Here Are Your Thoughts on the COVID-19 Pandemic

Editor’s Note: In the April-May issue, we’re sharing feedback from our COVID-19 Impact Survey. Thank you to everyone who took the time to take it.

• • Thank you for supporting us pet businesses and keeping us informed! It is a great comfort to see the Facebook group camaraderie and to know what is going on everywhere. — Niki Libarios, Hawaii Doggie Bakery, Honolulu, HI
  • We have always had a large back stock of our best-selling foods. It served us well when people were coming in like crazy to get food. I am super thankful for my hoarding tendency now. — Anna Woodcock, Brown Dog Bakery, Ankeny, IA
  • There is no preset plan to follow. We all have to do the best we can — be ready to readjust as needed and, most likely, often. Keeping a level head is the most important thing we can do for our staff and our customers. — Johnna Devereaux, Fetch RI, Richmond, RI
  • Our best decision was shutting down to walk-in traffic. There’s nothing more important than protecting the health and safety of our community, including ourselves and our staff. — Shane Somerville, Paddywack, Mill Creek, WA
  • There is a lot of talk about restaurant workers, but retail is just as insecure, and so are most of the pet service workers. — Ramie Gulyas, Follow Your Nose, Evanston, IL
  • It’s a crazy time, and it’s nice to see how many customers appreciate us being open, offering deliveries, curbside. We are thanked often for being there for them and their pets. I should have limited food earlier on, though, and then offered to order and deliver the rest. We ran out of too many things before we started limiting. — Jennifer Larsen, Firehouse Pet Shop, Wenatchee, WA
  • This crisis has unfortunately come at a time when we were already stretched thin, so I will be filing for bankruptcy and trying everything in my power to keep my business alive. It’s difficult for small businesses to save money, but this crisis underscores in a huge way just how important that is. It’s in our nature as entrepreneurs to take risks to grow our businesses, but this crisis has taught me the hard way that I need to exercise a little more conservatism to survive the unexpected. — Amy Zounes, CaNine to Five, Clifton Park, NY
  • My best decision was to network with other business leaders. We were able to come up with ideas that will help us pivot and create revenue. The fact is that billionaires are made during times like these. Businesses that can make shifts can actually come out the other end stronger and more profitable. No one really grows in a comfort zone. Growth comes through adversity. We can look at this as either terrible times or like a great roller coaster ride — scary but exciting. — Wendy Megyese, Muttigans, Emerald Isle, NC
  • Our customers have been very supportive. We’re very thankful that we have our online shop — it took two years to build out, but we opened it just in time. We never could have anticipated how important it would become. — Jeff Jensen, Four Muddy Paws, St Louis, MO
  • Keeping my community of customers connected in our FB live. I have scheduled FB live events with our instructors and trainers. My middle name is literally “Hope.” I believe in a weird way that humanity will be in a better place when this is over. — Alysa Slay, Camp Dogwood, Highland Park IL