The new owners of the Animal House are embracing their venture with open arms to open fins, fur and feathers!

Anthony and Dee are following a dream and purchased a pet shop called the Animal House. And an Animal House it is, with a wide range of birds and fish and even a few little furry, inquisitive mammals to complete the menagerie they have on offer.

The couple have been busy making the shop their own. Dee explains that they want the shop to be “a traditional pet shop, where you can get your pet and all the things you need to look after it. We are talking to lots of people - we really want to give people what they are looking for or what they need. We want to make sure all our pets get new homes really quickly.”

“The pet shop has been something I have always loved. My dad says that he could never get me out of the pet shop as a child,” says Dee, and then adds, ” Also, it's hard owning pets when you are in a rental, so this way I can have so many different animals. And I get to share them and make people happy!”

“I love my animals, always have, and I’m really excited about my new fish tanks that have just been ordered,” Anthony looks forward to his new fish display. They also now have around 70 birds, including a wide range of Australian birds and some unique international options, including two young and very affectionate macaws. 

“The macaws are just over three weeks old, and they arrived at the beginning of the week. They cannot leave the shop until they are 20 weeks old, so they will be here for a while,” says Anthony. They may become the two new stars of the shop, they are just so sweet as they lay back and enjoy getting a scratch and a pat."

Many of the birds are hand reared and with the interactive way the shop operates, at times, they get the run of the shop and are very happy to sit on any customer that happens to come past. 

“A bird will often choose its owner - it may fly right up to you, or it may fly away,” says Dee.

The Animal House prides itself on its inhabitants. “It isn’t easy having live stock in a pet shop. There are a lot of regulations and things we have to abide by, the cleaning, the upkeep, keeping them in a safe environment,” says Anthony and Dee adds, “and the care and maintenance - not overstocking, ensuring they are wormed and cared for. Things like that.”

Discussing advice for potential new pet owners, Anthony explains the responsibility of becoming a pet owner. “It isn’t an impulse buy. You need to think about what you want and how you can manage it. We are a place where you can come and see the animals and get to know them. Then browse around for what you need, and ask advice about what you want before you take a pet home”

Dee and Anthony have a list as long as a rat's tail of things they would like to do with the shop. Between arranging signage, getting to know the breeding community and organising and managing the shop, “We are averaging about 80 hour week!” says Anthony.

“Our long term goal is to get into reptiles. It’s a lot of licensing, and it will take some time - probably three years. But we would like to get a proper licence and be able to sell them in store. The closest place to us that sells them is on the Gold Coast, so we would like to offer something closer,” Dee says, and Anthony adds that anyone interested is free to come and discuss reptiles with them. “We have the food here for them already,” he adds, “many pets need meat for food - there is one lady that comes here to get meat for her ferret.”

“We are both brand new pet shop owners, but we’ve got two other businesses in town: a barber shop in South Lismore and a hairdressing salon in town.” Stepping into the business side of the new venture is not new to them.

Anthony works in the shop every day, and Dee joins him in the evenings after hairdressing to help clean the cages and feed the animals.

“On the weekends, I am travelling around sourcing animals for people - all over the place - up past Brisbane and I recently got some rabbits down at Coffs. People come and ask us about animals they want and we see what we can do.”

Anthony and Dee are fast making many contacts in the industry. “There have been so many people that have given us support - the old owners spent two weeks with us, the RSPCA lady who has helped us with regulations - the breeders, regular customers - so many lovely people that we have come to know. Even our landlord has been amazing as the number of pets at home has grown,” admits Dee.

They connected with a fellow from Moree who had three pet shops. “He has been so helpful; we speak to him regularly. He has helped with different aspects of the shop - he even made the large white finch enclosure for us. He has become a good friend,” says Anthony.

Anthony and Dee are devoted to the point that they are celebrating their wedding anniversary - on the day that we conduct the interview - in the shop with their charges. They are right where they want to be - amongst their new friends sharing lots of cuddles, pats and kisses. Time for their celebration has to wait until their attention is not in such widespread demand.

The Animal House is open 9am til 6pm Monday to Friday, 9 til 2pm on Saturday and 10 til 2pm on Sunday. Or if there is a request out of hours, you can always contact Anthony via their Facebook page, and they will do what they can to help out. They extend an open invitation for people to come and meet them and their animal friends.