!
And yes, I totally agree with Pascale, it is a Pet Boutiques list for dog owners.

First, let me say thanks to all who voted for us...it's nice to see our name in print! No doubt the majority of our business is for our four-legged furries, but we've always made sure to have supplies for birds, fish and small animals too. And if it's not on the shelf, and we can lay our hands on it, we'll get it in for you. Oxbow is an excellent brand, and I'm happy to say it's our main one for small animal supply. Cheers all! and Thanks again!
BTW...I can't believe no one nominated Menagerie either! Excellent shop, none the less!

I agree with some of what Barry has said. First of all, it is a Canadian franchise. However, there's allot that is NOT Canadian with the exception of Smoochy Poochy. I have shopped in all 3 locations, Yonge, Bloor West and The Beach. And let me tell you..........
Bloor West - Absolutely Fabulous, caring, friendly, knowledgeable staff. Nothing negative to say about them.

Yonge - So-so on the staff BUT the prices are wayyyy cheaper than the other 2 locations. I know, I have shopped around between all three to get the better deal. The beach location is the highest.

The Beach - The last time I was there, I asked a staff member about the food (actually I've been told she's the new manager - about a year) and she pulled a bag of food and read it to me. Very knowledgeable, indeed, NOT (I can read the bag myself, thank you very much). I also overheard her say to one of her staff that, "LESS TALK AND MORE SALES - YOU DON'T SELL - WE DON'T MAKE MONEY - YOU DON'T GET PAID". Maybe, that's the attitude that Tate has witness in order to have said that they only care about profit. I've been told that the beaches community is not very fond of that store's new management (I have allot of friends there). I myself, live in the Queens Quay area and work in the retail industry. So, I have to travel to buy the goods. So, I go where the staff is fabulous and the price is low and most of all where the staff and the clients are treated with respect and dignity. And that will NOT BE THE BEACH LOCATION OF BARK AND FITZ.

There's a new store in The Beach, TAILS, I've been to it, it carries everything and it's locally owned by a well educated owner, Dianne. Check it out people, i think you'll like it.

Thanks for the mention, Nena. We are an independent pet store and try our hardest to stock only the best lines for all animals. The small animals, birds, reptiles and fish that we carry are very well looked after and we make every effort to make sure they all end up at the best homes. In regards to guinea pigs, we love the little furballs and would never let them live alone or sell them to someone with a "throwaway" mentality. We also carry the full-line of Oxbow for those fans!

@James. The Menagerie gets 99% of their GP's from customers who've had litters of them and trade them for supplies. We do not buy guinea pigs from suppliers that mass produce animals. We also rarely have any in store. We also sell Oxbow products as well as Cavi Nature line from Europe which most stores haven't even heard of. Have you actually talked to anyone from the Menagerie about the animals we sell? Assuming a pet shop gets it's animals from dubious sources just because they have a picture on their website is pretty short sighted. The Menagerie probably refuses more sales of small animals, birds, reptiles and even fish then we sell if we feel the persons interested are not willing to provide proper care.

thanks to all the nice comments from everyone. We have a lot of awesome customers many of whom have been coming for decades and that's the only poll that matters to us!

Support your local independent pet supply shop!

Are there any good aquarium supply stores in the city?

We love Cosmopawlitan! First off, the owner and staff are very knowledgeable and friendly! They'll do anything within their power to special order products that you need. Second, they have some of the cutest cat and dog outfits/beds etc. around. Third, they're fairly priced and in a great and convenient location (lots of dog walking in our area) :) If you're in the area, you should definitely drop by!

When you own or start a franchise business, you’re in business for yourself, but not by yourself. And when you use www.FranchiseExpo.com, you’re searching the leading franchise opportunities directory.

AJ said: "At My Pet Boutique, even the 'healthy snacks' aren't even the best on the market, to name a few of the differences I see."

That reminds of Noah's "health" food store. They used to have "Dutch stroopwafels". They sure are delicious, but how ruthlessly unscrupulous does one have to be to call them a "health food"?

The hatred spouted against stores that sell animals is based on the pet overpopulation problem.

Animal shelters and rescue groups throughout the GTA are literally stocked full of unwanted pets. A vast amount of these pets are killed because there's not enough room for them (most shelters are not "no-kill").

Meanwhile, breeders keep pumping out more pets, placing them in pet stores, and a significant percentage of them end up killed at a shelter.

If pet stores stopped selling pets, the breeding industry would take a huge hit, and more and more people would go to shelters for their pets. The overpopulation crisis would definitely improve.

The Menagerie is great for supplies, but next time you're in the market for a hamster, please: Don't Shop! Adopt! (Yes, the THS does have hamsters.)

That hatred is directed at the wrong people. Cars kill thousands of people every year, but we don't spout hatred at the manufacturers. Likewise, it is not the store's fault that some people are irresponsible.

"No-Kill" sounds great, but isn't, and makes rather little sense. Many, if not most, pets are carnivores. In order to feed them meat, animals must be killed. There are thousands of unwanted animals in shelters. Might just as well feed them to the carnivores rather than breed new animals as feeders.

The THS also has snakes. Feed the hamsters, mice, rats, guinea pigs to them. What sense does it make to keep them in an overpopulated shelter while at the same time buying feeder animals to feed these snakes? None.

Not quite. The store is simply doing what stores are supposed to do: sell. It is not the store's fault when a customer misuses or abuses what he or she bought, regardless of what it is.

I got obese because I love cheese: brie, camembert, port salut, gouda, cheddar, goat cheese, roquefort, stilton... That is not the store's fault. It is mine.

As I said, most of our pets are carnivores. Dogs are meateaters, so are cats. Together, they are the vast majority of pets. But hamsters, rats and mice eat meat as do many other rodents. Snakes may be a much smaller category, but most of them are meat eaters.

In the case of snakes, the no-kill standpoint is about as ridiculous as it gets. If THS has snakes, and it has hamsters, rats, mice, guinea pigs, rabbits and other animals up for adoption while it is feeding the snakes feeder rodents, there is some serious disconnect there.

"I'm sure any shelter that keeps them is feeding them properly" is about as naive as it gets. The THS got in trouble precisely because it was not treating its animals properly.

No one is arguing that there are no irresponsible pet owners. But blaming the stores instead of these owners, makes no sense, and is of a nature of making the thinking part of the population turn away in disgust from shelters and animal protection agencies.

While it might be the customers fault for buying a pet that they later would rather discard then take care of, it's not the fault of the living, breathing pet that will now have to be killed to make up for the customer's bad judgement.

Likewise, if a pet store is selling pets (9/10 times from pet mills, which causes a HOST of other problems), knowing that there is a pet over-population and that there is a 80% chance of euthanization for the animal in the near future that is irresponsible on the part of the pet store.

Supply and demand is critical here. There is a HUGE supply and little demand. Pet stores are adding more supply into the mix for no other reason than their bottom line. If you don't see a problem with that, you're probabaly not an animal lover and therefore I'm unsure why you would even bother reading comments in an article about pet stores.

"What sense does it make to keep them in an overpopulated shelter while at the same time buying feeder animals to feed these snakes?"

What part of the name Toronto "HUMANE" Society are you having a problem grasping exactly?

The comment I made to Theresa is the answer.

As for the 90%, on what data is this based? I'd like to study that data, as this subject is of very high interest to me. Thank you for providing a reference.

"ethical contradiction/hypocrisy here"

Look up the word: "Domestication". That may be a good start for you.

I don't think so. Hamsters used as feeders are with near-certainty just as domesticated as the ones that are not. The reason for this is that all hamsters on this continent are almost certainly all coming from the same original nest, something which has long been suspected, but which now seems to be confirmed by genetic testing as well.

Furthermore: I would submit that even if there were a difference between domesticated and non-domesticated hamsters, I fail to see why it would be more ethical to keep the domesticated one unloved in a cage on a shelf while happily feeding the non-domesticated one to, say, a snake, the way nature intented (sort of, since nature has obviously no "intentions").

I also like to emphasize that this issue is not a trivial one. I am limiting myself to the hamster example for simplicity and brevity, but it is potentially just as applicable to any other animal:

In Korea, people will happily eat dogs, something most westerners balk at. In Europe, many people have no qualms about eating horses and rabbits, something many Americans would not accept. In South America, many people love eating guinea pigs, something most westerners will condemn...

I submit that these are not ethical issues per se, but cultural issues, and that "humaneness" is therefore not part of the equation, even if it is presented as such.

I hope you realize that I am not trying to "win" some type of debate here. I am merely pointing out that, as most things in life, there are issues to be considered here that are usually glossed over because the public tends not to want to be bothered with anything more complicated than with knowing who are the goodies and who are the baddies. And it's just not that simple. Simple questions with straightforward answers tend to quickly become a lot less comfortable when seen in a greater context.

The issues of suffering and happiness are important, at least to me. And it is very much in this context that I am talking. It is too easy to condemn another point of view when we ourselves happily and unquestioningly give in to our favourite taboos. It is also profoundly dishonest.

To give one example: my hamster is -at this very instant- enjoying a chicken bone. Many self-proclaimed hamster lovers have condemned me for that. However, reality is that hamsters are not vegans. They love meat, just like rats. When he is enjoying his chicken, you can just see how happy he is. On the other hand, I realize that the chicken would likely have a slightly different opinion here.

In short: I have very little respect for shelters who proudly proclaim that they are "no-kill" when it is obvious that this is merely a marketing gimmick, and not the result of seriously considering what is best for the animals, in spite of what they tend to claim. It's application of the no-kill policy is one of the things that got the THS in trouble, by the way. For good reason.

Hi,

Further to the discussion on adopting pets, here is a great little site if you want to adopt or surrender a Turtle:

http://www.littleresq.net

Cheers.