Menagerie Pet Shop has been a Cabbagetown business dating back sometime prior to 1980 (the exact date is unclear), when the previous owner bought a tiny location at the corner of Parliament and Winchester streets. The store later moved a few doors north and eventually expanded to the three Parliament Street addresses it occupies now.
Kaelo and his team offer a full line of pet products for every kind of pet. Birds, reptiles, fish, small animals and of course, dogs and cats. Menagerie sells live animals, but have never sold dogs and cats for philosophical reasons. They pride themselves on offering the best in holistic and natural foods and products for companion animals including organic and raw diets. They also offer a Do-It-Yourself Dog Wash and free home delivery.
Menagerie specializes in all areas of modern companion animals and hobby fish and reptiles. Each department has dedicated staff who are experts in their field of knowledge. Some staff can handle 2 or 3 different departments, but Kaelo for example is strictly a dog and cat guy. He has said that he “will always defer to one of my staff for anything else. I think it’s the dependable knowledge that has a lot of customers coming back.”
About the area, Kaelo has said that “as a business owner what I love about the area is the village feel of Cabbagetown. Most of our customers live in the area and it’s nice to know them in such a familiar way. Same goes for the other business owners. It’s nice to have a rapport with people in the community that goes beyond the business of things.”
Kaelo also told us “As a resident….. what I love about Cabbagetown…? Restaurants!!! Cabbagetowners are pretty lucky with the number of different restaurants, parks, sights and such. It really is a neighbourhood with so much to offer.”
Our sincere thanks to Menagerie Pet Shop for their generous contribution to the Forsythia Festival.