By Mary O’KEEFE

September 27 is Neighborhood Pet Store Day and Andersen’s Pet Shop in  Montrose will be hosting a celebration for pets, pet parents and the community. 

“We will be having an event in our parking lot we are calling an ice cream social,” said Alyce Russell. She and husband Tom have owned Andersen’s for decades.

The event will be held on Sept. 27 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Andersen’s Pet Shop parking lot, 2218 Honolulu Ave. in Montrose. 
Russell added the event will have ice cream that is safe for dogs, vendors who will show off their products, prizes and a raffle. 

“There are two rescue [organizations] coming. Big Love Animal Rescue, which [handles] mixed breeds and West Coast Labrador Retriever Rescue,” she said. 

Also featured are games for dogs, a guest trainer and an animal communicator. 

Russell said the animal communicator is someone who says she can communicate with animals – a practice that has seen a growth in interest via social media over the past few years.

Andersen’s Pet Shop has a long history in the area. It opened in 1940 in La Cañada Flintridge, then was purchased by Clarence “Ducky” Nash – the voice of Disney’s Donald Duck in the 1930s. He owned Andersen’s in the 1950s and ’60s. 

“My parents bought [Andersen’s] in the 1960s. It was a pet shop and nursery then and was located on Verdugo [Road],” Russell said. “My husband and I bought [the store] from my parents in the 1970s and moved it here in the 2000s.”

Andersen’s Pet Shop is not just a neighborhood independent business; it is also a generational one. 

“This is our passion,” she said. “This is what we’ve done for generations.”

Russell said the importance of having a neighborhood store, as opposed to a big box business, is the relationship they have with their customers. The Russells have seen kids, parents and grandparents come to their store. They know them by their first names and know the names of their pets. 

Russell has worked with Pasadena Humane Society for years and has seen how people adopt animals without knowing exactly what they are opting in for – especially during the pandemic. 

“A lot of people adopt dogs and cats, then give them up,” Russell said. “Shelters are overrun; it is crazier than it has ever been.”

While she was at Pasadena Humane she set up a program of training new, current and experienced pet owners. She said the shelter saw a drop in the return of adoptions after owners took the class on which the program is based. She brought that experience to Andersen’s. 

People who are thinking about becoming a pet parent for anything from birds to dogs can come into Andersen’s and talk to Russell and her husband on how to prepare for their new family addition. She speaks honestly with those who want to become a pet parent, making sure they understand the responsibility, time and costs of taking on that new addition. An independent pet store with long time experience can offer a one-to-one conversation.

Independent businesses are working hard to stay in business. Online shopping, large corporations/big box stores and rising rents have created challenges for many independent businesses. In 2020, IndiePet was established by pet retailers who modeled their Neighborhood Pet Store Day after the event Small Business Saturday created by American Express in 2010. Its focus is to encourage people to shop locally and support independent pet businesses. 

But Andersen’s is not just a favorite of pet parents; it is also a favorite of pets.

“I can’t tell you how many times people will tell me they can’t walk down [Honolulu Avenue] without their dogs [pulling] them into the pet shop,” Russell said. “They come in and we have treats – and they get all the good smells.”