Animart Pet Store

Okay, so I got a fish tank for Christmas and went to stock it with some ghost shrimp. I already had a snail, and a betta, and this obviously clueless employee, with the worst kept hair I have ever seen, and some of the worst B. O, told me I could have 6 shrimp in my tank. I was new, so I figured it was fine. But he takes me over to the fish tank with the shrimp, and it is AWFUL. There were 10 or so live ones, and the other 100 were dead. Pink and rotting shrimp. I have visited that tank to keep an eye on it, and every time I go there, it’s FULL of dead shrimp.
And the mystery snail tank makes me so sad. There are maybe 20 snails in 15 gallons, with cracked, broken shells, and are barely moving from poor care. I have 2 snails that are CONSTANTLY up and around, with no cracks in their shells after maybe a week of cuttlebone and some space. Both snails I purchased from animart and their shells were in awful condition. Even now, one has a hole from a small crack that could not heal due to last of calcium. Those snails are doing terribly, and it makes me angry and sad that they’re treated so poorly.
Also, some more silk aquarium plants would be nice, since the cheap plastic ones they have are gross. And fish tank dividers. The second Animart starts selling fish tank dividers, I will go no where else, because nobody sells good ones.

We had a birthday party here today. Our «host» Hank, was friendly, funny, and knew quite a bit about the animals he showed off to the 20 plus kids we had. He was very interactive and eve taught the kids a fun game to play. The place is always clean when I’ve been there and the animals seem in good health. My dog actually came from there 5 years ago. Back to the party: it was directed nicely without being too strict for the kids and still respecting the animals needs. The best was the puppy time we got! Even the parents were happy to snuggle the puppies. It was great to have a private room and feel free to take our time with the animals and ask our questions about them. Well priced for a fun experience and a unique birthday experience for our girls.

Most exhausting pet purchase ever. Let’s not even begin to talk about their failure to communicate.

My husband and I got our kitten (Lola) at Animart a few months ago. We had a wonderful experience at this store and will definitely be back for food and litter soon. Both the customer service and kitten selection were great! The women who helped us out answered all of our questions and spent time with us as we got to know Lola. She even walked us around the store and gave us advice as to which products to purchase for our brand new kitten. Thanks for all of your help Animart.

We have family in Madison and visit often, so when we needed to get our dog a Christmas Eve bath, I was excited to see that Madison had a few «self wash» options. We selected Animart just because it came up first in search. Unfortunately, Animart’s facilities were horrible– dirty, smelly and definitely unhygienic. If we had not paid in advance, we would have left for sure. For $ 15 (which you have to pay in advance of the dog wash), you get a prison-​like tub area, filthy towels that should be thrown away, filthy, used brushes and horrible soaps. Also, no aprons or any assistance of any kind. I guess we’re spoiled by our experiences with self-​dog-​washes in Chicago! Fortunately, we had our own shampoo and brushes and towels and we got the job done there but I would never go back. The people working there were not educated and pretty unhelpful and it seems like they actually SELL dogs and cats at this place! Where do they come from? Puppy mills? They had this gated area at the center of the store that held a couple puppies– no one was supervising them. Then there were poor cats in small cages that were clearly unhappy. The only upside to this place is that they do sell some natural dog treats and maybe food (I didn’t look at the food). Overall, it’s quite a drive to a weird part of town for a subpar experience. We won’t be back.

They did a very good job taking care of a customer issue I had.
Thanks

It has been a long time since I’ve had to care for a kitten and I got one that was a little younger than I thought. I thought I knew going in what I needed and wanted, but was overwhelmed by the amount of options and new products on the market. Dena was absolutely awesome. She answered all my questions and offered more information that I wouldn’t have thought of. I’ve never had a «go-​to» pet store I exclusively used, but after today I won’t go anywhere else. Thank you Animart and especially Dena! You’re incredible!

I went here the other day to get a catnip banana for my cat and while I was there I looked at the kittens. I was horrified to see that all but two of them had been declawed! It’s a cruel terrible practice that maims the creatures for the rest of their lives and I can’t believe any place that claims to love animals would do this, so in the future I will be taking my business to a company whose values are more in line with my own.

I don’t ever write reviews, but after my experience with Animart, I had to let everyone know. I recently went there to learn about fish and set up my own tank. The day I went in, I was talking with an employee. I told her that I had never had a fish tank before, that I knew nothing about it and had no supplies for it. I told her the kind of fish that I wanted and asked what all I needed to know. She got me my fish, showed me a ten gallon tank, and grabbed me a filter and some food. She told me that I did not need anything else to set up my tank and that I was good to go.
I got home to find out that it was DEFINITELY not everything I needed to set up my tank, not to mention the fact that you are supposed to have your tank set up AT LEAST three days before you put your fish in the tank, so she shouldn’t have even sold me the fish and the tank in the same day.
Also, the fish she sold me were tropical fish. They have to have a heater in the water to make it warmer, which she never mentioned to me. My dad went back to Animart with me. We talked with a manager that worked in the fish department. It turned out I needed another fifty dollars of supplies to ready my fish tank, and it turns out that they had a starter pack for fifty dollars that had everything I needed in it that she never even bothered to show me.
Luckily, the manager let me exchange my stuff for the starter pack and refunded my fish. I set up my new tank. After about a week, I went back to Animart and got my fish. All but one died the next day. Animart says that they have a two day guarantee on fish. Rather than refunding my fish, they gave me a fish credit that can only be used on fish. So now, I have this little piece of paper that I can’t lose track of or I’m out my money. Then, my last fish died just outside of the 48 hour guarantee, so there’s «nothing» they could do about it. I asked an employee if I should clean my tank before putting new fish in. They told me to do a fifty percent water change.
Before doing this, because of my displeasure with Animart, I decided to call Petsmart. I talked to a very helpful employee at Petsmart that told me NOT to do the water change because all water has to go through its nitrogen cycle. He told me to bring in my water to get PH tested before touching my tank. It turns out that my tank water was find and that I was able to put new fish in it. I talked to him about the kind of fish that I had before. I found out that they are actually part salt water fish and part freshwater fish. They live right where the water meets. He told me that it was likely that my fish died because the employee at Animart sold me no salt for them. I was able to get some new fish that day luckily. It’s about three weeks later and my fish from Petsmart are doing great. I go in every once in a while my water tested to make sure the cycle is going properly. The associate I worked with the first day remembers me every time I go in and he is always super helpful and answers any questions I have.
I pretty much heard very different information from the Petsmart employee than I heard from the Animart employees (plural, I had troubles with MULTIPLE people). I have had nothing but problems working with Animart and they couldn’t even refund my fish so I still have this stupid fish credit that I don’t even want to use because of my bad experience.
Basically, I would highly recommend NOT going to Animart for any of your pet needs. And I’m not just saying that. I have shopped at Animart for years. I got all of my previous pets from there, but it seems they must have changed over the years because I got absolutely no help and a bunch of misinformation. GO TO PETSMART, PEOPLE.

Not commenting on cats or dogs, as those aren’t what I deal with. But if you want opinions on the other departments, here is goes.
Bird department: I have adopted two baby parrotlets from them, they are just as cuddly and attention seeking as my Triton Cockatoo. I also adopted a rescued Timneh grey from them. Prices on livestock in this department are quite fair. Cages are always clean, and there are enough toys for the birds to play with. Occasionally some of the cages may look a little cramped, but keep in mind, they find new homes for them rather quickly. As far as products, they have what I need, and prices are also fair. One complaint, is that I am frequently looking for something new toy wise, something that makes me go «my fids would love this new toy» — I have already purchased many of the toys they have in stock, and know which ones my birds like, and don’t like. I rotate toys regularly, so something different would be great. I will say as far as treats, they are the least expensive in town (giving away my secret place for avicakes).
Reptile Department: One of two pet stores in town that will actually feed greens (collard, turnip, etc) to the animals that require veg, rather than feeding some cheap frozen veg mix with no nutritional value. They get high points from me on this aspect. The livestock is healthy, bright eyes and body colors that pop (if it should). Staff is knowledgeable about them as well, and can point you in the right direction to get you started.
Fish department: Chris is stellar in his knowledge of this department, and has been with them for quite some time. They were recently working on some remodeling in the department, it should be completed by now, and I am excited to go check out the new look. Tanks are clean, fish are healthy. And they have plenty of products in the department as well. My one complaint is that there are only a few employees that know their stuff in this department. To them kudos! To the rest of you… start studying!
Small Animal department: just gonna say it, people it’s small animals, they ain’t always gonna smell pretty no matter how hard you try. I can say the livestock is healthy, bought from local breeders. And they always have lots of cute furry little critter for you to choose from. Staff is extremely knowledgeable about this department, of course who hasn’t had a small animal growing up? And they have a large assortment of products available for your new furry critter!
I have read negative posts about having teenagers working there. Cmon people this is retail — everyone has to start somewhere. So long as you strive to do your best, and make sure your customers are happy, you have succeeded at your chosen job. I know whenever I leave I am extremely glad I went there. The staff and management are always cheery, and that just puts me in a better mood.
I will continue to shop here, and to recommend them to everyone I know.

This store is absolutely horrible in my opinion. Many of the products on the shelves are dusty, they hire kids who don’t seem to care, and the animals never seem well taken care of. We have seen feces on the floor, doors that look underweight, dogs being dropped by people because no one is supervising them, and dogs who were actually eating the litter from their litter boxes. I would never buy any products here let alone an animal. The place is just dirty and stinky.

I enjoyed this pet store until I saw the Yellow Tang I the aquarium area. There is a significant issue with Yellow Tang poaching, and the survival of these fish after being poached is incredibly low.
Encourage this store to cease carrying this species.

I never give ratings this low, but it is well deserved here. I went to Animart for the second time to today and felt so strongly about it that I am leaving this review.
When you first walk into Animart, you will definitely get a sense of the store being dirty. It is dingy and smelly, which is like, ok, it is a pet store. If this was all that was wrong though, I wouldn’t give it one star.
The issue begins to appear as you make your way through the store. It is clearly not cleaned and cared for. Items on the shelf are dusty and covered in cobwebs. When it comes to the animals, it’s not much better. I visited the fish department to look for fish, and I was pretty much horrified. Almost every tank had at least one dead fish in it. Why doesn’t someone go around to clean up and care for the fish?
Other animals don’t look much better. The hermit crab habitat is horrifying. The first time I didn’t see a single living crab. This is probably because they are living in a tank with wood shavings. If anyone had bothered to research the proper care for these animals, they would realize that they need a soft digging substrate for molting purposes. They are all also in painted shells, which often causes deaths in these crabs. It was horrible to see the way the different pets were living here at Animart. It is so sad when a pet store doesn’t take the time to research their animals.
While I was debating buying fish, I waited for about 40 minutes for someone to come around. Eventually, I just left. I understand it’s a busy time of year but it got excessive. If they had a person dedicated to fish care, this wouldn’t have happened and I probably wouldn’t have seen dead fish in every tank.
Overall, avoid this store. Clearly, Animart (at least this location) doesn’t care about their animals or their customers.

TODAY, I received another email from Unilocal stating my review was once again being removed because it was based on «hear say.» Again, I will reiterate that my review is based on my own in person interactions with the staff and my own visits to the store. I have been in the store on a few occassions and have been a customer when purchasing food and other supplies in the past. A bad review should not be suppressed simply because the business owners and puppy mill apologists don’t like it.
My review:
On January 18, 2013, Animart posted on their facebook asking people to write reviews for them on Unilocal because apparently they are always so interested in finding out what their customers think. I had previously posted a review of them and it was up for about 2 years, possibly longer. On January 31, 2013, I received an email from Unilocal telling me that my review was being taken down because it violated their rules because it was based on «hearsay.» I wonder who reported my review, but I will leave the reader to draw their own conclusions since anything else might be interpreted as «hearsay.»
My suspicions and accusations regarding Animart are based on much more than «hearsay» so I will clarify why I believe that Animart is dishonest about the origins of the puppies that they sell, based on personal experience when I went into the store. Animart always has popular, purebred and hybrid, mostly toy breed puppies that they sell for hundreds of dollars each. They say right on their website that you are «adopting» a puppy from them, as opposed to purchasing a puppy. When considering why you should «adopt» from them, they say: «all our puppies come from reputable breeders, rescue groups and from unplanned, unwanted litters.» I’m not sure which breeders have unwanted litters of purebred puppies that they want to hand over to a pet store to sell for several hundreds of dollars per puppy, so naturally, I’m curious. Also, if rescues are giving Animart purebred puppies, I’d like to know which ones they are working with. You would think that they would be happy to promote area rescues that give them purebred puppies to sell for hundreds of dollars each (because the rescue probably doesn’t need the money and can’t adopt out the purebred puppy? I guess??) However, that information is not posted on their website, nor, in my experience, are staff forthcoming with information about where the puppies are from.
Animart, according to its website, is proud that they get puppies from «reputable breeders» (who, by the way, never sell in pet stores, reputable breeders handle their own sales). So, naturally, I wanted to know about the breeders. Yet, when I personally asked them, while I was in the store, where the puppies came from, I was given a very vague, incomplete answer. It started when I asked the check out person. He looked distinctly uncomfortable and said something to the effect of «we’re not supposed to talk about that» and also that he was a «reptile guy» and didn’t care for the puppies, and someone else would have to answer my question. He quickly called over the «puppy person» who told me that a nice older couple living in Beaver Dam breeds the dogs, and they always give the dogs exercise, give them breaks in between litters, etc. etc. She had a very nice, probably pre-​planned and rehearsed public relations speech to share with me. When asked if I could have the name of this nice, older couple in Beaver Dam so I could research the breeding facility, I was told no. If a pet store is proud of the breeders that supply their puppies, why not share that information with a curious customer (I was there to purchase some food for my dogs).
With regard to the other products in the store, the selection is average, and the prices are better at Mounds and Petsmart, in my experience of going to all three places.
How Animart has managed to continue to sell puppies in Madison, a place that proclaims to be politically correct and has progressive and compassionate values, is beyond me. Willful ignorance? Clever marketing? Who knows. Adopt, don’t shop.
4÷17÷14 Response to Owner Reply to my Review: Thanks for the note. If Animart is interested in providing complete transparency to the general public about where its puppies and kittens come from, including anyone who is interested and not just those buying a puppy, then breeder information should be posted on each kennel. I believe there is a law of this nature on the books in Illinois, that states that each pet store has to post the breeder or origin for the puppy. If the breeder really is USDA or DATCP licensed, then inspection reports of the breeders are public information anyway, available on the APHIS website or from DATCP. If a rescue is providing the purebred/​hybrid puppies for you to sell, then provide all the information about the rescue, posted on the kennel where you keep the puppies. That would clear up any confusion about where the dogs are coming from really quick.

We LOVE this place. It can be a bit expensive, but we love the variety of products for dogs. Fun to look around and they welcome pets to visit while you shop. Our dog loved it!

We brought our puppy here because we had a coupon for a free self-​service dog wash in the bucky book. It is usually $ 15.The inside reminded me of a Margaritaville.
It was fun to wash our own dog and not have to deal with the mess, but I don’t think it’s worth $ 15. The shampoo and conditioner weren’t labeled so I wasn’t sure what we were putting on our puppy. It is also pretty far away from us (we live on the near west side). In the future if we want a cheap wash I think we will get a $ 20 wash/​nail trim at Petsmart or splurge and take him to tabby & jacks (they do the best job but it is pricy).
I also got a weird vibe when I asked where the standard poodle puppy came from. The lady working there was very short with me when I asked if they get them from breeders. She said that two local standard poodles that weren’t fixed had the puppies so they donated them to Animart. It seemed a bit fishy.

I’m just commenting on the fish– I have no idea whether the puppies are from puppy mills or not.
If you have 40 or 50 tanks then it’s ok for there to be 1 or 2 dead fish. Four or five is unacceptable. A conscientious employee would remove the dead ones on a regular basis (and there shouldn’t be so many dead fish that this would present any difficulties).
I also liked the following interaction:
Me: Do you sell hikari massivore [a type of pellet for carnivorous fish]?
Employee: I don’t know. [Walks away.]
Gee, thanks for checking.
Overall, it’s one step up from a big chain pet store, but it’s a pretty small step. Go to living art for live fish. You won’t regret it.

They don’t sell shelter animals, only those from puppy mills/​breeders.
I went to try and find a something with a UW or Packer logo for my dog. As soon as I walked in, I saw dogs and cats that were up for adoption. I looked for a sign that said which shelter they were from, but saw none.
When I approached a staff person to ask about this, I was told that they ONLY carry purebreds, and that you can’t get a purebred from a shelter. This is 100% FALSE.
I walked out without getting more than 10′ in the store. I cannot support a business that gets its dogs and cats from breeders or puppy mills.
I’m disgusted that this practice is still allowed in Madison, and I’m glad that I live in a city where it is not.

We bought our Pomeranian puppy from Animart. While I think the price seemed higher than it could have been, the puppy came with all his shots, dewormed, and «fixed». The staff was very friendly, and helpful. We even got $ 50 worth of supplies.
I can’t speak for the cat adoptions, but I had a pleasant experience there.
On a side note, I do recommend that you ALWAYS, check the humane society first before purchasing from a breeder or petstore.

I have a problem with a pet store that declaws all their cats. I think it is more important to educate people on animal behavior and let them decide about declawing, rather than take the choice away, and jack up the price of what amounts to a barncat.
Go to the Humane Society instead.